Character development is extremely important. It can be an outlet for readers and can help readers who have gone through similar things get through them. InThe Trials of Apollo by Rick Riordan and throughout literature, characters who are relatable and go through character development show you can get better in real life.

Apollo, the protagonist in The Trials of Apollo, developed empathy throughout the story. During Apollo’s trials he began to connect Nero’s abuse to Olympus, and rethink what is wrong and right. Overtime he began to think that lives aren’t as “disposable as we gods like to think”. In The Burning Maze Jason had Lester promise to remember what it’s like to be human, after Jason’s death and many other horrible deaths in that book, Apollo was humbled. In book four, there were many more sacrifices to save Camp Jupiter, to the point where there was a serious dwindle in people. Lester was also seriously injured and actually tried to hide how close to death he was for Meg’s sake, as she had already lost almost everyone she cared about which really shows how far he’d come from a whiny, arrogant, annoyance. In the battle against Python he literally fell into the pit of creation.

Meg shows you can heal from abuse. Meg’s dad was killed by Nero after he reincarnated the strongest dryads (tree spirits) in the universe. Meg refused to join him but soon was forced. She was confused of what side she was on so she betrayed Lester and left, but later in the books she found herself. For a while she was angry and didn’t know what to believe but by the end of the series she knew who she was.

Nico shows you can heal from depression and PTSD. Nico became a lot more happy and open during the time between HoO and ToA. Nico was born at a time where he wasn’t accepted because he’s gay. He was forcefully outed by the god of love in HoO after hiding it for almost six books. When he was 10 his sister died and afterwards he ran away. He also didn’t get much credit for saving everyone’s butts during the Battle of Manhattan. If you look at his character before and after his sister dies you see him go from a happy, carfree kid to a depressed, antisocial teen. After he came out, decided to stay at Camp Half-Blood and got his boyfriend, Will, he became happier.

Character development can help people who have gone through a similar situation, as you can see in this essay.