{"id":379,"date":"2011-06-13T07:00:17","date_gmt":"2011-06-13T14:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=379"},"modified":"2011-06-12T23:34:34","modified_gmt":"2011-06-13T06:34:34","slug":"mark-reads-the-golden-compass-chapter-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2011\/06\/mark-reads-the-golden-compass-chapter-13\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Reads &#8216;The Golden Compass&#8217;: Chapter 13"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><!-- p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} -->In the thirteenth chapter of <em>The Golden Compass<\/em>, everyone is forced to deal with learning what <em>intercision<\/em> is and what the Gobblers are doing in Bolvangar. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read <em>The Golden Compass<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><!--more-->Despite that it might not feel any different for all of you, I am back! My fourth outing on the AIDS\/LifeCycle was a wonderful success, as I had my quickest riding time almost every single day and I raised over $3,400 for essential services for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. Again, thanks to all of you for the help, the promotion, and any of the money you donated. I already signed up for ALC 11, which takes place next summer, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be sure to keep you all in the know when fundraising opens up this winter.<\/p>\n<p>It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been weird to be \u00e2\u20ac\u0153away\u00e2\u20ac\u009d from the Internet for eight days straight because so much of it consumes my life. I won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t lie, though: it was rather nice to not have to be online or texting or on the phone or reading email and just riding my bike for seven days straight. At the same time, I am <em>fucking exhausted<\/em>. I always forget how emotionally and physically overwhelming this ride is, despite having now ventured from San Francisco to Los Angeles four times. (It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ok; it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still an absurd concept to me, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve done it.) I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m already starting to miss the weird bubble of a community that the ride creates out of nothing and that lasts seven days, but I am also very, very happy to return to all of you. I HAVE SO MANY COMMENTS TO CATCH UP ON.<\/p>\n<p>But seriously, <strong>seriously<em>, <\/em><\/strong>I could not have left off on a <em>worse<\/em> part of this book than ending at chapter twelve and sticking to my plan not to read ahead or write while on the AIDS ride. And I did it! And it was <strong>VERY PAINFUL AND TORTUROUS<\/strong> because <em>WHY THE FUCK ARE THE GOBBLERS CUTTING AWAY D\u00c3\u2020MONS <\/em><strong><em>HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>So, suffice to say: I am so unbearably excited to continue reading. Shall we?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>CHAPTER THIRTEEN: FENCING<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Pullman has no qualms about taking us to an incredibly, wholly grim place and keeping us there, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still shocking and jarring to me how <em>dark<\/em> this book has gotten in terms of what we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re dealing with. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one of those things that, in hindsight, <em>does<\/em> seem sort of obvious: How many times was I told how important d\u00c3\u00a6mons were? How weird it was not to have one? How painful it was to experience even the slightest physical distance from one? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s almost like it was all spelled out for me in terms of what the definition of <em>intercision<\/em> was. I knew all along, but I had not thought about it once.<\/p>\n<p>But what Pullman chooses to do with Lyra is to not only refuse to ignore the fact that this very notion of being physically removed from your d\u00c3\u00a6mon is actually <em>repulsive<\/em>, but that Lyra possesses a heart so wide and so desperate to love that she can put aside what seems to be a perfectly natural reaction to what she witnesses here with poor little Tony Makarios. Even right from the start, as Tony mutters constantly about his \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Ratter,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d completely unable to accept that what has happened to him is even really <em>possible<\/em>, Lyra is quick to comfort him. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s totally shocked by the horror of the process, even having to step out of that shed to collect herself, but she moves quickly to get Tony out of this place and back to the gyptians. What I love about Lyra\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s reaction is that she immediately feels this desire to protect Tony in a way, both because she understands that what was done to him was awful, but also because she knows the people of this small town have <em>not<\/em> come to his aid, that they just reacted with disgust and left it at that. Tony is already alone without his d\u00c3\u00a6mon, and now he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be alone in the world if there isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t someone to care for him.<\/p>\n<p>So she makes it a point to do what she can to make him feel loved and cared for, even if it is superficial when compared to the companionship of one\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s d\u00c3\u00a6mon. She flares up with anger when the same local villager who pointed out the location of the child demands payment for the fish that Tony is now clutching to, his only physical companion at the moment. (Seriously, what a gut-wrenching mental image.) She climbs up on Iorek\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s back with Tony to ride with him back to the gyptians, and she makes the choice to accept this child as he is:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>In Lyra\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s heart, revulsion struggled with compassion, and compassion won. She put her arms around the skin little form to hold him safe.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Love you, Lyra.<\/p>\n<p>What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also great about this is that I get the sense that Iorek understands the severity of this situation and the immense compassion that Lyra <em>does<\/em> show for taking this boy back with them. When they arrive back to the gyptians, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clear that these men cannot believe what Lyra has brought back, and even John Faa is terrified of what he sees. As no one aside from Faa steps forward to help, Iorek speaks angrily to the crowd:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Shame on you! Think what this child has done! You might not have more courage, but you should be ashamed to show less.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>RIGHT? Now I know that Iorek, by his very nature, seems to be pretty emotionally closed off. As we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll learn later, his past is marred by violence and an act of brutality that got him exiled from the Svalbard bears. He seems content to merely do as he is told, to drown his memories with alcohol, and to now be free of the work he was doing before. But he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still so distant from Lyra. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m wondering if there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to be a point in the future (and maybe not even in this book) where the two of them will get the chance to grow closer.<\/p>\n<p>Still, for now, everyone must deal with the confirmation that the Oblation Board \/ The Gobblers are for some unknown reason cutting children away from their d\u00c3\u00a6mons. I cannot possibly guess as to the reason why, nor how this relates to Dust or why this is being done in Bolvangar either. THIS IS ALL VERY CONFUSING TO ME. And I can tell it is not only confusing to Lyra, but exhausting, too. As John Faa takes Tony away, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s difficult for her to do anything at this point but fall asleep. She awakes the next morning, realizing she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d not told Farder Coram about the exodus of witches, and as she spots him outside, anxious to share this and how she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d misunderstood the altheiometer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s previous reading, he stops her short: Tony has died.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153He couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t settle, he couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t stay in one place; he kept asking after his d\u00c3\u00a6mon, where she was, was she a coming soon, and all; and he kept such a tight hold on that bare old piece of fish as if&#8230;Oh, I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t speak of it, child; but he closed his eyes finally and fell still, and that was the first time he looked peaceful, for he was like any other dead person then, with their d\u00c3\u00a6mon gone in the course of nature.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Oh, hell, that is so depressing. A question, though: Where do d\u00c3\u00a6mons go when a person dies? Do they disappear too? Hmmm.<\/p>\n<p>Lyra, overcome with the sadness of it all, tells Farder Coram she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d like to see Tony\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s body one last time before he is created, and Coram obliges. His silent, lonely body lay under a checkered blanket and she pulls Pantalaimon close to her at the very thought of him being forcibly taken away from her, knowing that in the end, all this boy had was a piece of fish. She realizes that this specific fish that he had picked up in the shack is gone, and in a moment, she flies into a rage about it. These men do not understand what that meant to him, and she knows it was all he had in his final moments. As she confronts the men and one grins as if this is all just a childish joke, she snaps. And it really is yet another example of the core moral system that operates within Lyra, something that Pullman has built into Lyra, who is not a perfect character herself, but one who, like the alethiometer, can still read situations like a gauge, ascertaining what is right and wrong, and these ethics she naturally possesses tell her that taking this poor boy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fish is wrong. Unfortunately, one of the men has already fed the fish to his dog, so she does what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s left for her to do: She honors Tony like those Jordan Scholars buried deep beneath the school, placing a golden coin with the name of his d\u00c3\u00a6mon in his mouth.<\/p>\n<p>I know I am honestly a broken record at this point, but <em>I remember absolutely none of this during the movie. <\/em>How the <em>hell<\/em> do you fuck up such evocative and beautiful imagery? This is such a fantastic way to have Lyra deal with both death and <em>intercision<\/em> in a way that only she can, and WHY WOULDN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T YOU FILM THIS <em>IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S BASICALLY WRITTEN PERFECTLY ALREADY<\/em>. Oh god OH GOD THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD.<\/p>\n<p>There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s now an impossible sense of dread draped over the book at this point, and the gyptian crew pushes forward into an unknown that must surely be terrible. If <em>this<\/em>&#8211;the revelation of what the Gobblers are doing&#8211;is this early into the book, then <em>surely<\/em> we are dealing with a horror much worse than what we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve already been given. Farder Coram\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s insistence that there are many things which concern the witches that could explain their mass flying doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make me feel any better, and the violent, terrifying weather that the group faces certainly doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t either.<\/p>\n<p>Parallel to this, Lyra\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s thoughts wander back to the spy-fly that Mrs. Coulter had sent after her, something I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d definitely forgotten about. While I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t figure out what the hell they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re supposed to do with it, it does give Pullman a chance to further explore the relationship between Iorek and Lyra. As I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d wondered earlier in the chapter, I couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help but think about how these two would continue to interact with each other, and the following scene (referenced by the chapter\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s title) does not really make things easier to predict.<\/p>\n<p>Lyra goes to Iorek to help construct two identical tins so that she can keep the spy-fly on her own person instead of with Farder Coram. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not really sure this is a good idea, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m also not sure this is a <em>bad<\/em> idea either. For the time being, though, it is a chance to see just how skilled Iorek is with metal. It just comes natural to him and, within just a few moments, he is able to produce the exact tins that Lyra requests, despite that both are much, much smaller than just <em>one<\/em> of his paws. WHAT! <em>That is amazing<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>After this is done, Lyra begins to question Iorek about being an armored bear and his lack of a d\u00c3\u00a6mon, and I love Iorek\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s succinct answer:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153So I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know what lonely means either. Bears are made to be solitary.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>I do believe Iorek when he says this, but when Lyra presses him further about his past as a Svalbard bear, I get a sense that there <em>is<\/em> something missing. We learn that he was exiled by the Svalbard bears because in a moment of anger, he killed another bear. And while Iorek probably doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t understand loneliness in the same way Lyra does, I do feel that the way he talked about his armor before and the way he talks about the bears now suggests he misses <em>that<\/em>, that perhaps his camaraderie or community is something he wishes he were a part of.<\/p>\n<p>There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a lot here that feels like bits and pieces of what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s to come, too. Lyra gets the idea of traveling to rescue her father via balloon, though it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just an idea at this point. She also learns the name of the king of the bears: Iofur Raknison. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the same name she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d heard wayyyyyyyyy back in chapter two from the Palmerian Professor, and while she cannot remember what he said, I believe that <em>I<\/em> remember: Didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the Professor say that Iofur Raknison wanted a d\u00c3\u00a6mon??? WHICH IS NOT POSSIBLE I BELIEVE. Hmmm.<\/p>\n<p>At this point, a whole collection of ridiculous ideas are brewing in Lyra\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s head, and now she starts to convince herself that if the bears could not be defeated, perhaps they could be <em>tricked<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Iorek insists this is impossible, and offers up Lyra the chance to trick him by fencing with him. While she initially doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t take it seriously, as she tries to stick him just once, she becomes more and more frustrated at his ability to seemingly predict and anticipate nearly every single one of her acts. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s certainly one of the <em>strangest<\/em> scenes in the book, and it demonstrates just how different Iorek is from Lyra. But he thinks that it also shows how they are similar: Bears can read human fighters as Lyra, a child, can read the alethiometer.<\/p>\n<p>Ugh. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m at that point in the story where I feel like I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been given so many of the pieces, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m lacking all the important ones to put this together properly. As I try to figure out Iorek and why Lyra is so good at the alethiometer, Lyra\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s conversation with Lee Scoresby (who is leaving to use his balloon to spy on Bolvangar) makes things all the more confusing. She (sort of) pitches her idea of flying to Svalbard, but Lee is quick to shoot it down. He does say that it is <em>possible<\/em> to carry Iorek in the balloon, since he did it before when he was captured by the Tartars. And it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s here that we get a bit of a cultural lesson from Lee about the Tartars, proving that what we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d known before was completely misunderstood: They give <em>each other<\/em> the holes in their skulls, not as an act of violence, but one of PRIVILEGE AND RESPECT.<\/p>\n<p>So. OK. Why the hell did Lord Asriel lie to the Scholars? Is Grumman dead or not? <em>what the hell is going on<\/em><\/p>\n<p>MUST READ FURTHER.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the thirteenth chapter of The Golden Compass, everyone is forced to deal with learning what intercision is and what the Gobblers are doing in Bolvangar. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read The Golden Compass.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48,57],"tags":[23,60,62,61],"class_list":["post-379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-his-dark-materials","category-the-golden-compass","tag-mark-reads","tag-mark-reads-the-golden-compass","tag-philip-pullman","tag-religion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=379"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<!-- WP Super Cache is installed but broken. 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