Take that curse from you

[frameacloud]

This week's comic.

Theri There from 2005-12-12

Transcript: A scene from “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” appears, in which Eustace has been transformed into a dragon, much to his dismay. A person reading the book says, “Eustace, I would gladly take that ‘curse’ from you!”

[Edit 2017-04-03: Updated link.]

Comments

[makuus.livejournal.com]

*chuckles* And how!

[of-salfarro.livejournal.com]

Lol, it was always like that for me when I got to that part of the book. Then again, the bracelet and the prospect of being left alone on the island are not pleasant.. but I guess we all gotta make sacrifices! ;P

[laurenthemself]

OW BRACELET, OW.

That part always makes me wince and scratch.

[baphijmm.livejournal.com]

Hehe, I remember thinking that when I read that chapter. XD

[xolo.livejournal.com]

I've thought so many times what a chance Eustace missed. :)

[a-leprechaun.livejournal.com]

Ooh! Very artistic this week ^___^
And of course we've all felt that way at some point...

[elynne.livejournal.com]

Haven't read the book, so I don't have the context... but wow, that's a beautiful comic.

Here is context:

[frameacloud]

In "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader," a boy named Eustace joins the other kids who are visiting Narnia. (He gets sucked into Narnia with them right when they were arguing about whether it was real, since he'd heard them talking about it.) He's a mean-spirited brat who expects everyone to serve him and makes all kinds of trouble for them, until they're on a certain enchanted island where he gets turned into a dragon. (He found a dragon's enchanted treasure, and fell asleep there thinking greedy thoughts.) Eustace goes like "Nooooo!" since for him, being a dragon is a horrifying traumatic experience. At first the others are going to slay him, but he manages to convey to them who he is, and everyone feels sorry for him. He ends up being a better person for it, gains some humility, and he starts to help people, do work with repairing the ship, and be friendly. He has a complete personality change. Everyone's afraid they'll have to strand him on the island, since there's no space or food for a dragon on a ship. However, Eustace learns his lesson, so Aslan turns him back into a human, and he can continue on the journey aboard the Dawn Treader.

Re: Here is context:

[cloakable.livejournal.com]

You know, I'm surprised Eustace didn't realise he could fly.

Dragons > Ships :p

Re: Here is context:

[of-salfarro.livejournal.com]

He could fly, but they were making a journey that took days and days to get to where they were headed (actually they didn't know how long because they were exploring unmapped regions searching for someone). In other words, they didn't know if Eustace could keep up, and how would he sleep? Besides, he didn't want to stay a dragon, for him it was lonely and boring. He thought it was cool at first, because he could boss the other kids around being bigger and everything but he couldn't talk and he couldn't write well as a dragon and was thus isolated.

[weirgreif.livejournal.com]

And I'm pretty sure that's after the part where the ship is becalmed and they are all on short rations. A dragon would eat them out of house and home soon enough.

In the next book, Eustace calms a dragon that was marauding at them. He wasn't exactly scarred for life by the affair. }:>

Sparhawk, who has an understanding with gryphons.

[zeeth_kyrah]

I think it's too bad that being a dragon was associated more with greed than it was guardianship in that book.

[r-caton.livejournal.com]

There was something about a dragon feeding on the rotting body of his predecessor, too... or am I remembering wrong? I don't think Lewis liked dragons much....

[frameacloud]

Yes, that happened in "Dawn Treader." In Lewis's Narnia books, dragons are symbols of greed, violence, and assorted nasty things. That Eustace found himself instinctively scavenging the previous dragon was part of the horror of his experience, and was part of what was necessary for his much-needed attitude adjustment. As other readers pointed out, Eustace's transformation into a dragon genuinely did involve several elements that would spoil the fun of it (such as the painfully tight bracelet, and potentially being marooned) even if he had been the sort of person to initially think it was really neat to turn into a dragon.

[yaochi.livejournal.com]

Maybe Eustace just lacked the imagination to revel in his good fortune. Here in essance, having gotten what he considered to be lemons, he failed to make lemonade and throw a party.

[klitaka.livejournal.com]

I love the expression conveyed in just the eye. Great comic this week!

[ceralor.livejournal.com]

I've not read the book either, but very well done. I've felt the same way in similar circumstances in other stories (IE, Spirited Away).

[es02.livejournal.com]

Sprited Away he never loses his dragon half. He is a river spirit and as such that is extricably intertwined within himself.

[dragonzuela.livejournal.com]

AAAAAA! I've been thinking lately, since the movies are coming out, how that's the ONLY part of those books that I can still remember, and I didn't have any idea that I was a dragon back when I read them!

[wyld-wolven.livejournal.com]

ohh narnia equals good. (warm fuzzy feeling)

[micha-forrest.livejournal.com]

ditto, ditto and more ditto. it is unfortunate how they portrayed draconic greed rather than draconic magic, but that was europe. at least he was able to talk to dragons later in the Silver Chair *has read all the books at least twice*

Re: Here is context:

[of-salfarro.livejournal.com]

I just finished the silver chair.. when did he talk to dragons??

Re: Here is context:

[micha-forrest.livejournal.com]

when they were traveling north a dragon was blocking the way. jill and puddleglum didn't dare approach but eustace did and asked the dragon to leave.

or is that the film i'm remembering?

Re: Here is context:

[of-salfarro.livejournal.com]

Lol I'll have to check.

[raki.livejournal.com]

I barely remember the Narnia books, but I do remember feeling somewhat puzzled that it was considered a curse. I thought it'd be pretty cool, actually. :-)

[watchingwolf.livejournal.com]

That is fantastic artwork! :) Voyage of The Dawn Treader is my favorite in the series. I got inklings of where it was all going... ;)

[cloakable.livejournal.com]

I love to have that so-called 'curse'. And being trapped on an island? He had wings, didn't he? Was there something trapping him there?

[zeeth_kyrah]

I'd have to reread, but I'm not sure that wings were ever mentioned; perhaps Lewis was envisioning a wingless-lizard type of dragon.

[frameacloud]

Yes, he had wings, and could fly. He flew across the island carrying tree-trunks as supplies to repair the ship and replace the mast.

[cloakable.livejournal.com]

Hmm.
*steals Eustace's 'curse'*

[micha-forrest.livejournal.com]

yuppers

[trinityquasar.livejournal.com]

Heehee, my favorite book of all the Chronicles of Narnia.

[ekevoo.livejournal.com]

I've just read that chapter. I couldn't agree more, however, I really don't like the idea of the bracelet. I can barely handle it when I get my blood pressure checked! >_>

[freso]

Heh, I see I'm not the only one who can relate to that experience. And far before I had access to the internet, let alone having found Alfandra/the otherkin community, too.

Hooray!

[eyragarou.livejournal.com]

...for the ode to my favotie book! *grin*