The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman - Essay Example

The Golden Compass Order No. 283922 No. of pages: 7 1st 6530 ‘The Golden Compass,’ by Philip Pullman is a fantastical story, set in a world very much like our own, yet very different from it. It can be called one of the finest pieces of juvenile fantasy, but it is more than merely a story with children fighting the war of good versus evil. In this tale, the child protagonist has to face a harsh world bereft of the ignorance and innocence of childhood, which often is the defense which keeps them safe from the realities, that they are too young to understand and face up to. Lyra Belacqua, the precocious 11 old year girl who is the protagonist of the story, is an orphan, placed under the care of the professors at Jordan College, indulging in the childhood pursuits of playing and avoiding her studies. Like all the children of this world which she inhabits, she has a daemon, called Pantalaimon. The daemons of people who are much older are fixed and hence do not change their shape. Daemons are the physical manifestation of a person’s soul, who take on animal forms once the character of a person has been entirely shaped, but in the case of Lyra, since she is a pre teen and her character is not yet completely rounded and fixed her daemon has the capacity of constantly changing its shape into myriads of characters. “The Golden Compass” is a scintillating story of Lyra Belacqua an orphan sent to Jordon College. One day, Lyra overhears a conversation between the Master of Jordon College and a representative of the sinister religious organization called ‘Magisterium.’ They were planning to embark on an expedition to some place in the far North. The whole plan was fabricated by Lyra’s uncle, Asriel who was actually the child’s real father. One day while hiding in a cupboard, she overhears conversation about a plot to poison her uncle Lord Asriel, who was later revealed to be her father. When she tells him about the plot to kill him, he ascribes it to his plan to go to the frozen north, which is frowned upon by the professors. Lyras adventurous spirit is awakened and she too wishes to follow him, but before she can do that she is sent to live in London with Mrs. Coulter, a high society lady, who buys her beautiful clothes and tells her tales about the North. Mrs. Coulter is in fact Lyras own mother, a fact unknown to the young girl. Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter are two of the strongest characters in this novel, and they are the ones whose influence is most seen on Lyra. Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter have a “highly focused, predatory, obsessive mentality,” which in Lyra embodies itself in positive ways, as in her desire to free her friends and save those in danger. The driving passion of Lord Asriel’s life is to defeat Authority, while Mrs. Coulter is propelled by her wish to gain victory over the evil ‘Dust.’ (Millicent Lenz, Carole Scott, pg8) ‘Dust’ here refers to the consciousness of the world and all the possibilities it contains. This dust comes and settles on adults, since it is they who are the knowledgeable ones due to their experiences, while in children it is found hovering around them. The Master as well as Fra Pavel and other fellows of Jordon College agree t fund the expedition on the research on ‘Dust’ by Lord Asriel. Lyra, is also in many ways quite similar to Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter, in the sense that she is driven by a thirst for knowledge and this is seen when the author describes her as looking at “Mrs. Coulter with awe, and listened rapt and silent to her tales of igloo building.” (Millicent Lenz, Carole Scott, pg215) Lyra is a girl looking out for adventure and something exciting to do and has a streak of rebelliousness which makes her unwilling to obey orders. The book is a denouncement of the Church and its rigid rules and conventions which the author has tried to show as flawed and this which calls for a protagonist who is bold. In Lyra we see this boldness, as in when she goes all alone to rescue Roger, and it is this daring attitude which makes her run away from Mrs. Coulter’s house in London when she becomes suspicious of their talks about dust and the General Oblation Board. Further we see her living with the Gyptians, unafraid of what might happen and then when they are kept imprisoned in the Cassell, she and Roger plan their escape. From Lord Asriel she hears the story of Adam and Eve, where he explains to her that what the world thought as sin was the opening up of their knowledge of their own selves, their wishes and desires. But while Lord Asriel is intent upon cutting away the daemons of children, so that he can gather enough energy which will lead him to another universe, Lyra’s intentions are more innocent, wherein her only thoughts are about Roger’s safety. Another influence of Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter on Lyra was their spirit of adventure which is clearly manifested in the character of Lyra because she shows the same enthusiasm in wanting to join the adventurous group. Mrs. Coulter for much of the novel is depicted as a power hungry woman desperate to control Dust, but in her dealings with Lyra we find in her a great transformation. Her love for Lyra may be well concealed, but comes out when she finds her in danger as in her efforts to save her from Intercision at Bolvanger, and a spirited fight with Father MacPhail when he tries to kill Lyra. She also ends up sacrificing her own life to help fulfill Lyra’s goals. Much of this is Lyras influence on Mrs. Coulter who changes from the shrew to a loving human being inspired by Lyra’s effect on her. The attraction that Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter had for each other blinded them to the extent that they could not figure out if they were good or evil. In order to satisfy their personal beliefs they keep committing horrifying acts time and again in order to achieve the goal of “the good of the whole” which provides both of them with immense power. Their actions are both evil and unique. “The Golden Compass” is a very good portrayal of parental humanity. It clearly depicts the guilt of both partners, Asriel and Coulter because they are quite selfish in placing their own interests above the interest of their daughter Lyra. They took immense advantage of her making her the butt of their personal motivations. Their influence had a deep impact on Lyra in such a way that Lyra felt it impossible to love them at all. They thought her to be very unassertive and insignificant, but were surprised to find that she had grown up to be strong and responsible. When both Asriel and Coulter came to understand that they stand to gain if Lyra was in their possession, each of them tried to influence her by playing out different roles to suit their ends. Lyra was smart enough and took on a neutral stand, but she realized that they had been wicked parents to her and found it impossible to love them. In one such instance Lyra finds Mrs. Coulter’s daemon, the golden monkey stealing the ‘Golden Compass’ also called an ‘alethiometer’ from her bag. It is eventually saved by Pan who morphs into a bird, grabs back the Golden Compass and together they escape from the window upstairs but are rescued in time by the Gyptians who had been keeping a watch over Lyra at the request of Lord Asriel. The smart and cunning of Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter who are actually Lyra’s parents seems to have a great influence on Lyra and she is capable of making smart decisions and learns things very quickly. She appreciates her acquaintance with John Faa who is the Lord of the Gyptians who teaches her how to interpret the responses from the ‘alethiometer’ and also how to ask questions and get answers. She also shows her smartness in understanding the words of the witches of a prophecy involving the fate of the world of which she plays a major part. When she sees that Roger has been taken to the mountaintop by Lord Asriel, she fights back, but is not able to prevent him from cutting off his daemon. Cutting it off is very important since it is this which will ensure him entry into other words. When Lord Asriel enters into the other world she follows him, taking the same degree of risk as him, and showing that she is indeed captivated and motivated by his impassioned exhortations about knowledge, which according to him the authorities are trying to subvert. She is able to understand his desire because he had explained to her the story of Adam and Eve as the beginning of knowledge for humanity. It is knowledge which keeps children since their innocent stages and once they become proficient in matters of the world, they are able to make the transition from childhood to adulthood, or what may be called completely developed human beings. Lord Asriel tells her that without knowledge, or rather if the Apple hadnt been eaten, humanity would have been dull, lifeless, and boring like the nurses at Bolvanger. But it is knowledge which makes people exciting and full of life, much like Lyra, who has been able to escape the fate of the nurses because she had not undergone the process of Intercision. The many world theories, as explained by Lord Asriel appeals to the inquisitive nature of Lyra who is ready to straddle the bridge between the known and unknown, fearlessly, because she is armed with knowledge along with the pioneering spirit, which alone can lead her to fulfillment. References Millicent Lenz, Carole Scott. His dark materials illuminated SparkNotes: His Dark Materials: Character List http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/hisdarkmaterials/section1.html The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman - Book Review http://contemporarylit.about.com/od/yaliteraturereviews/fr/goldenCompass.htm Philip Pullman: The Golden Compass http://www.comicbookbin.com/thegoldencompass1996.html Read More