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Christopher PaoliniA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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In Brisingr, Eragon appears preoccupied with the religious beliefs shared amongst and kept scared by various groups within Alagaësia. Within the first several chapters of the book Eragon declares himself to be atheist, meaning he does not believe in a god or gods and does not follow one specific theology. He goes on to reiterate this truth about himself several more times throughout the narrative. One of the first times that we catch Eragon reacting to a spiritual entity is when he and Arya are returning to the Varden. The two are camping atop a hill when an orb of light approaches. While Eragon is unfamiliar with this phenomenon and takes a skeptical approach, Arya quickly informs him that these spirits are not human entities or their remains; they are a benevolent race of individuals altogether separate. This sighting opens conversation between the two about their religious beliefs.
Later in this volume Eragon experiences several more encounters with spiritual entities that expand and potentially change his definitions of the illogical phenomenon within his worldview. The first example of this appears while he is underground, exploring Farthen Dûr. He finds himself drawn to a specific room and on his second visit he is ambushed by masked dwarves, representing the clan of Az Sweldn rak Anhûin. The attack is devastating and most of his guardsmen are killed; when Eragon retreats further underground to inform his head guardsman’s mother that her son has been killed while protecting his life, her reaction is completely unfamiliar to Eragon. Grabbing a knife, she removes the end of her pinkie finger at its first joint and offers it to her god, Morgothal. Curious about this practice, Eragon goes on to question her about her personal relationship with her gods. While he confesses that he does not share her beliefs, nor can he be certain that the gods exist at all, they remain amicable and in fact Glumra invites Eragon to stay with her until his safety above ground can be assured.
Not long after this encounter, Eragon is exposed to another kind of spiritual presence during King Orik’s coronation. Before Orik can be sworn in officially, Guntera the dwarfish god must bless the chiefs’ decision. Eragon is awed by the spectacle and wonders whether it could have been real or whether it just was smoke and mirrors. In a later conversation with Orik, his foster brother assures him that for the dwarves the apparition is in fact a godly presence. While they do not believe it is the god itself, the dwarves feel it is an authentic representation sent on the god’s behalf. Yet again, Eragon is impressed by the strength and endurance of the dwarves religious beliefs but remains a skeptic himself.
The closest the reader sees Eragon get to feeling comfortable around a spiritual entity occurs in Ellesméra, between himself and the tree spirit Linnea. She is an ancient creature who is spiritually tied to the Menoa tree. Eragon has met her before. Eragon does not hesitate to accept her existence and telepathically communicates with her in order to ask her if she is harboring a batch of ironwood from the stars. He cautions Saphira when she threatens to upset Linnea because he knows how powerful she is. Equally so, Eragon does not deny the power of the spirits that invade the man in the keep at Feinster.
After Galbatorix’s spellcasters have successfully created the Shade, Varaug, Eragon and his compatriots must work quickly to destroy the Shade before it can leave the keep and wreak havoc on Alagaësia. Eragon does not question the reality of these two entities—the tree spirit and the Shade—because he has encountered them both before and he knows their strengths and weaknesses. He knows that whether he is bargaining with Linnea or eliminating the Shade, there is a set of rules that he is meant to follow. Throughout Brisingr, Eragon encounters a variety of religious practices, such as his cousin Roran’s marriage which he agrees to officiate. The reader is asked to explore religious and theological topics alongside Eragon in an attempt by Paolini to approach ideas of a global spirituality.
A common theme throughout the fantasy/sci-fi genre is the use of imagined races within an imagined world to represent racial differences within the world of the reader. This allegory is deployed as a device to encourage improved race relations in real life. Within the world of Alagaësia, Christopher Paolini engages the reader with at least six separate races of monster and man, including the Ra’zac and Lethrblaka, elves, dwarves, humans, Urgals, and dragons. King Orik of the dwarves outlines a comprehensive history of the dwarves’ race relations before his fellow clansmen at the clanmeet to determine who assaulted Eragon. However, the present state of race relations in Alagaësia shows that elves and humans are closely bonded with many dwarves, agreeing to join their forces and live amicably. Human relations with the Urgals are less comfortable but the intention amongst their leaders is to unite them together within the Varden. There are only a handful of dragons left in Alagaësia and they are respected by all.
On the flipside, the Lethrblaka and their children the Ra’zac are mutually feared and disliked by all races living outside of the Empire and not under Galbatorix’s control. This race is quickly eliminated by Eragon with the help of Saphira and Roran in the first chapters of Brisingr. When the final Ra’zac asks Eragon to honor his legacy, Eragon refuses, further humiliating the monster and the memory of his race. Similarly, the humans require assimilation from the Urgals in order for them to remain peacefully within the Varden. Many of the humans dislike the Urgals and see them as outsiders who do not belong amongst their ranks. Even those who would welcome the Urgals ask them to keep their camps separate from the humans to avoid in-fighting and racial tension.
People like Roran respect the Urgals and their cultural differences, such as their warring nature, but do not tolerate cultural practices such as torturing villagers after their land has been captured. Roran lectures the Urgals under his command when he finds them torturing a captured soldier. He asks the Urgals why they would do such a thing and listens to their reasoning. They say that if an Urgal were to be captured by the enemy, it would be humiliating if the Urgal were not tortured because they would not get a chance to prove their fortitude in the face of death. While it is clear that Roran understands this cultural difference, he still assures them that this behavior will not be tolerated under his command.
In this example, Paolini demonstrates that race relations can be fraught with complications and that while those in power may strive to form connections, it depends on the citizens’ behavior to determine their success. This is very much also the case amongst global race relations today, where it is often not enough to see diversity and compassion in power. Racism is insidious and whether operating overtly, as it does it Brisingr between the Ra’zac and humans, or more covertly, as with the Urgals, these tensions remain and may even resurface unexpectedly as Paolini shows with the unexpected assault on Eragon’s life as executed by the dwarfish clan leader Vermund.
Much of Brisingr is focused around political maneuvering and setting up events to come in Inheritance. There are battles, raid parties, and on more than one occasion, challenges to the throne. It may come as a surprise to the reader that amidst all of this political intrigue, Christopher Paolini manages to include several important sub-plots centered around romantic or familial love. Paolini uses the concept of love to drive the narrative forward. One example involves Eragon’s obsessive need to know more about his parents and their relationship to one another. Throughout Brisingr, he seeks to find out whether they were good or bad people, in fact part of his desire to visit his mentors in Du Weldenvarden is to glean more information about the pair from Oromis and Glaedr. They challenge his belief that Morzan is his father, arguing instead that it was his original mentor, Brom. While Eragon appears to take this in stride, he secretly keeps Brom’s broken blade under his bed.
Eragon pulls much of his strength from his love of Carvahall and its citizens. His love for Saphira is deep and pure and many of the decisions he makes, that shape the plot of Brisingr, are based on his relationship with her. Eragon values family bonds. His relationship with his cousin Roran is unbreakable. It is for him that he undergoes a trip to Helgrind to save his soon-to-be bride. This trip results in a confrontation between the cousins and the final Ra’zacs, leading to the death of their race. The chapters that focus on Roran place a great deal of emphasis on his relationship with his wife and their anticipation of a child. She is a devoted partner and stands up for Roran when she believes Nasuada is asking too much of her husband. Roran and Katrina’s stable relationship is a direct foil for Eragon and Arya.
The reader will recognize that they used to be in a romantic relationship but Arya decided to call it off. Eragon still has romantic feelings for Arya and his attraction to her sways his decision making and has rendered him unable to find another partner. He believes that since he is a half-elf and therefore practically immortal that he is only suited for someone else with this trait. He covers his unyielding affection for Arya with his drive to defeat Galbatorix. Luckily, he and Arya still compliment each other in battle and between the are able to move toward the defeat of the Empire.
By Christopher Paolini