Eldest part fourteen

[kippurbird]

Chapters Conviction, Repercussions

Summary

It seems that Paolini's way of introducing Roran's chapters after dealing with Eragon's is to begin them with a short sentence beginning with "Roran did something or another." It's almost as if Paolini is uncertain that we won't know who's POV we're in unless we get Roran's name right off. It's not like we wouldn't be able to tell by the change of scenery or the mention at someone else in Carvahall.

Roran is back in Horst's house. He's been patched up and is upset that the people didn't attack the soldiers as opposed to you know, saving themselves and not fighting with the Ra'zac and their giant Nazgul flying monster like things. Horst tells him that he can go and kill people when he's well.

Roran then broods. He thinks about how his family is dead or gone, his farm has been destroyed and his betrothed has been kidnapped. He wants to go after the Ra'zac but he doesn't know how to find them. And he can't leave the village either, because that would be abandoning his people. He cries a lot. More than a single tear too.

He then tries to think of what to do. He thinks and thinks. And decides well, he should go to the Varden. But he doesn't know where the Varden are. So, then there's always Sudra, which apparently everyone knows likes the Varden and not the king, even if it's a big secret. So, he comes up with the brilliant idea of taking everyone with him to Sudra. As he thinks, "Also by bringing the villagers to them, he would earn the Varden's confidence, so that they would trust him with the location of the Ra'zac. Maybe they can explain why Galbatorix is so desperate to capture me." (page248) Now while more bodies are good thing for, the Varden have been doing their thing for a long time. And it's not likely they'll want to trust Roran so quickly. And having all those people suddenly show up would cause problems. It's three hundred people that they suddenly have to take care of.

So, on the strength of his vision, Roran gets out of bed after nearly dying and bleeding the day before and staggers out. With one word, "come" he gathers people around him. For a moment Carvahall turns into a town, when Roran goes to "the center of town" (page 249) but then with the village all around him he starts getting very elegant in his speaking abilities. Really, Shakespearian actors should take notes from him.

When most of Carvahall stood before him, Roran fell silent, tightening his left fist until his fingernails cut into his palm. Katrina. Raising his hand, he opened it and showed it to everyone the crimson tears that dripped down his arm. "This," he said, "is my pain. Look well, for it will be yours unless we defeat the curse wanton fate has set upon us. Your friends and family will be bound in chains, destined for slavery in foreign lands, or slain before your eyes, hewn open by soldiers' merciless blades. Galbatorix will sow our land with salt so it lies forever fallow. This I have seen. This I know." He paced like a caged wolf, glowering and swinging his head. He had their attention. Now he had to stroke them into a frenzy to match his own.

"My father was killed by the desecrators. My cousin has fled. My farm was razed. And my bride-to-be was kidnapped by her own father, who murdered Byrd and betrayed us all! Quimby eaten, the hay barn burned along with Fisk's and Delwin's houses. Parr, Wyglif, Ged, Bardrick, Farold, Hale, Garner, Kelby, Melkof, Albem and Elmund: all slain. Many of you have been injured, like me, so that you can no longer support your family. Isn't it enough that we toil to the whims of nature? Isn't it enough that we are forced to pay Galbatorix's iron taxes, without having to endure these senseless torments?" Roran laughed manically, howling at the sky and hearing the madness in his own voice. No one stirred in the crowd.

Very stirring. Though, there are some problems with his speech. For starters, if you salt a field it's not going to lay fallow, it's going to be barren. A farmer, like Roran claims to be, should know that. Then the slavery in foreign lands. What foreign lands? Sudra? But Sudra is the good kingdom and probably doesn't have any slavery because its good. There's the land of the evil mountain, but that's part of the empire. Not really foreign land either. They don't appear to have any contact with anyone else, so Roran's just being overly dramatic here and stirring pots that shouldn't be stirred. And the iron taxes bit. They're part of a kingdom. They have to pay taxes. They should begrudge the king money to pay for an army that's been protecting their borders and letting them live in peace for a hundred years? The only wars have been with the Varden, who's attacked the kingdom and not the other way around. Then there's Roran laughing manically. Manically means insanity. Non stable. Not the sort of person you'd want to follow around and have lead you off away from your homes. No, maniacal laughter is usually reserved for the Evil Kings, not the Farm Boy Hero.

He talks some more, being very dramatic, about rather having his eyes plucked out and hands chopped off than seeing Galby triumph. He talks about the epics that will be sung of their village the only one that was brave enough to defy the Empire. Of course, my idea is that, if no one has protested this before then there probably isn't a problem with the empire or the king.

Then the culmination of Roran's speech,

Tears of pride flooded Roran's eyes. "What could be more noble than cleansing Galbatorix's stain from Alagesia? No more would we live in fear of having our farms destroyed, or being killed and eaten. The grain we harvest would be ours to keep, save for any extra that we might send as a gift to the rightful king. The rivers and streams would run thick with gold. We would be safe and happy and fat!

"It is our destiny."

(page 251)

What we have here is the Right of Kings. That is, the Right King will make everything Right. Because everyone knows that the Right King is always Right and Good. He's never a bad person because he's the one who's family was king and bloodline determines everything in making a good king. The Right King (who is not Galby) will never have taxes, abuse his power or have costly wars to land grab, he won't be power hungry or evil. He will be Good. Because he is the Right King. And everyone will be happy to serve him because he is the Right King. And the king will be happy to take what his people give him (as opposed to demanding it in taxes) because he is the Right King. It will be a golden age, much like the time before Galby because he is the Right King. (I'm not sure where the rivers running with gold comes from though. I know that kings can heal people with their toenails or something but making rivers run with gold is a new one for me. And isn't that a bad thing, rivers of gold? Because you can't really drink gold... I'm just saying.) This bothers me a lot. It's like an instant band aid. Have a problem? No worries, you've just got an Evil King. Get the Right King and everything will be fine! Being born of royal stock doesn't mean that you will be a good king. It just means that your ancestors were brutal enough to get into the top position and stay there.

But! Let us not forget that the blood of kings flows through those who live in Carvahall. Roran is obviously being set up as the Right King. He has the Right Ideas. He already has the kingly name of Stronghammer. He has the Right Ideas. And this is a Right Obvious Set Up. Paolini couldn't be any more blunter if he wrote in on Roran's forehead.

When Roran is done speaking, several other people come up and say, yeah, you know what, I don't like the idea, but I'm going to do it.

As Roran is walking back Hursts says that he could have convinced an Urgal to become a farmer. Another power of a king is mysterious charismatic speaking powers. Which Roran suddenly posses. So that's another check in the "he's going to be king" column.

The next chapter is pretty uneventful. People are getting ready to leave Carvahall. Roran kind of wanders around helping. Then he gets his shoulder looked at and Gertrude the healer makes this lovely comment, "Your family heals at the most extraordinary rate. I could hardly believe my eyes when Eragon started walking about after having his legs skinned and spending two days in bed." (page 257). Yes, it's been confirmed. Eragon is Wolverine in disguise.

Comments

[dergerm.livejournal.com]

Rivers Of Gold, eh? Hrm... Maybe it's not real gold but, er... Orange juice? But Rivers Of Orange Juice doesn't sound as good. Tastier, yes. Better? Meh.

Long live the kind who can bring forth Rivers Of Orange Juice!

Letter Grade: A, but that's the standard you have to live up to now.

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

Maybe it's rivers of urine? That's golden... right?

Yay! I got an A!

[dove-cg.livejournal.com]

Rivers of orange juice... eventually it would go rotten, eh? Oh well, it was a nice idea. :I

[wariena.livejournal.com]

Forgive me if I've missed something, but has the oh-so-evil Galby actually done anything so heinous as to warrant a rebellion? 'cause right now he's just being presented as your average ruler to me; I can't see his empire cracking at the seams. Seriously, even bloody Vetinari pisses people off sometimes.

(PS: Very, very long-time lurker. *waves* ^^)

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

As far as he's been presented, the only thing that makes Galby heinous is that he's Evil. And that he killed the dragon riders. But other than that. He's had a kingdom that's been stable for a hundred years and peoples biggest complaint is taxes.

*waves back*

[wayoffbase.livejournal.com]

Oh dear. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. This just keeps getting worse and worse, doesn't it?

Once in English we studied war poetry. There was one called Exposure, by Wilfred Owen. There was a line repeated in it 'but nothing happens'. That is, I think, the theme for this entire book.

Oh, and I have yet to figure out why exactly Galbatorix is evil. Apparently the only thing he did was kill all the Dragon Riders, and I'm pretty sure Brom says somewhere (way back at the beginning of Eragon) that they were getting arrogant and complacent in their position or something. So really, they deserved it. A good kick in the backside was exactly what they needed.

What we have here is the Right of Kings....top position and stay there.

I cannot possibly express in words how stupid these people are. A country needs taxes and all that jazz. Taxes pay for many things, but the most important at that point (that is, when Roran becomes the "Rightful King")would be the army. Other countries are going to see how weak they are and try to attack. Also, Galby's supporters will try to attack. They can't kill everyone, especially seeing as oh, I don't know, no one else in the whole kingdom has a problem with Galby.

Words cannot fully express my feelings, and so I give in.

*crawls away*

[wayoffbase.livejournal.com]

Oh. Wait. You say every Roran chapter starts with "Roran did something or another." Can the next one start with "And then Roran did die, for he was crushed under the weight of his own stupidity. His stupidity crushing him caused the most mighty of earthquakes, which then did travel thoughout the land, killing any with equal stupidity to Roran's. (Un)fortunately, this meant Paolini's whole main cast was now dead, and so the book ended. Oh deary me."? Pretty please?

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

There was a line repeated in it 'but nothing happens'. That is, I think, the theme for this entire book.

I think what Paolini is doing here is channeling Robert Jordan, who also goes on for pages at a time with nothing happening. Entire books pass with nothing happening. So, yes. This I believe is what is happening.

I cannot possibly express in words how stupid these people are. A country needs taxes and all that jazz. Taxes pay for many things, but the most important at that point (that is, when Roran becomes the "Rightful King")would be the army. Other countries are going to see how weak they are and try to attack. Also, Galby's supporters will try to attack. They can't kill everyone, especially seeing as oh, I don't know, no one else in the whole kingdom has a problem with Galby.


First of all the only neighboring countries are Sudra which is Good, the dwarves and the Elves. All of which hate Galby so they're not going to cause Roran any problems. As for Galby's supporters as soon as he's dead, it'll come to light that he was mind controlling them and they're thankful for being released and they're going to support the Right King.

This is obvious if you pay attention to the conventions. XD

[prototypical]

Roran's speech made me think about the president's long-winded cheesiness in Independence Day, which I am far too lazy to look up right now. Both were pompous and full of almost every imagineable cliche.

Maniacal laughter makes him Evil. So there will not be a Good King. Sorry, stupid people, your destined leader doesn't appear to be much better than the guy you've got in charge now. In fact he sounds worse.

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

Roran will make a good king because Paolini deems it so, despite what logic and reason say. *pats* Sorry.

[dryaunda.livejournal.com]

Good morning. In less than one hour planes from here and all around the world will launch the largest aerial battle in the history of mankind... Mankind. The word has new meaning for all of us now. We are reminded not of our petty differences but of our common interests.

Perhaps it's fate that today, July the Fourth, we will once again fight for our freedom. Not from tyranny, persecution or oppression. But from annihilation. We're fighting for our right to live, to exit. From this day on, the fourth day of July will no longer be remembered as an American holiday but as the day that all of mankind declared we will not go quietly into the night. We will not vanish without a fight. We will live on. We will survive.

Pres. Whitmore's speech was actually better.

[jacedraccus.livejournal.com]

Don't you just love how conveniently nobody thinks of the supposedly-barbarous Urgals, and how the King is supposed to be keeping them out?It's not like anyone in Carvahall has any reason to think different. But if they're safe and happy and fat, they'll be a tempting target for urgals.

Too bad everyone in the book is as dumb as a doorstop.

And Roran's speech... ugh. He seems so damn unhinged. We're seriously expected to believe this guy, with the manic laughing and the head bobbing, is a credible inspiration for the people? Once again, Paolini forces his square Plot into a round Story.

You know, if I was inclined to give Paolini any credit, I'd think the healer's remark was a bit of self-referential humor, like he's actually aware of how deeply flawed his work is. But I'm not, so I don't.

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

Well, they have more important things to worry about than Urgals. I'm not sure what, but I'm sure it's there.

Of course Roran is a credible inspiration for the people. They're afraid if they don't do what he says he'll kill them all. XD

I just kinda stared at that line when I saw it and went "oh, no... he didn't"

Tolkien plagiarism -- yet again

[frodo-harry.livejournal.com]

hi everyone

Well the River runns with gold is nothing new. He plagiarized
it form Tolkien. It is a quote form The Hobbit. the King under the mountain.
The Mountain King's Return

The king beneath the mountains
The king of carven stone
The lord of silver fountains
Shall come into his own!

His crown shall be upholden
His harp shall be restrung
His halls shall echo golden
To songs of yore resung

The woods shall wave on mountains
And grass beneath the sun
His wealth shall flow in fountains
And rivers golden run

The streams shall run in gladness
The lakes shall shine and burn
All sorrow fail and sadness
At mountains king's return

I always loved that song.

Another thing that was stolen, is the Right King thing. Aragorn for example is a Right King, but Tolkien pulls it off masterfully. It was there in Beowolf if I remember right.

Evil laughter, dude you need to check your sources. wvil manic luaghter si reserved for the EVIL dude get it.

I loved your spork as always.

Frodo

Re: Tolkien plagiarism -- yet again

[berseker.livejournal.com]

May I just say that Tolkien´s poetry is slightly better than Paolini's? Ok? Thank you. ^_^

Going back to my corner now.

[berseker.livejournal.com]

Well...

...was anyone else cringing at his speech? I swear it's embarassing.

"Galbatorix will sow our land with salt so it lies forever fallow. This I have seen. This I know."

Oh, rly? When? How?

He paced like a caged wolf, glowering and swinging his head. He had their attention. Now he had to stroke them into a frenzy to match his own

He was stroking the whole village. This made me giggle. But I´m silly like that. ^_^


And he mentioned Quimby. And a bunch of other guys too, but still. Is anyone counting?

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry, but do you actually expect Roran to be giving proof as to how he knows these things? It's not as dramatic that way.

Almost as good as Eragon's hot hammer.

That's two mentions of Quimby.

[(Anonymous)]

Hi, I'm a lurker. I love your sporks, by the way.

When I read Eldest, when they talked about the human king who attacked the (much more powerful) elves and dragons, I took it to mean that the king was at least a bit insane. Then, through most of the Roran's POV chapters, I assumed that the king's insanity was hereditary and Roran was supposed to come off as a nutcase.
Now I'm thinking that I was giving Paolini WAY too much credit.

Also, I was going to say something about "the rivers running with gold" coming from The Hobbit, but someone beat me to it.

*returns to lurking*

~Phantomfox

*waves to lurker*

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

You are giving Paolini too much credit. While the insanity maybe hereditary, really what he's trying to do is set Roran up as the rightful ruler of the land. Everything else is inconsequential.

[-youngblood-.livejournal.com]

If Eragon is Wolverine in disguise, does that mean I am hopelessly sexually attracted to Eragon? *spasms at the very thought*

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

No because this Eragon is like Albert that robot Wolverine.

[anarchicq.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's been confirmed. Eragon is Wolverine in disguise.
I TOLD YOU!!!! WAY back when he wanted the knuckle claws I TOLD YOU!!!
I WAS RIGHT!!!
FUCK YOU PAOLINI!

This calls for my Marvel comic icon.

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

Four punctuation marks! Be careful you're heading into disturbed mind territory.

[thelittlebudgie.livejournal.com]

Wow. I completely missed the whole "Roran=King!" bit. Perhaps because I was thinking that Roran couldn't lead a river downstream, much less a country.

Even a golden river. (Which, really, would be lousy for the crops.)

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

Of course Roran is going to be king. He's descended from kings and that's all you need to become the Right King. Had Galby been descended from kings he too would have been the Right King.

[the7bells.livejournal.com]

I was going to leave a comment to a comment but I can't find it any more. Maybe I imagined it. Anyways, it was about how Galby just got rid of cocky Dragon Riders.

I want to say if they were ANYTHING like Eragon, I support him x100000000000000000000. I mean seriously, the thought of more Eragons makes my flesh crawl.

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

I think that was in the last post. XD

But yes. Really. I haven't seen anything that Galby has done wrong.

[gjohnsonkoehn.livejournal.com]

"Also by bringing the villagers to them, he would earn the Varden's confidence

Because of course, a revolutionary group loves nothing more than to have three hundred united strangers just suddenly show up on their doorstep and oh, yes, of course they want to revolt against the kind! Can you say, infiltration by fifth column? I knew you could.

Roran fell silent, tightening his left fist until his fingernails cut into his palm

How the hell long are this boy's fingernails? I mean, I can put some crescent marks on my palm if I squeeze tight, but actually breaking the skin? And breaking it enough that it's going to bleed sufficiently to make a showy point to an entire assembled village? Hah, not hardly!

"My father was killed by the desecrators.

Desecrators? Que?

Parr, Wyglif, Ged, Bardrick, Farold, Hale, Garner, Kelby, Melkof, Albem and Elmund: all slain. Many of you have been injured, like me, so that you can no longer support your family. Isn't it enough that we toil to the whims of nature? Isn't it enough that we are forced to pay Galbatorix's iron taxes, without having to endure these senseless torments?"

These would, of course, be the 'senseless' torments a small group brought down on the entire village by rebelling against the ruler and attacking his army, no? The 'senseless' torments that at least one villager actually complained openly about, and was called a coward over? The 'senseless' torments that the king really has no choice but to mete out when a village rebels against his rule?

Yeah. 'Senseless'. *rolls eyes*

No more would we live in fear of having our farms destroyed, or being killed and eaten.

I'm sorry, is this a regular thing? As far as I can see Joe McGuffin over there was the first guy to be killed and eaten in Carvahall in, oh, a century. It's not like this is an omnipresent fear, as far as we can see.

The grain we harvest would be ours to keep, save for any extra that we might send as a gift to the rightful king.

I hope the king's a good farmer in his own right, then, because given a choice between giving away grain to the king and selling it to a village having a meaner harvest, it's kind of a no-brainer what the vast super-majority of farmers would decide upon. A guy could starve waiting on the generosity of the subsistence-level peasant farmers.

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

How the hell long are this boy's fingernails? I mean, I can put some crescent marks on my palm if I squeeze tight, but actually breaking the skin? And breaking it enough that it's going to bleed sufficiently to make a showy point to an entire assembled village? Hah, not hardly

Unless Roran is one of those pretty boys who do their nails... I don't see it either.

Desecrators? Que? The Ra'zac, of course.

These would, of course, be the 'senseless' torments a small group brought down on the entire village by rebelling against the ruler and attacking his army, no? The 'senseless' torments that at least one villager actually complained openly about, and was called a coward over? The 'senseless' torments that the king really has no choice but to mete out when a village rebels against his rule?

Yeah. 'Senseless'. *rolls eyes*

Well, as the poor villagers they are automatically the underdog and everything they do is automatically right because they're being oppressed.

I'm sorry, is this a regular thing? As far as I can see Joe McGuffin over there was the first guy to be killed and eaten in Carvahall in, oh, a century. It's not like this is an omnipresent fear, as far as we can see.

Well... I think some people may have been eaten by wolves or bears in the Spine... but other than that, couldn't tell you.

I hope the king's a good farmer in his own right, then, because given a choice between giving away grain to the king and selling it to a village having a meaner harvest, it's kind of a no-brainer what the vast super-majority of farmers would decide upon. A guy could starve waiting on the generosity of the subsistence-level peasant farmers.

But with the Right King, every harvest will be plentiful and they'll never go hungry again. It'll all be rainbow pissing rabbits and gold flowing rivers. Like will be Good under the Right King.

[karma-kalisutah.livejournal.com]

Roran laughs maniacally. Paolini uses the word "madness." To describe Roran. Who is Eragon's clone.

If that came up in the Redux, I'd strike it for heavy-handedness. There is no way Paolini could not have known that this would make Roran come off as mentally unstable. He used a synonym for mentally unstable.

Am I the only one who's starting to get the feeling that maybe we've been had? Because if not, this goes beyond rhetorical and narrative sloppiness. We'll have to invent a whole new term for it.

[dove-cg.livejournal.com]

I don't know. I can't imagine that Paolini is truly bright enough to make his heroes into the villains, at the end. I think that Paolini thought it would be super cool for Roran to seem as if he'd been pushed to the limit... or something. ;P

He clearly has no idea how to write a villain or a hero. And he can't write characterization into anyone else. I think he just enjoys drama over everything else.

But it's possible. Just unlikely. XD

I dub the Pao-Pao usage as "It seemed good at the time."

[dove-cg.livejournal.com]

Rather than restating everything else that others brought up, I'd just like to say that it REALLY annoys me when Paolini brings in a string of names for people we never really met.

Parr, Wyglif, Ged, Bardrick, Farold, Hale, Garner, Kelby, Melkof, Albem and Elmund: all slain.

And what reader really gives a damn? It's just a list. And a rather mishmash one at that. The same for when he named those dwarf bodyguards. Meh. ;P

Incidentally, even when Roran is being written so horribly bad, he's still MORE BORING than Eragon! If Roran had been entirely normal and no one was stirring up shit in the village, this would've been far more interesting. If Roran had at least been on the 'uber' level of exploring and a list of capabilities as Eragon is, then he might've been more interesting. But as it stands, he's just some lump in the middle. He's not bad-ass enough to do anything truly big or fantastic and he's not normal enough to be farming or selling or traveling with a caravan to a larger city. Normally I'd be fine with such a level but when half the people in the book can do bad-ass shit, Roran sucks in comparison.

Hence why I think Paolini snuck in the line about healing. Not only to make Eragon more awesome but to try and up the nifty factor with Roran. Meh. :I

[bee-in-a-garden.livejournal.com]

Ged is dead?? Nooooo!!

You just know that was done on purpose. Paolini borrowed his ancient language/true name based magic from Earthsea...and so, when Ged inevitably began hunting down his "characters" Eragon and Roran, he had to kill him off. What terrible news! *cries*

[sonic-sues.livejournal.com]

Raising his hand, he opened it and showed it to everyone the crimson tears that dripped down his arm.

Crimson tears? That sounds like something from some bad goth poetry.

And I agree with all the people who said that Roran is creepy.