Eldest part three

[kippurbird]

Chapters The Hunted Hunters, Saphira's promise

Summary

Roran and Baldor (one of Hurst's sons) go hunting. While this is a lovely scene of rustic people trying to survive and make their way in the world, let us look at this logically for a moment with the reset of the data we have about Carvahall and Hurst. Hurst is, from what we've been able to tell, the richest person in Carvahall. He has a large two story house and plenty of money, after all in the first book, he was able to pay for Eragon's meat. There is also a butcher in Carvahall. Sloan, if we will all recall. So, if there is a butcher with meat in town why would they need to go hunting? Why plot contrivance of course! Roran and Baldor need to discover that the King's men are near by with the Ra'zac. That's pretty much the entire point of the chapter.

Roran is furious about seeing them and thinks, "Why did Galbatorix countenance my father's torture". Since when do ignorant farm boy who doesn't have a college education and probably doesn't know how to read think the word "Countenance"? I don't even know what countenance means.

After they discover this, Roran and Baldor go running back to the village after figuring that the soldiers are after Roran. After all they were after Garrow and Eragon so they must be after him when they probably don't even know he exists. Of course, the entire village wants to help Roran because he's just that wonderful of a person. And of course they have to fight the evil empire. Because it's evil and the king is evil. So we must fight against him.

Roran escapes into the woods of the Spine and hides. The soldiers make camp outside the village but they don't say why they're there. Just that they're on the King's business. And they keep on asking questions about Eragon and Roran, of course.

Roran has become the center of attention in Cavarhall. We haven't been given a reason for why the king is evil, once again. Roran once again believes that this is Eragon's fault. But it's okay because Eragon probably had a good reason for running off. Roran gains no personality or character in this chapter, he's just there to discover the soldiers and runaway.

We then switch back to Eragon. Apparently he can't stand being out of the spotlight for long. We discover him oiling Saphira's saddle and trying not to overexert himself. Why is he trying not to overexert himself? The last time we checked effort doesn't set off his scar, it appears to happen randomly. He also hasn't been doing anything requiring effort. He's just been talking to people and cleaning things.

Dwarf comes in and tells him that the king of the dwarves wants to talk with him. Saphira is still able to go down the smaller corridors and not get stuck. Dwarf King tells Eragon that he can keep the armor that was given to him and Saphira. They talk about who is going to be the successor of the Varden and Dwarf King wants Eragon's opinion on it.

Then there's the matter of the Star Sapphire which is in utter rubble. The King Dwarf is very sad about the destruction of the stone. His "eyes grew mournful, deepening the surrounding lines that splayed like spokes on a wagon wheel" (page 48). This is a wonderful simile but it makes no sense in context and is completely distracting from the story. Paolini could have just stopped at deepening the surrounding lines. It's not even an action that requires a simile. But in an effort to be artistic, it's put down.

Saphira feels sorry about what she did, much to Eragon's surprise. "He sensed several emotions in her, but what surprised him most was her remorse and guilt. She truly regretted the Star Rose's demise, despite that it had been required." (page 49) Now, look at this. Earlier we learned that Eragon felt sorrowful that the stone had been broken, mourning just as deeply as the dwarves did. And he was also telling Arya that he and Saphira were one, "We share feelings, senses, thoughts, even to the point wherre we are more one mind than two." (page 27) Yet here he is, surprised that Sapphira feels similar. If they are so connected this shouldn't be a surprise to him. He should have just known it. Thus he disproves his claim that he and Saphira are one, by his own thoughts as opposed to his words. Eragon also gains another point towards sociopathy by thinking that you don't have to mourn the destruction of something if it was necessary to destroy it.

Then from the bag of Dues Ex Machina Saphira tells the Dwarf King that she would able to repair the stone if they manage to put it back together and not have a single piece missing. The Dwarf King says he can do that. I'm not really sure how that's possible. But the King is happy. Saphira apparently knows that she'll be able to do it, if the need is great enough. If that's not Dues Ex Machina, I don't know what is.

In an interesting turn of events, Ayra's involvement in the whole stone breaking is not at all mentioned. One would think that since it was really her fault the dwarves would be livid and want her out. After all this is like their oh so special stone, and they're mourning it. Yet they're not at all upset about this. Instead they're over joyed that maybe one day, if they get all the pieces together,they'll get their rock back.

Dwarf is enthusiastic about it and declares that there will be lots of drinking. Because that's how dwarves celebrate. They also bow down and kiss the ground by Saphira's feet when they hear the news of what she's going to do, maybe, if they find all the parts. They all get drunk. Even Saphira. I'm not sure what the point of this is.

But the dwarves have a good time dancing, singing and getting drunk. It ends with Saphira and Eragon passing out. So, that's the first time Eragon passes out. Though Eragon passes out not from drinking but because of a pain in his back. In any case the chapter ends with them both unconscious.

Comments

[delphinapterus.livejournal.com]

Roran because he's just that wonderful of a person He's just like Eragon. It must be family trait.

Maybe this is just my bad recollection but it seems that a lot US teenage authors let their hero/ines drink at well below the legal drinking age of 18 or 21. It seems to be used as a sign that even though the hero/ine is young chronologically they drink so they are more adult than their years.

I hate to bring logic in here, but shouldn't the dwarves know that when a stone gets broken some of it ends up as powder and very small bits? Therefore, the dwarves will never get their rock back because I just don't see how they'll collect the rock dust and the little flakes and chips off the bigger chunks. Oh right Saphira is just that good.

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

Roran is just an extension of Eragon, but with less personality.

Apparently they'll be able to find every little bit, even the powdered bits. And they're confident that they'll be able to do this.

[gjohnsonkoehn.livejournal.com]

a lot US teenage authors let their hero/ines drink at well below the legal drinking age of 18 or 21

That's because 'the legal drinking age' is more or less a construct of our modern western society. Way back in the day water was often potentially contaminated, juice was a waste of good food or ingredients for wine, and without pasteurisation you pretty much had to have a cow in the next room to trust the milk. Alcoholic beverages, on the other hand, were generally pretty safe, and more or less omnipresent. Of course, the young would probably be watering down their liquor a lot more than anyone does in these kinds of stories. Still, this is one instance in which the 'US teenage authors' are actually pretty on the money.

[delphinapterus.livejournal.com]

Allow me to explain a bit more. I'm not saying that it's wrong to have the young hero/ines drinking but it's the reason that they are drinking that bothers me. They aren't drinking watered alcohol because it's going to be relatively safe, they are drinking to celebrate for a special occasion. At other times they drink water, which if it's being boiled for teas should be fairly safe, or juice. Since the drinking, generally, occurs within the celebratory setting I see it as a way for the author to show that their character is more adult than their years because they get to drink at the party too.

[gjohnsonkoehn.livejournal.com]

On the other hand, what else would a young hero drink at a military victory celebration composed otherwise entirely of adults in such a time? Such men (and they're almost always men) are hardly likely to have any, y'know, non-alcoholic cider close to hand, and you're not going to get a lot of respect as a warrior by drinking water.

[indescane.livejournal.com]

That bit about the sapphire annoyed me no end. IT IS A BIG ROCK THAT IS SHATTERED YOU DO NOT PUT IT BACK TOGETHER LIKE A JIGSAW PUZZLE.[/capslockofRAGE]
And also, why are they kissing the ground by Saphira's feet because she can put it together? She broke it in the first pla-

I'm trying to apply logic to Paolini again, aren't I.

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

Apparently the dwarves are just that special that they can do this.

And yes, you're applying logic to Paolini again. You should stop that. It just will make your head hurt.

[(Anonymous)]

Well, now, there is one thing you seem to be ignoring or forgetting: the butcher has to get his meat from somewhere (unless he has a respawn point in the back). Therefore he must have a deal with hunters and/or herders, probably in general rather than specific ones. So it's probably reasonable to go out hunting under certain conditions.

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

Butchers usually sell meat that is locally slaughtered. Usually cattle, pigs, goats and sheep. The economy that supports a butcher shop usually doesn't need to go hunting. Hurst is rich enough that he shouldn't need to hunt.

[reverie-shadow.livejournal.com]

I just realized something. Pao Pao's prose reminds me of the "Dark and Stormy Night" exercises we did in writing class with Tara Harper.
See, I used to write a lot of purple prose, too, so Tara had me do this exercise where you literally go on and on describing something fairly simple, using as much metaphors and similes you can do to make it longer.
One of the most famous lines used in this exercise, I'll always remember, was "The clouds protruded from the sky like a fat man in a hammock." Tara always loved that one.

As for some of these names.... Good god! First we have a Jörmungand bastardization, now we've got Baldor, who is obviously a bastardization of Balder. I don't suppose he's going to die from a mistletoe anytime soon, will he? For fuck's sake, Paolini, leave Norse mythology alone!
I spent ages researching the Norse culture before using implications of its mythology into one of my books. I highly doubt he did the same, moreover did he just think they sounded cool. Ugh!

Come to think of it, I think there's even a town/city name that's taken directly from Norse mythology, as well. I know it ends with "-heim" because I believe that's Norse for "world" or "home" or something. As in the nine worlds:
Niflheim (underworld), Muspelheim (fire world), Asgard (where the Aesir gods live), Vanaheim (where the Vanir gods live), Jötunheim (where the giants live), Midgard (where mankind lives), Alfheim (elf world), Svartalfheim (dark elf world), Nidavellir (dwarves' world).
At least it would explain why Pao Pao is so obsessed with elves and dwarves, anyway.

Bah. Sorry. Rambling again. For some reason this kind of thing gets on my nerves, though.

So anyhow--wait. They're celebrating before the stone is even remade? How does that work? What if they fail and the stone isn't remade? What the hell are they celebrating for? You don't celebrate a game before you even win it, so how does that work?
...o that's right, because Eragon and Saphira are cool, and because they're just that good they're obviously going to accomplish in putting the stone back together. Everyone knows that, so they're getting drunk as skunks. Deus Ex Mechina, all right. Geez.

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

Logic is over here in California. Paolini is over there in New York. See, they're no where near each other and can't really get anywhere near each other.

[faded-enmity.livejournal.com]

Trondheim is the third largest city in Norway and was founded before 1000 A.D.

So, Paolini certainly was creative with that name (and many others, while I'm at it), wasn't he? Genius, replacing a single letter in common words and names to derive new ones.

[anarchicq.livejournal.com]

They all get drunk. Even Saphira.[...]It ends with Saphira and Eragon passing out.
PLEASE! Gorebash and Smirgol could TOTALLY drink you under the table, Saphira!

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

Saphira drank about four barrels worth of mead. Still...

[lccorp2.livejournal.com]

The problem I had with those two drinking was that Peter and Co. pretty much refused to pay, despite the two dragons having cleared out pretty much everything in the cellar. But then it was all right, the Innkeeper was fat and had thick lips and took a non-partisian approach, so he must have been EVIL and thus deserved to get shushed by the ogre!



Enough about Flight of Dragons, let's get back on topic. =/

[gjohnsonkoehn.livejournal.com]

Dwarf King tells Eragon that he can keep the armor that was given to him and Saphira.

...

They also bow down and kiss the ground by Saphira's feet

It's good to see that whole 'dwarves hate dragons!' thing really paid off, huh?

His "eyes grew mournful, deepening the surrounding lines that splayed like spokes on a wagon wheel"

So, they radiated out three hundred and sixty degrees around his eyes? That's a neat trick, considering the skin only wrinkles for, oh, five degrees on either side of the eye. Or was Paolini perhaps thinking of one of those oh so common two-spoked wagon wheels?

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

Yeah, well, it appears not to exist in the second book.

And this is just a lovely example of Paoini screwing around with words. Or raping them. I'm not sure.

[sonic-sues.livejournal.com]

You should keep a running tally of how many times Eragon faints.