The Golden Compass

by Philip Pullman

Reviewed by Naomi Khosalim

Fall 2016

REVIEW: The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

IBSN#:9781407106397

THE STORY:

Lyra Belacqua and her daemon Pantalaimon first hear news about mysterious rumors and research when they secretly hear the meeting between her uncle Lord Asriel, the master of Jordan College, and many scholars. Throughout the streets of Oxford, the rumors of kidnappers called Gobblers had spread fear to children. Lyra does not take notice in the

rumors until Roger, Lyra’s friend, disappears. Lyra begins to worry and is determined to find him until Mrs. Coulter, a mysterious lady walks in and has dinner with the master of Jordan. She invites Lyra along with her to travel to the North, and Lyra agrees. Before she leaves, the Master gives a golden alethiometer to Lyra, trusting her that she will keep it safe and secret. At first Lyra enjoys the company of Mrs. Coulter, but soon realizes that she was mean and was trying to find Lyra’s alethiometer. Lyra escapes from Mrs. Coulter and is rescued by her gyptian friends. Lyra heads out to the North along with the gyptians determined to rescue her friend and as well as her uncle. She begins to travel with gyptians along with Iorek, a hired armored polar bear. After being separated from the gyptians and her friends, Lyra herself becomes captured by the Gobblers. She finds her friends and succeeds in rescuing all of the kidnapped children with the help of witches and other allies of the gyptians, and they start to fly over to rescue Lord Asriel. The balloon rips from monsters appointed by the Gobblers and Lyra falls out, who is captured by armored bears, who were hired to keep Lord Asriel in prison. Lyra succeeds in tricking the leader of the bears to fight with Iorek, and together they rescue Lord Asriel. (290)

MY OPINION:

At first, it was hard to settle into the world in which The Golden Compass takes place in, especially the whole concept of daemons, which was eventually explained throughout the entire book. The plot twists of the book were incredibly captivating, urging the reader to move on, and was surprising since there was little foreshadowing. The author used many complex vocabulary throughout the story, but not to the point where it made the plot mundane and choppy for the reader. It provoked many emotions of loyalty and love through meaningful symbols, including the connection between a human and their daemon. I would suggest this to middle schoolers and young high schoolers since the book displays intermediate vocabulary and a complex twist at the end that would be hard to understand, since so many answers are left unanswered, even at the end of the book. I would rate this book ten out of ten stars and would love to read the sequel to The Golden Compass. (156)

STUDY QUESTIONS AND VOCABULARY:

FIRST SECTION

1. What was the steward’s daemon?

1a. His daemon was a red setter, or a type of dog. (7)

2. What was Lord Asriel’s “special thing” to show the Master?

2a. Lord Asriel showed the head of Stanislaus Grumman. (23)

3. In what ways was Lyra immature in Jordan College?

3a. She liked climbing over the College roofs and spitting plum stones. (31)

4. Why did Lyra change her mind on leaving Jordan?

4a. She would be able to travel to the North with Mrs. Coulter. (62)

5. What does the first three letters of “Gobblers” stand for?

5a. It stands for General Oblation Board. (79)

dais (4)

trepanning (23)

anbarographs (31)

zeppelin (64)

oblates (79)

MIDDLE SECTION

6. How does Ma Costa explain that there is more to a gyptian than their language?

6a. She says they are the water people, and others are the fire people. (pg. 100)

7.According to the second roping, is John Faa planning to rescue Lord Asriel?

7a. John Faa states that he will help Lord Asriel if the gyptians can, but the main purpose of the voyage is to save children. (121)

8. How does Farder Coram know the witches?

8a. He saved a witch’s life before. (144)

9. Why did not Lyra not tell Dr. Lanselius the crucible?

9a. She suspected that Farder Coram did not trust him. (151)

10. What does Lyra need to hire Iorek Byrnison?

10a. The price was his armor. (159)

clamor (103)

hubbub (118)

concocted (125)

cormorant (136)

sardonic (169)

                               

LAST SECTION

11. Why can’t Iorek make a new set of armor?

11a. Iorek states that his armor is his soul and is special to him, like how daemons are special and belong with their humans.(172)

12. Why does the author refer the swinging needle of the golden compass to a bee dancing to the hive?

12a. A bee actually dances in the hive to give a message to another bee. The author refers the swinging needle to this since both are graceful and provide a message. (179)

13. According to the ways Lyra sees the adults of the Oblation Board slack, how is she going to use that to her advantage?

13a. Since the adults are disorganized in keeping track where the children were, she could use this to escape safely without getting noticed. (263)

14. What are the differences between Mr. Scoresby, witches, and bears on how they take an insult? How does this topic relate to war?

14a. Mr. Scoresby and the witches do not care about insults while “[insulting] a bear is a deadly thing.” This affects how they interact with each other, and that affects how often they fight in war. (308)

15. How did Lyra take advantage of Iofur?

15a. She took advantage of him since Iofur wanted a daemon and to become a human being. (333)

sparse (180)

prattling (208)

sanguine (247)

anabaric (296)

abading (323)