Edward Tulane

I remember how Edward expressed a kind shock when he finds himself listening to Nellie's stories "as if his life depended on what she said." He is surprised and wonders if his time in the sea affected him. It immediately struck me what the image of him sinking into the depths of the sea could mean. I thought of how little he looked in this gigantic blue of complete nothingness and felt that the sea represented a kind of complete vulnerabilty for Edward where he is forced to wait. And in waiting he is forced to listen, he listens to everything around him whether it mattered or not. It took me back to Lyra and the aliethemometer in TGC and how she has to face complete vulnerabity before she shifts to another state of consciousness.

The Power of Edward Tulane

Although there were many things about the story that struck me, I would have to say one of the most poignant was the concept of "power" in the text. I mentioned this in class, but, physically, Edward is powerless. Unable to move on his own, he has no say in what he does or where he goes during his life. His journey is miraculous because he had no control over where he went, yet he went where he was needed most.

Nevertheless, at the same time, Edward becomes powerful. When we're children, we always hear about the importance of listening to other people. Not just listening to instructions, but listening how others feel and what is going on with them; that way, we are able to connect with them more. Edward gains this skill over the course of his journey, becoming invaluable to those who meet him because he is able to listen for as long as they need him. They discuss their troubles and longings with him because, as a china rabbit, he is unable to repeat them or vocally judge them. Although he's just a toy, everyone confides in him because he becomes the perfect ear.

So, overall, I guess what I'm trying to say is that although he is physically powerless, the comfort he is able to bring people simply by being there and listening gives him another sort of power, one where he is able to soothe and heal others.

Edward Tulane

Edward's undying drive for redemption is what most stands out to me from this story. Only to be stuck at the bottom of the ocean. Which at once reminded me of a great song actually titled "Six days at the bottom of the Ocean", I highly recommend "YouTubing" it , because it was resonating in my head as I read on! As always, in life, as cliche as it may sound you have to travel through the darkness to reach the light. I believe that is what this whole story and Edward's journey was all about.

Edward Tulane

Reading The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane I noticed Edwards many emotional changes. His first emotion impacted me the most. Edwards’s emotion of fear was very heart felt. It’s awful to have your first genuine emotion be fear. As human beings I feel that emotions that are negative have a longer lasting impact on us then the positive ones. Fear is one of the most humble and solitary feeling anyone can have. Fear brings the incapability to act upon. DiCamillo demonstrates that fear can teach us not to take anyone for granted. People sometimes have to be at their worst state in order for them to realize what they have lost.

Edward Tulane

I was struck by Edward Tulane's journey. It is not only a physical journey, but an emotional journey as well. At the beginning, Edward is cold and incapable of loving Abilene. By the end of his journey, he is capable of love and happy to be home. He changes as the story progresses, because he learns a valuable lesson from the different characters he meets along the way. Tulane's journey is definitely miraculous.

Edward Tulane's Patience

What shocked me about Edward Tulane is how patient he is throughout the story. I could never imagine being face down on the bottom of the ocean for months or on a shelf for years. I surround myself with electronic devices and time-wasters so I never have to feel like I am waiting. Edward Tulane's journey makes me consider what time possibly feels like when it is not mechanical, with no pocket watches, and no measurement of time except the nights, the days, and the seasons.

Edward Tulane: poor Bryce

As usual, I was struck by how universal hope is. I don’t know how much of this is due to the Obama posters declaring ‘HOPE,’ but that was what leapt off the page. When the china doll in the baby bonnet tells him that “You must be awash in hope,” Edward responds, “I am done with being loved… It’s too painful.” (189) Sounding like a jilted lover, Edward has given up on hope altogether. I confess that I wish Bryce had come to take him back at the end of his ‘miraculous’ journey. There is something to be said that that little boy, later as a young man, deserves the china rabbit just as much, if not more than privileged Abilene. Though all that matters to Edward is love and where he received it first and most ardently, it was the wish of this reader to see him in more deserving hands. Did anyone else feel this way?

Paradise Lost Quote

"Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay
To mould me Man, did I solicit thee
From darkness to promote me?"
-Paradise Lost, X, 743-745

Just a quote I thought about during Lee Scoresby's conversation with Serafina.

What My Daemon Would Be...

If I had to choose one animal to be my daemon, I would say that it would have to be a mouse. Ever since I was a baby, my parents (especially my dad) have always called me "Little Mouse." I have so many childhood memories of falling asleep to "Good night, Little Mouse" and it makes me so happy any time I hear someone reference a mouse. Also, I am a pretty extroverted person and if my daemon is going to be my counterpart, I would think it would be someone more introverted and quiet, someone who thinks things through more and doesn't act as rash as I do.

my deamon

I think my deamon would be like the golden monkey because I am a very guarded person who tends not to be that emotional. So, whatever my deamon would be it would have to reveal my true feelings.

On the subject of fixed form

I was thinking a lot about this in class, and one of the posts below got me thinking again. It's interesting how much a fixed form of daemon can truly say about humans, psychologically. On one hand, it's a shaping of character, a knowledge of who you are, which is both positive and negative. It is also something over which you don't have that much control, since I don't think Pullman ever said that one can choose what their daemon stays as -- the daemon has a will of its own. In some way, this makes me think of all the ways our personalities are influenced and 'shaped' by factors over which we have no control, upbringing, society, trauma, but which ultimately become an inherent part of our being.
In a way, I think a fixed form for a daemon is almost terrifying to me, it speaks of something which cannot change, something that is so fixed and immobile. On the other hand, perhaps our souls and our personalities really are that way - and since no animals are truly 'good' or 'evil', no daemon is good or evil. All the same, there is something about the finality of this transformation that makes it difficult to wrap my brain around - hey, I wish I knew what I was when I turned thirteen or fourteen.

My daemon

I took the quiz too because it sounded interesting. Personally, I feel the questions are too general. They actually reminded me of questions that were on a personality test I had to take to get a job at a bookstore. However, what do I expect from a quiz about something that doesn't really exist, on a website for a movie that I heard was really bad? Anyway, it was somewhat fun. My daemon is a jackal named Pereus because I'm modest, assertive, and outgoing. I tried to think of a daemon on my own, but I couldn't come up with anything good. I would really like to have a tiger cub daemon though.

Everyone has a Daemon

Well, I also have taken the "Daemon Quiz" on the website to determine which Daemon is mine
My Daemon appears to be "Clymonistra", a Lynx Daemon which is female.
The quiz determined that some of my qualities are : Spontaneous, inquisitive, humble, assertive and relaxed.

From the beginning we notice that the world Lyra lives in is very different from our world, here daemon is already a testament to that. A deamon, basically a human soul on the outside, in the form of an animal. A daemon in essence reflecting your soul, or what condition your soul is in, whether it's at peace or in turmoil. I like that.

My Daemon

I went to the offical Golden Compass website and took a 20 question quiz to determine who my daemon should be. My daemon is a male wildcat named Pereus. You should all take the quiz. It's so much fun!

Daemons

We often see in cartoons that when the main character is faced with a difficult decision, he can always refer to his inner conscience for guidance. Sometimes these guides are portrayed as miniature versions of the protagonist that pop on on each of his shoulders offering timely advice favoring both the negative and positive aspects of the dilemma. Since I was a child I have always wondered if these creatures exist within each one of us, and if in the process of decision making, we actually seek guidance from our "daemons." Lyra's daemon is attached to her, and it can be cut away, as Pan is only a companion in her adventures, and does not really control her fate. Her fate is determined only by her own actions and the choices she makes. Similarly, I think that though we all have the good and bad voices of reason inherent in our mind, body and soul, we are only able to be influenced by them. When we make a choice or go ahead with an action, we have freed ourselves from our daemons because we have acted as an individual who is capable of free will.
I often wonder if such personal daemons do exist and if they lose their significance as we become accustomed to making decisions that are based more on emotion and impulse rather than on practical reasoning and logic. It seems like we are more likely to weigh the moral consequences of our actions as a child when we are naive and afraid of what may happen. I believe, like it is shown in the novel, that personal daemons are most active when we are children but lose their worth as we grow older and come in contact with reality, greed, and temptation. This is especially true during adolescence and early adulthood, when we are searching for our "true" selves. At this time, we are most likely to suppress the influencing powers of our daemons and act upon only what we think we feel and experience, and not the actual reality of things. (As emotions, impulse, greed and temptation begin to cloud our judgement.)

Multiverse

Like others, I am amused by the role of daemons and how they find their true form when the child becomes an adult. I realize most of my questions should be answered later in the book, but what I find myself thinking about while reading the Golden Compass is the Multiverse hypothesis.

As soon I read about a city hidden in the Northern Lights I immediately thought about this hypothesis. This idea describes that true reality is the juxtaposition of many multiple universes. I had a hard time understanding this concept till my astrophysicist professor described how when two 3D objects (like bubbles) collide a 2D plane is created. Taking that same concept to the next level, when two 4D dimensions collide a 3D world like ours is produced. M-theory asserts that there are as many as 11 Dimensions. These dimensions are then reduced to a lower energy :the 3-Dimensions of space and 1-Dimension of time as we understand.

The word Dust reminded me of a seminar that I recently attended at Hayden Planetarium where the speaker explained how Space is no longer considered just a vacuum, but filled with “dust”. With biologists discovering more and more extremophiles it is becoming increasingly likely that life exists across the entire universe and that planets only need to yield the perfect conditions for life to bloom. It seems that dust can act as a vector for life exchange across the universe. Dust exchange from a now lifeless Mars could have once seeded life on our planet.

P.S. Here is a link for anyone still interested in more Gruesome Fairy Tale Origins

Lyra's Relationships

Growing up, fantasy, mystery, and fiction books were my favorite to read, so it was no wonder I loved Philip Pullman's works from my junior high school years. When I came across the "His Dark Materials" trilogy, I felt like I had discovered the hidden gold mine in my imagination. The characters, the descriptions, and the conflicts presented in "The Golden Compass," "The Subtle Knife," and "The Amber Spyglass" were both relatable and yet, unimaginable in its presentation at the same time.

As everyone else has already commented, the concept of the daemons and their significance to each human life in the book was something I was struck by when I first read the book years ago. I distinctly remember being jealous of Lyra, wishing I had one of my own-my personal friend and confidante to play with all day long. (Being a total zoophobic person at that time, I have to say the books truly gave me some insight to understanding the relationship pet owners have with their beloved ones).

However, the most interesting part of "The Golden Compass" was not just Lyra's fascinating journey and her heroic quest, but her relationships between kids of her own age, her elders, her uncle, and her "lack of" parents. Brought up under the loose supervision of the Jordan College scholars, acting as a tomboy, and possessing the qualities of a leader and a hero, it was Lyra's motives I always questioned. The absence of her parents was something I picked up on at the beginning, and the way Pullman addresses it (if I remember correctly) at the end of the book is an intriguing aspect of the story.

Daemons and Dust

I began to read this book before the semester began and saw the movie over the winter break. There are two elements in the book that I find most fascinating:

1) The "Daemons" (with respect to the children) -- one minute they are adorable, spiritlike creatures who are like shape-shifters; one minute they appear to be like human representatives of the human soul, and the next minute they appear to change with the spectrum of human emotions of the children with they are associated. But, when the children become adults, the Daemons seem to take the shape of some animal form which best expresses the inner qualities of their adult humans -- as though human souls are some type of living extensions of the adults; extensions that are alive and can love, but can also challenge and and betray the human beings. The Daemons also seem to be the gender opposite of their human counterparts.

2) The concept of the "Dust": it seems to provide the essence of human beings -- the idea that human knowledge and human experience are made real (they are no longer abstract essence but physical reality) by the Dust; these are the things that make each human adult an unique entity. Some of the characters seem to revel in the concept of the Dust and realize how powerful it can be; other characters seem to fear the Dust and reject its power. Lyra becomes entangle with her exploration and and understanding of the Dust; her entrenchment with the dust gives her the courage to go on her harrowing journey to find her closest friend -- the Dust directs her to her obvious destiny with her solving the mystery of the missing children.

Lyra's family

I'm enjoying the book so far, but I have one major question. Where is Lyra's family? I know her Uncle is there, but where is the rest of her family? Is she an orphan? And if not, where are they?

Daemons

The daemons in the story are fascinating. I like that they are initially able to change form and color, but eventually settle into one form(which says a lot about the human). I have many questions about the story so far, but only because I haven't finished the book. I'm sure most of my questions will be answered once I finish. One question I keep asking myself is, if I had a daemon, what kind of animal would it be? We can all ask ourselves that question.

Golden Compass and Setting

I'm in the process of reading the book now and even though I really love it so far I can't seem to understand the setting of the novel. It's so strange. I get that its set in England, I guess somewhere arond Oxford in Jordan College. But the magical elements and the time setting seem so out of place, and yet perfectly in place, that I don't really know where I am. It's so everlasting, internal and yet external from the real England that we know. Why is that so and why is it so confusing?

The Golden Compass & The Church

I, personally, started The Golden Compass earlier then necessary and I just finished it last week. I found it to be an amazing book, definitely one of the great stories that we don't see too often nowadays... but there was something that I never really understood. Although it was mentioned in class, the thing I want to question is the role religion plays in the text.

There was so much hype about religious institutions urging people not to see the movie when it came out because of the "anti-religious" status of the book. My sister, who attends a Catholic private school, was told by the school counselor (a nun) that it was satanic and would earn them a trip to Hell. It seems funny, but it was something that roused my curiosity: why?

I remember when The DaVinci Code came out there was this same media attention. I read that book and, just like with The Golden Compass, I couldn't understand why. For The Golden Compass: YES, the church plays quite a villainous role in the book - but, to me, the church wasn't really the church. Instead, I saw it as a political institution that had power and used it; in a way, it reminded me of the Roman Catholic Church's role during the Inquisition. Maybe a dark comparison, but my point stands. In fact, I don't even think the church in the book was specified as the Roman Catholic Church (though, considering, it could very possibly be).

So, overall, one thing I would like to discuss in class is the role of the church in this story: what is it? Why is it used? Pullman could've easily used another political institution... is it for shock value? Or is there a deeper meaning? Like the daemon and the concept of "Dust," I think the church is something that can be really deeply explored.