It is at this time that children mysteriously began to disappear. Children, and only the children, are vanishing at the hands of what become known as the "Gobblers." Who the Gobblers are and what they want is unknown, but soon, children from far and wide are disappearing with out a trace, even Lyra's good friend, Roger.
But before she can begin her search for Roger, Lyra is introduced to Mrs. Coulter, a beautiful and bewitching woman. Mrs. Coulter is a scholar and an explorer - everything that Lyra could ever hope to be. Mrs. Coulter takes Lyra under her wing and employs her as an assistant to help in the next expedition to explore the Arctic North. On the morning she is to leave Jordan College, the Master of the school gives Lyra an alethiometer, a rare and powerful instrument with the power to reveal the truth in all things.
While under Mrs. Coulter's guidance, Lyra learns of her mentor's critical role in Church's General Oblation Board, a.k.a. the Gobblers, the party responsible for the disappearing children. It is revealed that these kidnapped children are taken to Bolvangar, a place in the far North, to participate in Dust experiments whereby they are severed from their dæmons through a process called intercision. Lyra also learns that the Church has captured and imprisoned Lord Asriel in the Arctic region of Bolvanger where he has undertaken Dust experiments of his own.
Horrified at what she has learned, Lyra and Pantalaimon flee Mrs. Coulter's home in the middle of the night and are rescued through the kindness of two Gyptian men. The Gyptians are a gypsy group of boat-people who live a harsh life on the water tempered by their unwavering sense of family, loyalty and love. It is the Gyptians' children who have suffered most at the hands of the Gobblers, and they have vowed to travel north to rescue them. Lyra pledges to share what she knows, rescue her dear friend Roger, and ultimately find her imprisoned father. Through the Gyptian elders, Lord Faa and Farder Coram, Lyra is bewildered to learn that her parents are Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter. Despite this shock, Lyra quickly learns to read the alethiometer and understand its messages. Although her alethiometer enables her to discover the truth in everything around her, Lyra is unaware of the incredible role her own life plays in the fate of the universe. Lyra is the subject of a great prophecy in which she is destined to commit a fateful betrayal that will determine the future of all worlds.
To succeed in the rescue mission for the children, the Gyptians enlist the alliances of three people who come to regard Lyra dearly: Serafina Pekkala, the witch queen who reveals that the fate of universe lies in Lyra's future; Lee Scoresby, a Texan aeronaut and commander of a hot air balloon; and Iorek Byrnison, a renegade armored polar bear, deposed as king of his clan by a deceitful brother. While on their long, hard journey in the far North, Lyra and Pantalaimon are kidnapped by hunters who take them to Bolvangar, the place where all the kidnapped children have been brought. At long last, Lyra is happily reunited with Roger, but to her horror, she witnesses intercision, the gruesome Dust experiment that separates child and dæmon. Banding together, the children and their daemons escape the terrors of Bolvangar, fleeing into the safety of the Gyptians, Serafina Pekkala's witches, Lee Scoreby's balloon, and Iorek Byrnison.
Although the children are rescued, the journey for Lyra and Roger is far from over. They travel further north and finally find Lyra's father, Lord Asriel. Lord Asriel has experimented with Dust as well, and has discovered its role in crossing the barriers into other worlds. He has constructed a bridge to another world, but crossing that bridge requires the energy released in an intercision. Unable to sacrifice his own child, Lord Asriel makes Roger his prey and escapes to another world. The universe has been broken and Lyra's friend lies dead, but she vows get revenge and discover the secret of Dust.
The author Philip Pullman uses a lot of description in his novel and a lot of unusual or made up words such as “alethiometer” which is a mysterious truth-seeking or future-telling device. Another example of this is “Dæmon”. A Dæmon is a Soul-like companion to each individual human being. Dæmons are generally of the opposite gender to their human counterparts. In childhood, a dæmon can alter its form to reflect the emotions and concerns of its human. However, in adulthood, a dæmon loses the power to change, and it assumes a permanent form that best reflects the inner nature of its human. An example of the description Philip Pullman uses is “…ancient stone arches……of bottles and barrels”(Pg47). His stories are written as fantasy. Philip Pullman gives his readers precisely the satisfactions they look for in a novel: well-made, absorbing characters, supreme elegance of style and tone, a richly inventive imaginative landscape, and, some very big ideas fearlessly explored.
The themes used in “Northern lights” by Philip Pullman are betrayal and fear. Lyra betrays her friend Roger and her parents (mother and father) betray her. At the end of The Golden Compass, Lyra is afraid of her father, yet admires him. This shows the theme of fear.
There are 25 Characters in this novel: Lord Asriel, who is Lyra’s uncle, who’s Dæmon is a handsome snow leopard. As a dynamic and powerful explorer, Lord Asriel is concerned with the investigation on “Dust”(Mystical particles that appear to come from the sky). Barnard and Stokes who are two renegade theologians who postulated the existence of numerous invisible, unreachable, yet material worlds. Although they were silenced by the Church, some scholars believe that there are sound mathematical arguments for their theory concerning other worlds. Lyra Belacqua who is a half-wild, half-civilized young girl who lives among the scholars of Jordan College. Lyra's fate is intertwined with the theological mysteries of Dust and the possibility of other universes. To play the large - perhaps universe-saving - part to which she appears destined, Lyra must act without realizing what she is doing. Butler, Mrs. Lonsdale, the Parslow family, Porter, Steward are all servants of Jordan College and Cassington Scholar, Chaplain, Enquirer, Intercessor, Librarian, Palmerian Professor, Precentor, Sub-Rector are Scholars and administrators of Jordan College. Ma Costa is a
Charismatic woman and member of a leading Gyptian(a nomadic group of waterfarers who live on canal boats and travel to Oxford for the spring and autumn fairs) family.
Billy Costa who is Ma Costa's son, who appears to have been taken by the Gobblers (people who steal children).
Mrs. Coulter is a beautiful scholar, arctic explorer, and socialite, who takes a particular interest in Lyra. Her dæmon is a golden monkey. Stanislaus Grumman who is a researcher whose expedition vanished while making celestial observations in the North, but not before reporting on a rare natural phenomenon seen there. Master of Jordan who is the ranking scholar of Jordan College, who feels responsible for raising and protecting Lyra, and who has learned something of her fate from an alethiometer. Tony Makarios who is a simple slum child who is abducted by the Gobblers. Pantalaimon who is Lyra's dæmon, who frequently takes the shape of a brown moth or an ermine. Roger Parslow who is the Jordan College kitchen boy, who is Lyra's good friend and playmate. Lyra believes he has been stolen by the Gobblers and Iofur Raknison who is the usurper king of the armored bears of Svalbard. A vain and foolish ruler who is building an ornate marble palace in an effort to become more like humans. Iofur longs to have his own dæmon.
I think there is no target audience for this story. I believe it can be read by anybody of any age who likes reading fantasy and enjoys adventure or mystery stories.
In conclusion, I found the story “Northern Lights” by Philip Pullman exciting and very interesting. I liked it because I was hooked into the book just by reading the first page. This made me want to read on and find out what happens to Lyra in the novel and what she was doing sneaking into a dark room.
Out of ten I would rate “Northern Lights” a 9 because i really enjoyed reading it and liked the way Philip Pullman constructed his own words to describe the unusual objects and characters in the story. I would recommend this book to any one who enjoys reading fantasy and to people not just between the ages of 13 to 18 but to everyone!
By Hatice Giritli
Group 9
