I am intrigued by the various definitions given to Dust - not only in The Golden Compass, but also in our class discussions. Is it the "God particle"? Is it original sin? Knowledge? Good? Evil? I, for one, can not quite settle on an exact definition, but I feel that tells me something about the nature of Dust...It is up to interpretation and can be something different depending on who is viewing it and their intentions of using it.
For me, Dust is connected to human nature (I'm kind of connecting it to the original sin idea as well). I mean, the Dust collects on adults, who have a settled, stable daemon (totally jealous of that, by the way) and know the true nature of themselves. Human nature is kind of tied into original sin in this book, and I think Pullman is saying that we all have good and bad in us - we are defined by how we use it. Along this same train of thought, Pullman makes the point that no one is wholly one thing or another - the humans have a daemon of the opposite gender that rounds the person out, etc. Even Mrs. Coulter, who seemed so bad for most of the book, has moments of softness.
With that said, I think that Pullman presents an interesting message that I think resonates with the reader and gets him or her thinking about self-knowledge.
Purpose for Imaginative Literature
15 years ago
First, I would also very much like to have a deamon. I think it was a great way for Pullman to give us insight into their irrationalized feelings.
ReplyDeleteI also found the discussion very interesting in class about humans not being particularly one thing. Children, don’t know who they are yet and have the opportunity to become anything they'd like as adults. However, once in adulthood, I feel like your personality, interests, job, and lifestyle has already solidified. In this novel it can be seen in the deamons.
It makes me wonder if its puberty that actually sets a persons deamon or an actual life event. I know that even during puberty, I had no idea who I was so it makes me wonder.
If you would like to have a daemon based on just reading the book... wait til you see the movie! The daemons are very much computerized, but still oh so cute! And cuddly!
ReplyDeleteAnyways.. I have a hunch about the dust being linked to human nature more than anything else- original sin also ties into that general idea. My guess is that as one grows older, one experiences more and different things than they would as a child. Therefore, I believe it has to do with the types of experiences they endure which brings them closer to dust, or, stabilization through their daemon. As we can see, Lyra is obviously not old enough but it is her experiences throughout the novel that have brought her closer to understanding dust. Apparently knowledge of this particular subject is taboo which causes her to grow up a little quicker than maybe the rest of the kids her age. She is the one to go in and save them with her knowledge, after all. This also ties back to what the departure of a hero entails: leaving behind childhood.
I love Pullman's inclusion of deamons. I feel like the book would have been entirely different without them. Pullman creates these creatures as a companion and a survival instinct. In time when the deamons start to settle they also become descriptive of the individual. I like to think of deamons as part of the characters soul. It is interesting how the separation of a human and deamon causes so much grief and pain. To me, I fell like it would be a relatable pain if someone was attempting to take away from you your true essence of what defines you as an individual.
ReplyDeleteI really like your perspective that dust constitues something within the idea that every person has good and bad traits/habits/experiences and the importance of realizing that what one does with those things is what really matters. I do believe that individuals are defined by how they handle the good and bad within themselves and that Pullman is attempting to convey this message through the presence of a daemon. This also feeds into the notion that Pullman may be trying to make with daemon's being the opposite gender of the character as representation for good and bad within both male and female individuals on their own and also when they join together as a team or unit. The concept of dust as a two sided element as well is also another important dynamic that Pullman presents for a combination of a substance containing both good and bad.
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