Throughout The Red Pyramid, characters are judged based on how they look and act. Human stereotyping leads to fear of anything different or not understood. Through the various views of the characters, The Red Pyramid explores the consequences of being different and how those differences affect us.

Carter and Sadie are stereotyped by characters throughout the book, including one another. Carter presents Black, and Sadie presents white, which causes mortals to look at them strangely when they introduce themselves as family. As a young Black man, Carter faces microaggressions and discrimination. People assume his different appearance means he will break the rules, such as the airport security guard in Chapter 21, who only leaves Carter alone when Bast arrives to vouch for him. As a result, Carter works to present himself in a way he believes people will find acceptable—dressing professionally and being polite—things that do not keep others from fixating on his differences.

Sadie’s differences have also led people to make assumptions about her. As an American living in Britain and an orphan, Sadie stands out. People assume she will be a troublemaker because her family life is different from the norm of being raised by two parents, and their fear of what she might do leads them to treat her differently.