Although it may seem quite absurd, the role of animals in The Eyes of the Dragon is a very supreme and dignified part of the novel.
Through the development of the novel, the animal kingdom roars novel from insects to dogs and they all play their own, individual roles. The great black and white Anduan Husky named Frisky who is, out of all of her dogs, Naomi?s favorite, leads Ben Staad and Naomi directly to the whereabouts of Dennis, Peter?s butler. Flagg?s animals are symbols of his plans for the downfall of Delain. The dragon that is killed by King Roland may be considered the most the memorable of all. In this archetypal tale, Thomas sees Flagg murder Thomas?s father through the eyes of the dragon. In the end of the novel, though, all of the animals? roles fall into place.
Frisky, Naomi?s companion, is a strong-willed, over-confident, Anduan Husky who may have been the ?greatest tracking dog that ever lived. ? This dog sums up the meaning of a man?s best friend. Frisky, who can track a three-day-old scent in the middle winter, is the reason the story takes place as it does. Just as arson dogs help pinpoint the location of substances used to start fires, Frisky uses her keen sense of smell to pinpoint exactly where Dennis, son of Brandon, has journeyed to from Peyna?s farmhouse.
Dennis?s mission is to go back to the castle where Thomas the Tax-Bringer and Flagg, the king?s magician, live and are at high power. Peyna, who has just given up his Judge-General?s bench, has a feeling that there is some reason why Peter has asked for the Royal Napkins and his mother?s dollhouse. Dennis is to find this reason by sending a letter to Peter, who is imprisoned at the time. Dennis journeys from Peyna?s farm in the Inner Baronies back to the fearful castle with nothing except for the risks of getting killed. Five days later, with not a soul knowing the whereabouts of Dennis, Naomi and Ben Staad (Peter?s best friend) come upon the deserted farm. Naomi?s dogs have been pulling the sleds for thirty miles all the way from a snowy hollow in which they were camping.
The two now feel helpless. With no clue on where there friend had traveled to, they search diligently for any signs of what they are to do next and find nothing at all. ?If only there were a way to track him,? Ben says and, thereafter, a light bulb lights in Naomi?s head like the sun on a due-soaked morning (King 296). This is the epitome of where Frisky fits into the picture. After brief discussion and argument, Ben and Naomi discover that there are traces of Dennis in this abandoned shed but it cannot be detected by humans and Frisky?s sense of smell is like the ?eyesight of a man with the gaze of a hawk? (King 299).
Stephen King substantially points out that Dennis?s scent is a bright electric blue and that Frisky has the scent stored away in her ?library of scents? (King 299). Frisky leads her companions far and high, through many miles of snow to the deserted farmhouse and eventually to a place in which they are forced to pause. One may appear dumbfounded considering why Frisky is referred to above as being ?over-confident. ? At the moat, after some minor conflict, the Anduan Husky personally expedites the situation and takes a leap of faith into the great sewer pipe which takes the travelers under the castle and directly to Dennis?s location. Besides the fact that Frisky?s ?noble nose? is a main theme and could be considered by some a moral, there is more educational and entertainment values here than in any other part of the story.
Flagg?s animals aide him in all of his attempts to doom the kingdom of Delain. For example, the deathwatch spider that Flagg kept encaged for twenty years is his way to attempt to kill Sasha, the King?s beloved wife. The spider has been feeding on newborn baby mice that are dying from poison. The spider is blood red and as big as a rat (King 31).
Flagg squeezes the spider to death and mixes the deadly insides with a glass of brandy, something that Sasha drinks a glass of each night to help her sleep. Flagg rings for a servant to come and take the glass to her. Sasha never finds out how close to death she came that night (King 33). Another example is the mouse Flagg uses to set up Peter.
Flagg is a very powerful magician. With this knowledge, no one would question Flagg?s abilities to place Dragon Sand, the most deadly substance of the time, into a box that he stole from Peter long ago and hide the box, along with a cursed mouse, into a secret place that, allegedly, only Peter knows about. Because the evidence of the crime is found in a place that only Peter knows about, people begin to see a murderer?s face behind a mask of affection and respect (King 116). Peter is then tried before a jury and taken to the top of the needle where he is to spend the rest of his life.
The reader is introduced to the dragon at the beginning of the novel when King Roland and others are hunting and ire-breathing creature. The young dragon is killed when the brave King nocks his arrow, draws, and fires. Roland makes a direct hit in the spot under the dragon?s throat where it takes in air to create fire (King 13). The dragon dies immediately.
Otherwise called the Niner, the dragon?s head is hung up in King Roland?s sitting room along with the head of every other animal in which the King had considered worth keeping (King 92). The dragon?s head is a major secret of the castle. Flagg, being the magician he is, knows most secrets of the castle (No one, not even he, know all of them) (King 81). Flagg, after Thomas has a bad day at a luncheon with his father, shows the secrets to Thomas, for he has a feeling it may lead to mischief. This turns out to be true.
The secret is this: After one is led through a maze of corridors and through the ?dim? door, he must press a certain stone in order to access the passageway that is revealed after the click is heard (King 89). At the end of the passageway, there are two little panels. After sliding these panels, one find himself behind the Niner and will discover that he can see directly through the dragon?s eyes. Though heeding Flagg?s advice not to go too often, Thomas is watching the night in which Flagg poisons King Roland.
But after Thomas is declared King, and years of dealing with terrible nightmares, Thomas discovers one thing: guilt and secrets, like murdered bones, never rest easy (King 167). Stated in this collection of ideas is that the role of the animals in The Eyes of the Dragon is a supreme and dignified part of the novel. The reader must reread the novel for any further confirmation. In conclusion, one can now acknowledge that animals? effect on how something takes place is important to everyday living as well as important to the world of literature.
Written by Michael Peebles in Hoover,AL contact at: [emailprotected]
