Did the book come to a satisfactory closure for you? Why/not?

The book did not come to a satisfactory closure for me, but I feel like that was the point. It definitely felt like it was leading us towards the second book in the trilogy. At the end, Lyra and Pantalaimon were facing a really hard decision, with all odds against them either way. I would elaborate more on the ending of the book, but I don't want to ruin it for anyone who hasn't read it. By the end of the book, we understand the nature of Lyra's "betrayal," as prophesied at the beginning by the Master of Jordan College. Or actually, maybe it was Farder Coram, I don't really remember who said it, but Lyra had to betray someone, we didn't know whom, and we didn't know how. All we knew was that Lyra had to commit this betrayal without knowing what she was doing. By the end of the book she has done that. Philip Pullman also lets us understand more about Lord Asriel and what his relationship with Lyra is like. It changed drastically throughout the course of the book. At first, she feared and respected him. In the middle, Lyra's admiration for him grew and she fantasized about her life with him as her father after the war was over. At the end of the book, however, her feelings for him shift to the other extreme. I won't go into why. Philip Pullman also ties up all loose strands about Dust and its role in the Church. So I guess it does come to a satisfactory closure, but it also leads us into the next book.

More summary

The Gyptians enlist the help of an armored bear named Iorek Byrnison and head north. By this time, Lyra has learned how to read the alethiometer and it has proved very useful in learning how Lord Asriel is guarded in Svalbard, the prison in the north, and what Mrs. Coulter is doing at the moment. Farder Coram, the leader of the Gyptians, reveals some things to Lyra about her past. Lord Asriel is actually her father, who fell in love with Mrs. Coulter while she was married to another man. Mrs. Coulter gave birth to Lyra but wanted nothing to do with her. Lord Asriel took the baby and put her in the care of a Gyptian woman. Edward Coulter discovered that his wife had been unfaithful to him and stormed after the Gyptian woman and Lyra. Lord Asriel killed the man in the defense of his daughter. As punishment for murder, he was stripped of his title and assets and set into exile. It was then that he began his philosophical research. While traveling to Bolvangar to rescue the children, the Gyptians are attacked by a group of Samoyed hunters, and Lyra is taken captive. They sell her to the Oblation Board at Bolvangar. Reunited with Billy Costa and her best friend Roger, Lyra plans an escape from Bolvangar. She spreads word around the children, and Lyra starts a fire and sounds the fire alarm. They escape just at the time that the Gyptians arrive with Iorek Byrnison and their witch allies, who all wage war with the scientists at Bolvangar and their allies the fearsome Tartar warriors. Finally safe, Lyra and the other children are in the capable hands of the Gyptians.

A brief summary of The Golden Compass so far.

Lyra Belacqua is an eleven-year-old girl living in a universe that the author says is "like ours, but different in many ways." Every human in this universe has an animal manifestation of their soul that is with them at all times. Lyra is an orphan, or so she thinks, and living with scholars in Jordan College in Oxford. Lyra overhears a conversation between her uncle and benefactor, Lord Asriel, and several scholars at the college. She doesn't really understand what is being said, but she knows that her uncle is asking for money to travel to the north and study mysterious particles called Dust. Around this time, children are beginning to disappear to a group called the Gobblers, whose intentions and methods are unknown. Lyra is then sent to live with Mrs. Coulter, who at first seems very worldly and educated, and Lyra is enchanted. Before she leaves, the Master of Jordan College gives her a device called an alethiometer that even he doesn't understand. All he knows is that it tells the truth, and Lyra will have to figure out how to use it on her own. While living with Mrs. Coulter, Lyra comes to learn that she is actually a member of the General Oblation Board of London, aka the Gobblers. She still doesn't know what it is that the Oblation board does, but she knows it has to do with Dust and children in the north. Fearing for herself, Lyra runs away. She is caught by Gyptians, a community of nomadic people who live on boats. They are also looking for the Gobblers because some of their children were abducted. They use the information they have and what Lyra acquired by living with Mrs. Coulter to piece together everything they know about the Oblation Board: the children are taken far north to a place called Bolvangar. There the Oblation Board performs experiments on the children concerning their daemons and Dust. Lyra also comes to learn that her uncle, Lord Asriel, has been imprisoned by the Gobblers and is being held in the north. Lyra is taken in by the Costas, a family who Lyra knew from her life in Oxford. Lyra used to play with their son Billy who was taken by the Gobblers.

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.

Who do you think is the intended audience? Why?

I finished Losing Mum and Pup by Christopher Buckley and am now reading The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman.

I think that the intended audience is children, young adults, and parents reading to their children. However, the book is so well-written that it is enjoyable and engaging for anyone to read. It is a fantasy/adventure book, and that kind of book are typically directed towards children and young adults. I realize, Dr. Cassell, that this is probably not the kind of book you expect your AP language students to be reading, but I think that if you have read any book from this series you will understand what I mean, and if you haven't you should, because you will really enjoy them.

The heroine is a young girl, probably around age ten or eleven. However, I don't think the book is told from a feminine perspective, and boys will find it just as engaging as girls would. I think that Philip Pullman perhaps wrote this trilogy specifically for children/young adults, but he wrote it so well that those children's parents enjoyed them and chose to read them, too. I think he intended the audience to be children and young adults because part of the book is about not wanting to grow up. Every human in their world has a familiar who changes shape from different animals freely while the human is young. Once the child hits adolescence, however, the familiar chooses a certain animal to be permanently that reflects the human's personality. Lyra, the heroine, likes having her familiar, Pantalaimon, change shape according to what she feels or needs, and she doesn't want to grow up.