Ranger's Apprentice: The Ruins of Gorlan Latest Book Cover |
Writing Style
Will in his Ranger cloak |
Halt, Will's Craft Master |
Key Conflicts
In the first
book of the Ranger’s Apprentice series, The Ruins of Gorlan, there are three
main conflicts that Will encountered and resolved.
1. Character vs. Character
One of the conflicts shown was character vs. character. Will, the protagonist, was in conflict with, his not yet friend, Horace Slughorn, an apprentice in battle school, the two boys always fight against one another to prove who’s better. In the end, the conflict was resolved and the two became friends when they were placed in great danger that could cost them their life.
2. Character vs. Supernatural
Character vs. supernatural is also one of the main
conflicts shown in the novel. It was a conflict between Will and his craft master,
Halt against the grotesque looking beast called Kalkara; a creature with an
appearance of a bear and an ape, which possess incredible speed and strength equal
to four experienced knights, with their red, hate-filled eyes which whoever looks
upon it is immediately put in a helpless state and stunned due to an overwhelming feeling of fear. The conflict was resolved when the two Kalkaras, who were on hunt to kill Halt, the person that caused Morgarath to lose in the battle against the army of Araluen fifteen years before, were shot and killed by both of them.
3. Character vs. Self
The last main conflict shown was person vs. self, conflict between Will against his emotions, feelings, and thoughts for his friends and himself. Will struggles in deciding whether he should leave his master and let his friend die or do something which could cause him his life, be known for the rest of his life as a courageous or a coward man. This conflict was resolved when Will decided to do the right thing, he risks his own life to save his master and his friend on two different events. First when Horace was about to be attacked by a giant boar, Will ran in front of Horace and distracted the boar away from his friend only to be the boar’s new target. Then, when Halt was about to be killed by the last remaining Kalkara, Will picked up his bow and nocked an arrow then fired it to the Kalkara, penetrating the thick skin of the beast and finally killing it. Will conquers his fears and in the end resolved this conflict.
Horace Slughorn |
1. Character vs. Character
One of the conflicts shown was character vs. character. Will, the protagonist, was in conflict with, his not yet friend, Horace Slughorn, an apprentice in battle school, the two boys always fight against one another to prove who’s better. In the end, the conflict was resolved and the two became friends when they were placed in great danger that could cost them their life.
Kalkara's head |
3. Character vs. Self
The last main conflict shown was person vs. self, conflict between Will against his emotions, feelings, and thoughts for his friends and himself. Will struggles in deciding whether he should leave his master and let his friend die or do something which could cause him his life, be known for the rest of his life as a courageous or a coward man. This conflict was resolved when Will decided to do the right thing, he risks his own life to save his master and his friend on two different events. First when Horace was about to be attacked by a giant boar, Will ran in front of Horace and distracted the boar away from his friend only to be the boar’s new target. Then, when Halt was about to be killed by the last remaining Kalkara, Will picked up his bow and nocked an arrow then fired it to the Kalkara, penetrating the thick skin of the beast and finally killing it. Will conquers his fears and in the end resolved this conflict.
Rating
As
a reader who likes reading books in the medieval fantasy genre, I’d rate this
book 4 out of 5. I would definitely recommend it to readers not only in my age
group but to younger and older groups, especially those who have read J.R.R.
Tolkien’s books like The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit. I rated this
book 4 out of 5 because of various reasons such as the way it was written, the
excitement, and suspense that this book made me feel while reading it. I did
not gave this book 5 out of 5 because I was hoping for a different ending, an
ending that will leave me hanging which would make me want to read the book
after this to find out what happened, like the ending of the chapters of the
book, nevertheless the ending was still fine, the story ended like the Lord of
the Rings, a happy ending.
The first
key theme of the novel is courage. Throughout the first book of the Ranger’s
Apprentice series, Will, the protagonist, shows a great deal of courage. During
Will’s fight against the last remaining Kalkara, Will was shown afraid and scared,
but instead of running away and abandoning his craft master to be brutally
slaughtered by the beast, he stood his ground against the monster that could
easily kill him. Also, when Will jumped before a giant boar to save his friend’s
life. The author is telling us that there will come a time in our life where
our courage and bravery will be put to test and when the time comes, we must
face it and embrace it like how the character, Will, does. The second theme is
loyalty alongside determination. Will shows a great deal of loyalty towards his
craft master and to the kingdom where he lives. When Will found out the
Morgarath, Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, sent the last two remaining
Kalkaras to kill his master, Halt. Will rode his horse for more than a day nonstop,
to bring the knights of Castle Redmont to aid Halt instead of doing nothing.
Will puts his own life in the line battling the beast to save his master. This event
shows how Will is ready and prepared to risk his life for his friends and
kingdom, knowing that when the Kalkara weren’t stopped, Morgarath will use it
in destroying Araluen in the future. The last and the main theme of the novel
is the victory of good against evil. Will, Halt, and two supports from Castle
Redmont defeated and killed the last remaining Kalkaras in Morgarath’s command,
even though Will and Halt were the ones who did most of the work and ended up
killing the creatures. Dark Lord Morgarath will use the Kalkaras to destroy
Araluen, but without the strength of Kalkaras, Morgarath’s army strength
decreases, because of the courage of Will and his companions, the Kingdom of
Araluen won against the evilness that Morgarath was plotting. The author, John
Flanagan, is telling us that in the battle between good and evil, good will
always win and evil will diminish.
Will,
the Ranger’s Apprentice and the protagonist, is my favourite character in the
story. Will is a dynamic character which means that he changes overtime. Will is
my favourite character because he did not let what other says define who he is
or what he would become. He did not let all those things get in his way of
doing what he wants to do, a characteristic of him which I admire the most. He is
different from other characters in both physical and mental ways. Will is a
very short, yet agile, boy unlike everyone in his age group who are all tall
and has more grace than him. Even though his physical appearance is those of a
boy, Will thinks like a grown up but wilder. What made him stand out from
the rest is his severe curiosity about things around him which annoys his craft
master in the first part of his training as an Apprentice Ranger, and his
friendly nature, which made his grim, cold master be more lightheaded. Will
could easily make friends with anyone he meets, excluding the evil creatures
under Morgarath’s command.
Connection to the Real World
Wikipedia. 10 June 2016. "Ranger's Apprentice: Theme". 11 June 2016. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranger%27s_Apprentice#Themes
John Flanagan, Author |
We see
some connections of this book to real world issues, insecurity in particular. The
author, John Flanagan, originally wrote this story to encourage his son,
Michael, to read. The author wanted his son to see that ‘not all heroes have to
be tall and muscular’. This idea connects to one of our world’s major issue,
insecurity. The author specifically wanted to show us that our physical
appearance is not something that prevents us from doing great things.
Insecurity can only get in our way if we let or allow it to get in our way from
doing good, or even great things.
References:
Godage, Sashini. "Ranger's Apprentice: Theme Analysis". 10 June 2016. rangersapprentice.weebly.com/theme-analysis.html
Wikipedia. 26 May 2016. "The Ruins of Gorlan: Concept and development". 11 June 2016. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ruins_of_Gorlan#Concept_and_development