What passage(s) do you particularly like in the book? (Copy parts of them in your journal and then write your answer to these questions) Why?

I particularly like a passage in The Golden Compass in which Lyra's daemon (familiar) Pantalaimon tries to get her to do something she is afraid to do. She needs to go speak to an armored bear who is very terrifying to her, but she knows that it is necessary for her to speak to him. The bear scares her because he is "so massive and so alien." In the passage, Pan pulls her towards the bear.

"She knew what he was doing. Daemons could move no more than a few yards from their humans, and if she stood by the fence and he remained a bird, he wouldn't get near the bear; so he was going to pull.... It was such a strange tormenting feeling when your daemon was pulling at the link between you; part physical pain deep in the chest, part intense sadness and love. And she knew it was the same for him. Everyone tested it when they were growing up: seeing how far they could pull apart, coming back with intense relief.

"He tugged a little harder.

"'Don't, Pan!'

"But he didn't stop. The bear watched, motionless. The pain in Lyra's heart grew more and more unbearable, and a sob of longing rose in her throat.

"'Pan--'

"Then she was through the gate, scrambling over the icy mud towards him, and he turned into a wildcat and sprang up into her arms, and they were clinging together tightly with little shaky sounds of unhappiness coming from them both.

"'I thought you really would--'

"'No--'

"'I couldn't believe how much it hurt--'

"And then she brushed the tears away angrily and sniffed hard. He nestled in her arms, and she knew she would rather die than let them be parted and face that sadness again; it would send her mad with grief and terror."

I like this passage because it helps the reader understand the connection between a human and their daemon. The concept is unfamiliar to us, so when Philip Pullman discusses an interaction between a human and his or her daemon we, the audience, really have no basis of understanding for that relationship. With this scene, Pullman really gives us a window into what its like to have an animal manifestation of your soul. This gives us a foundation for how to perceive other human/daemon interactions in the book.