Monday, December 10, 2012

"Inheritance"--An Epic Conclusion to A Beloved Series

Literary Analysis of Inheritance By Christopher Paolini
GENERAL
1.  In Christopher Paolini's Inheritance, a maturing Dragon Rider named Eragon fights alongside a rebelling army called the Varden.  They are in revolt against a terrible king that was also once a Dragon Rider but betrayed his brotherhood because of greed.  
2. A big theme of this book is ethics and responsibility, along with life's meaning, and even the idea of a god.
3. Throughout the book, Paolini comes across as eloquent and deeply knowledgeable, despite his young age and teen-like appearance.      
4. I picked up on quite a few literary elements in Inheritance, such as elegant syntax and a radiating diction on the part of Paolini.  Also, there seemes to be a vast amount of foreshadowing, which leads to some pretty drastic plot twists, along with a few allusions to Christianity and relgion.  The entire story is told from three character's points of view, but in third person limited omnicient.
CHARACTERIZATION
1.  When focusing on different characters, Paolini tends to tell each character's story very differently for the sake of keeping individuality alive and awesome.  Each character has his or her specific way of portraying their feelings to the reader and to other characters.  I think that Paolini does a masterful job of bringing his characters leaping off the pages.  
2.  Eragon is definitely a dynamic protagonist.  As the story progresses he finds out more and more about himself and why he does what he does for the Varden.  Young Eragon must learn to hone his thoughts and conceal his emotions in order to confront the king.  On a side quest for knowledge, Eragon learns about himself more than he ever thought possible, for he found out his secret name, of which very few have found voluntarily.  This is a major turning point in Eragon's fight against the king.
3.  I definitely feel as if I've meet someone coming away from this book.  All the characters are relatable and interesting, even if they seem to be a little on the darker side of the battle.