Eleven year old Lyra, accompanied by her daemon Pantalimon, leaves the safety of her home at Jordan College and travels north to find her friend Roger whom she believes has been taken by Mrs. Coulter and the General Oblation Board, also known as the Gobblers. Lyra joins a group of gyptians who also want to rescue the kidnapped children before they are used in experiments to separate people’s daemons in order to get rid of Dust. By using an alethiometer, a truth-telling device, Lyra is able to enlist the services of an armored bear, Iorek Byrnison, and figures out how to successfully rescue Roger and the children. Roger, Iorek, and Lyra then travel to the land of the armored bears, where Lyra tricks the king into fighting Iorek . Iorek wins the battle and regains his rightful place as king of the bears. They travel onward to Lord Asriel’s spacious prison right next to the Aurora Borealis, only to find out that he too is conducting experiments with Dust. Lord Asriel separates Roger from his daemon, killing him in the process, and harnesses the energy to open a gateway to another world. The story ends with Lyra following Lord Asriel into the other world with the intent of trying to keep Dust in the world.
This story could spark the imagination of any child, especially those who love fantasy, to think about what their own daemon would look like. The child could draw a picture of the daemon and describe why that animal was chosen. For older children, this may lead to a engaging discussion about how daemons are like the human soul or conscience.
For it is Pullman’s daemons that makes for such a brilliantly crafted characters. Although Lyra is developed as a brave trickster, there are times when she is hesitant and unsure in which Pantalimon gives her advice or takes the first step of bravery. Other characters’ daemons, like those belonging to Farder Coram, Lee Scoresby, and Mrs. Coulter, give a better picture of who the person is on the inside.
Pullman’s creative setting of a world so much like ours that many of the names of places are the same, yet so different from our own because of talking animals, people’s daemons, and the opposite roles of religion and education, helps readers realize that this is a fantasy world, but that many of the problems in the world in the book are problems that can be recognized in our own world; for example, the struggle for power by those in leadership positions and the loss of innocence in the world today.
Pullman presents a number of compelling themes in his tale of Lyra’s journey north. The importance of innocence versus experience is seen in the nature of Lyra’s upbringing and Mrs. Coulter/ the General Oblation Board’s attempt to separate everyone’s daemons to eliminate original sin. The importance of one’s soul is seen in the physical manifestation of the daemons and the roles they play, especially through Pantalimon’s conversations with Lyra. The theme of power is seen through the motives of Mrs. Coulter and Lord Asriel in their attempts to gain control over Dust. Finally, the theme of leadership is seen in the contrast of bad and good leadership throughout this epic journey: Mrs. Coulter leading the Gobblers, John Faa leading the gyptians, Iorek Byrinson leading the armored bears, and Lyra leading the many groups along the way with the help of her alethiometer.
Although the words good and evil and right and wrong are explicitly left out of this book, a middle school or high school class could discuss what the author’s purpose was in creating this tale. Does he want us to think about these underlying concepts when reading his book? The concept of multiple universes could spark a discussion about the scientific realities of our galaxy and universe. This book could be used in a unit with other science-fiction novels to see many views of what the world could be like. Then students could create and describe their own world.
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