Animals In The Eyes Of Th Essay

, Research Paper

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.

astle moat. 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: BeerAMid@aol.com