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Bye-bye, Olympics!
For those of you who didn't catch the hockey game, Canada rules! 'Nuff said.
"Amateur" sports aside, I finished "The Subtle Knife" this evening, and... Wow. It's a good thing I have the 3rd book at hand, otherwise I think I'd be miserable from withdrawal. As I don't want to write a real review of it yet, not until I've read "The Amber Spyglass", I'm going to write a few things that occurred to me while reading this excellent effort by Mr. Pullman. Keep in mind that I have no idea of the outcome of the story yet, so I might err in my judgment.
First of all, and this is not really an original thought, as I saw it expressed on a website somewhere, is that the Christian fundamentalists who are mounting the crusade against Harry Potter are really going after the small fry. If they object to Harry Potter because he promotes witchcraft, magic and the supernatural, what would they say to a series of children's books that tell of beings mounting an assault against the Authority (read, God) and that go on to explain why such a thing is right?
The children who read "His Dark Materials" and who have some sort of Christian background will catch onto the major religious references, and possibly onto all the subtle arguments against organized religion contained in the books. Namely, that organized religion relies on the ignorance of the masses in order to guard its power and that it must suppress anything remotely heretical for that same reason. There go freedom of thought and experimental philosophy out the window. There also seems to be a major theme of destiny running through the story, which hasn't been fully explored yet, but mostly hinted at through the prophecies of various groups.
Another thing that intrigues me quite a bit is the concept of daemons as an external and physical manifestation of a person's soul. Daemons cannot (normally) be separated from their humans and death comes to both human and daemon at the same time. The symbolism of the daemon's animal shape is obvious, as it represents their human (servants, for example, all have dog-shaped daemons) and the fact that a daemon's shape only become set at puberty (i.e., the potential of childhood is replaced with the certainty of adulthood) is a mystery that hasn't yet been explained.
What I find interesting about the whole concept is that daemons are built-in best friends. Imagine having a part of yourself that is outside yourself, that you can talk to and receive comfort from. You would never need fear loneliness, and you would automatically be understood by at least one being outside your own mind. The fact that one of Lyra's first thoughts when seeing people without daemons is "How lonely they must be!" speaks volumes about this, and the horror that she and others feel when they see people who have been "cut" from their daemons inspired revulsion in me as well. It's like undergoing a frontal lobotomy, really; these people have lost a fundamental part of themselves and are no longer complete human beings. And in the death scenes so far, the person's daemon has always been there, giving comfort with its last breath.
In "The Subtle Knife", daemons were likened to a conscience, which I think is fairly accurate, up to a point. No one can understand you the way you can, and with a daemon, internal debates and dialogues are no longer internal. The physical aspect of the relationship, however, is different. Imagine having a pet you could take (would have to take, really) everywhere with you, who would be just as smart as you and who you knew would never leave you or could never be taken from you. And now think that you'll never have that because your body sheaths every part of your soul and no one can ever be that close to you. It's enough to make me feel very lonely.
"Amateur" sports aside, I finished "The Subtle Knife" this evening, and... Wow. It's a good thing I have the 3rd book at hand, otherwise I think I'd be miserable from withdrawal. As I don't want to write a real review of it yet, not until I've read "The Amber Spyglass", I'm going to write a few things that occurred to me while reading this excellent effort by Mr. Pullman. Keep in mind that I have no idea of the outcome of the story yet, so I might err in my judgment.
First of all, and this is not really an original thought, as I saw it expressed on a website somewhere, is that the Christian fundamentalists who are mounting the crusade against Harry Potter are really going after the small fry. If they object to Harry Potter because he promotes witchcraft, magic and the supernatural, what would they say to a series of children's books that tell of beings mounting an assault against the Authority (read, God) and that go on to explain why such a thing is right?
The children who read "His Dark Materials" and who have some sort of Christian background will catch onto the major religious references, and possibly onto all the subtle arguments against organized religion contained in the books. Namely, that organized religion relies on the ignorance of the masses in order to guard its power and that it must suppress anything remotely heretical for that same reason. There go freedom of thought and experimental philosophy out the window. There also seems to be a major theme of destiny running through the story, which hasn't been fully explored yet, but mostly hinted at through the prophecies of various groups.
Another thing that intrigues me quite a bit is the concept of daemons as an external and physical manifestation of a person's soul. Daemons cannot (normally) be separated from their humans and death comes to both human and daemon at the same time. The symbolism of the daemon's animal shape is obvious, as it represents their human (servants, for example, all have dog-shaped daemons) and the fact that a daemon's shape only become set at puberty (i.e., the potential of childhood is replaced with the certainty of adulthood) is a mystery that hasn't yet been explained.
What I find interesting about the whole concept is that daemons are built-in best friends. Imagine having a part of yourself that is outside yourself, that you can talk to and receive comfort from. You would never need fear loneliness, and you would automatically be understood by at least one being outside your own mind. The fact that one of Lyra's first thoughts when seeing people without daemons is "How lonely they must be!" speaks volumes about this, and the horror that she and others feel when they see people who have been "cut" from their daemons inspired revulsion in me as well. It's like undergoing a frontal lobotomy, really; these people have lost a fundamental part of themselves and are no longer complete human beings. And in the death scenes so far, the person's daemon has always been there, giving comfort with its last breath.
In "The Subtle Knife", daemons were likened to a conscience, which I think is fairly accurate, up to a point. No one can understand you the way you can, and with a daemon, internal debates and dialogues are no longer internal. The physical aspect of the relationship, however, is different. Imagine having a pet you could take (would have to take, really) everywhere with you, who would be just as smart as you and who you knew would never leave you or could never be taken from you. And now think that you'll never have that because your body sheaths every part of your soul and no one can ever be that close to you. It's enough to make me feel very lonely.
no subject
can't get to my journal tonight - so I'm forced to post here...
*Stupid livejournal server..!*
(i think this as something to do with the fact that you have blodeuedd.liverjournal.com address and a paid account - anything on www.livejournal.com won't show up... :6 )
So ... *urm* Hiya baby! Wassup?
*webbit*
ok ok - i guess i should sleep for a change since i have nothing else to do...
hey! I've got some new glasses - but they're awful, and i'm too ashamed to put them on... They would have been soooo cool - but they're a bit too large - god damnit!!! :?(
okee - dodo