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.