"The book is a film that takes place in the mind of the reader." ~ Paulo Coelho

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

The Silver Chair Read-Along: Part II

Hello, all you Narnia fans!
Today I am participating in week 2 of Amber at Seasons of Humility's The Silver Chair Read-Along! Last week was so much fun, so I am here once again, even though I am almost a week behind.
It is the fourth (not sixth!) book in The Chronicles of Narnia.
To read Amber's thoughts on this week, click HERE.

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't read The Silver Chair, do not read any more!

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair ~ Chapters 7-11
Discussion Format: your favorite quotes, general impressions, and four questions to answer for each week's reading
Favorite Quotes:

'The three travellers scrambled to their feet and joined hands. One wanted the touch of a friend's hand at a moment like that.'

'And a smell of all sweet smelling things there are, filled the room.'

'However tired you are, it takes some nerve to walk up to a giant's front door.' (As I said, fear...)

General Impressions:

Okay, I just want to quickly mention Puddleglum. He has really progressed! He still is the Marsh-Wiggle we all love, but I think he has learned a lot. He still has caution and doesn't get his hopes up, but he knows when the others need to be encouraged. This is one of my favorite parts with him:
"'Steady, Pole,' said Puddleglum. 'Those big fellows wouldn't be crawling in there if it didn't get wider later on. And there's one thing about this underground work, we shan't get any rain.'"
It just makes me so happy! He is so positive. Even Eustace and Jill think he is not too bad!
"'I say,' whispered Scrubb to Jill. 'He may be a wet blanket, but he's got plenty of pluck---and cheek.'"
Then, here is the Puddleglum that we are used to.
'"It's hardly what I'd call a Chance," said the Marsh-Wiggle. "But it's all the chance we're likely to get."'

One of the scenes that has made a big impression on me from these chapters is right after they figure out that they had messed everything up. The way things had been going and the way they had acted this whole time, you can very well expect them to blame each other. I can understand that. I don't think I would have been any better.

But, they don't blame each other. They all start apologizing, and taking the blame on themselves. They say such things as:

"It's my fault."
"I'm worse."
"You're the only one who isn't to blame."
"Didn't try hard enough, though."

Eustace puts this the best when Jill suggests that there is some mistake: "So likely, isn't it? No. We must own up."

This character growth is so excellent! They all acknowledged that they each had did something wrong, not one of them is perfect. Do they despair at this? Do they give up?

No. They make a new plan and keep going.

Wouldn't it be great if we could all "own up" to our own faults? I know I would be better if I did. But it's hard. It's really, really, hard. We just have to aim to be like Eustace, Jill, and Puddleglum.


Discussion Questions:

1. Which character's journey/growth resonates with you the most so far? Do you relate more to Eustace, Jill, or Puddleglum—or perhaps Prince Rilian?

Remember how last week I was saying that I couldn't really relate to Jill? Well, I spoke too soon. She is probably the person I relate to the most this time! I feel like this almost every day:

'Puddleglum's question annoyed her because, deep down inside her, she was already annoyed with herself for not knowing the Lion's lesson quite so well as she ought to have known it.'

I can only strive to be better and improve myself like she improved herself!


2. Did you find yourself liking the giants at any point in these chapters, or did they seem like villains to you from the beginning?

Well, having read this before, no. At the beginning I think of them as, my sister's favorite word for describing sort of villains, "slimy".


3. Which moment in these chapters made you feel the most emotion, be it frustration, relief, aversion, eagerness, or happiness?

I always feel some mystery/suspense when I read about their trip underground. I am always hanging on to every word! I love C.S.Lewis's descriptions:

'It was full of a dim, drowsy radiance,..."

'It was very sad, but with a quiet sort of sadness like soft music.'

'It was a dark, flat voice---almost, if you know what that means, a pitch black voice.'



4. What are your first impressions after meeting Prince Rilian and seeing the role of the silver chair in the story? If you've read the book before, do you remember what you felt when you read chapter 11 and discovered the truth about the Black Knight?

I was so surprised! I honestly didn't see it coming. I remember reading along, fully into it, then just sitting there dazed for a minute once a read who he was!



Thank you so much to Amber for hosting this! I am having so much fun rereading this!

Have you read this? Any thoughts on my thoughts? Thanks for reading!

MovieCritic

6 comments:

  1. Great post MC! I love all of your thoughts on the reading for the week. I so enjoyed the whole read-along. Honestly, if it is one or two or more of us reading along together it is fun to discuss don't you think? I really liked what you said here:

    "Wouldn't it be great if we could all "own up" to our own faults? I know I would be better if I did. But it's hard. It's really, really, hard. We just have to aim to be like Eustace, Jill, and Puddleglum."

    Oh so hard! I so agree with you! If we could own up to our faults there would definitely be less conflict in the world don't you think?

    Great post and I'm looking forward to reading what you think on the last discussion :)

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    1. Thanks again, Julie! I agree, when you have three people reading and sharing thoughts it is more enjoyable than if you were to read it alone! This read-along was so much fun.

      It is hard because we hate admiting that we were wrong, or sometimes we even believe that we didn't do anything wrong! You are correct, there would be less conflict in the world if we realized our faults.

      Thank you for commenting! I enjoyed reading your thoughts during this read-along, too!

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  2. This is one of my favorite books. Puddleglum is such a good character.

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    1. He is! The book wouldn't be half as good without him. :)

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  3. Wonderful thoughts, MovieCritic! I agree with Julie: I love your thoughts on owning up, being willing to acknowledge our failures, and growing/moving onward. It really is encouraging to see the character growth in this story. :)

    I also love that you've had new perspectives while re-reading this time around, relating to Jill more than you had before. I think I need to re-read books more often!

    And I love your first quote! It's delightful how this group of unlikely heroes become good friends and learn to rely on one another on their journey. :)

    ~Amber

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    1. Thank you, Amber! I was so happy to be able to participate this time! Exactly! We cannot grow and move on without first confronting our faults. I love this story because of that. :)

      I've read it three times now and I've seeb different things each time! Books are magical that way. At most I reread books five times a year, at most. I really need to reread more because it is such a great experience to re-live all of the adventures!

      At first they are so unsure of each other, then become the best of friends. It is so beautiful!

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"If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, where you stop your story." -Orson Welles