Journey Through the First Year

The good: I loved the battle scenes in Eragon.  During a time when Twilight and happy endings are a draw to many fantasy readers, this book contains death and loss.  The death of a main character, albeit sad, reminds the reader of the importance of the fight or war.  It gives meaning to the fight and reminds us what’s worth dying for.  Ultimately, it makes the characterization and theme stronger within the text, making it more memorable.

The bad: I did not like that there were not any strong female leads.  Ayra the elf of course is present towards the end of the book but I felt like her character was there simply to provide Eragon with the hero status of saving her.  I also felt like, as of this book, she is only there to be Eragon’s romantic interest.  I also found myself drifting away in thought during the pages-long descriptions of the setting.  I realize this takes place in a fantasy land so details are important, however, I felt the abundance of details were a distraction and often times left me more confused.  Finally, overall I thought the characters and setting resembled Lord of the Rings too much.  For being such a young author at the time of this book’s creation, Paolini is obviously an extremely gifted writer, so I expected more originality on his part.

The bottom line: I have a desire to finish the series and look into the supposed fourth book that is coming soon.  However, unlike so many other fantasy series that have become addicted to, that desire is not strong enough to send me running to the library rather than write this post.  So read these books I will, but I definitely can’t say when.

Eragon, the main character of the book with the same namesake is a strong male character in literature.  I say this not because I think he is necessarily memorable or represents some moral standard, but simply because he represents so many of the males I see day in and out in my English class.

So many of his characteristics represent the same qualities males, especially freshmen, exude in high school.  He has a temper that can be set off on the drop of dime.  He loves learning new things; when the topic is something he is interested in.  He is not afraid of a challenge, no matter the cost or the enemy; and of course, he is a smart-aleck.

What I like the most about this character though, is that he is not searching to be a hero figure.  Sure circumstances and luck eventually turn him into one, but from the beginning he simply yearns for a normal life.  He wants his country to be run by someone who is fair and just, but not him.  He wants his people to be safe, but only fights when forced into it. 

I think these are redeeming qualities in a character, especially in today’s society where violence encompasses the media surrounding male students.

One of the books I have added to my summer reading list (that I have actually begun early) is Eragon by Christopher Paolini.  I have had a love affair with the fantasy genre ever since Harry Potter and HIS Dark Materials, so it seemed natural to begin my journey through young adult literature with another fantasy series.

This particular series was introduced to me by a couple of my freshmen students who also share my love of fantasy.  As many of them embark on a journey through  The Lord of the Rings, I shall conquer the story of Eragon, a young man who happens upon a dragon.

One of my greatest challenges in reading the Lord of the Rings series was developing mental images of the numerous fantasy characters depicted in the novels.  I am currently experiencing this challenge with Eragon.  It is difficult to picture exactly what a Shade or Urgal is and I wonder if I am mirroring them after what I know from LR or if I am truly understanding the descriptions of each character.

I am about a quarter of the way through the first book and I feel extremely bogged down by setting and character details; although, I would argue this happens a lot with the fantasy genre.  As I begin to establish a clearer view of this new world, I am enjoying the book more, but it has definitely been a slow start.