Puddleglum, Hero or wet blanket? |
 Jan 30 2009, 09:07 AM
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The Other Half of the DDD  Posts: 4,946 Joined: 10:10am March 16, 2007 Location: Marauding with Moony, Padfoot and Prongs   |
In The Silver Chair we meet a Marsh-wiggle, by the name of Puddleglum. Marsh-wiggles are known for their generally pessimistic view on life, always expecting the worst to happen, and are fond of privacy, so their wigwam homes are a good distance from each other.
Puddleglum is described as having "...a long thin face with rather sunken cheeks, a tightly shut mouth, a sharp nose and no beard. He was wearing a high, pointed hat like a steeple, with an enormously wide flat brim. The hair, if it could be called hair, which hung over his large ears was greeny-grey, and each lock was flat rather than round, so that they were like tiny reeds. His expression was solemn, his complexion muddy, and you could see at once that he took a serious view of life." A serious view of life is perhaps an understatement, yet he agrees to accompany Jill and Eustace on their quest to find Prince Rilian because the other Marsh-wiggles claim that he is too flighty, and needs to learn that there is more to life than "fricasseed frogs and eel pie." Jill and Eustace's first impression of him is that he is "a wet blanket". He is always voicing the worst possible scenarios but tries to "put a bold face on it" and assumes that everyone else does the same. For the most part of their adventure, the children take very little notice of Puddleglum's advice, pointing out that he is always expecting the worst, and is always wrong. However, he is never unwavering with his courage and his loyalty to Aslan. It is he who reminds the children to trust Aslan's Signs, even when it appears they are wrong, he who tells the children that they must cut loose the raving Prince Rilian from the bonds that hold him to the Silver Chair, whatever the consequences. And it was Puddleglum who was able to resist the Lady of the Green Kirtle's enchantment to make them forget that Narnia existed, by stamping out her magical fire with his bare foot, thus breaking the enchantment. "I'm on Aslan's side even if there isn't any Aslan to lead it. I'm going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn't any Narnia!" Here are some questions for you to think about. What was your first impression of Puddleglum? Did you agree with Jill and Eustace's opinion that he was a "wet blanket", or did you think there was more to him than first meets the eye? What about when the children kept ignoring Puddleglum's advice? Did you think they were right to do so, because he was always looking for the worst in everything, or did you believe that under the circumstances, Puddleglum was behaving reasonably? What was your reaction when Puddleglum resisted the Lady of the Green Kirtle's enchantment and stamped out her fire? Were you shocked that he was courageous enough to take such action or were you not surprised by his sudden acts of bravery by that point in the story? Feel free to answer as many questions as you'd like, and you are more than welcome to add your own ideas and questions to the discussion, as we talk about this rather unconventional hero. This post has been edited by SnapesSister: Jan 30 2009, 03:02 PM -------------------- |
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thing after another, followed by death--and that may not be the end of your troubles.
Puddleglum. (Though he could do with a cheering charm on him...)
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