Truth

Blog Fantasy
Post 21 - The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

Comparison of The Golden Compass to the first two books of the Lord of the Rings:

In the book titled, The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman, the protagonist, Laura, lives in a world that is full of lies and deceit. Similarly, the world that is portrayed in The Lord of the Rings (Middle Earth) is full of lies and deceit. This was the topic covered in the last post. Another factor that these two Fantasy Worlds have in common are: Truth. The world of The Golden Compass is similar to Middle Earth in regards to truth because their protagonists look for it. In The Hobbit, by JRR Tolkien, Bilbo heads towards the cave of Smaug in search of the truthful answer to the question: what happen to Thorin’s great treasures? Correspondingly, in The Fellowship of the Ring, also by JRR Tolkien, the protagonist, Frodo Baggins, searches for the truth of the nature of his ring of power. He later finds out that his ring has evil origins. In the same way, in The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman, the protagonist, Laura, is in search of a truth that will cause political outrage and religious conflict. In all books, the protagonists are in search of Truth.

Why is one drawn to Fantasy Worlds? What properties or qualities do these worlds posses that make them so captivating to one?

Perhaps, one of the properties that Fantasy Worlds posses that make them so appealing is the idea that Fantasy Worlds contain: Truth. In the book titled, The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman, the protagonist, Laura, is destined to be a great explorer. As an explorer, Laura is prophesized to find many things: new things, strange things, and inconveniently true things. These inconvenient true things are declared as “heresy” (28) by the theocratic universities and scholars. This Truth and quest to find it inspires Laura to go on looking for them, despite great opposition. This Truth is an interesting and captivation characteristic of the Fantasy World in The Golden Compass because it keeps the reader in suspense, like an indefinite length of time in suspended animation. This factor is necessary for Fantasy Worlds because it intrigues the reader and adds value as well as drama to the world.

A Fantasy World that has Truth, therefore, is a truthfully captivating world.