Eragon Final Book Review

     Eragon, the first of three books in the same yet-to-be-completed series by Christopher Paolini, is a fictional novel following the adventure of Eragon and Saphira in a world of mythical creatures - dragons, elves, dwarves, etc - and magic. His journey begins when a polished blue stone suddenly crashes in front of him, disrupting his hunt in The Spine, an expansion of feared mountains surrounding his village and extending up and down the west coast of the land. However, Eragon soon discovers that the object he had assumed to be a valuable stone was actually a dragon egg when a blue baby dragon, later named Saphira, hatches from it. A series of events follow and circumstances - the existence of Saphira and the death of his uncle, Garrow - force Eragon the necessity to leave his hometown. Over the course of the novel, which tells the story of his travel to find the place where he belongs, Eragon displays many characteristics that make him uniquely himself.
     Eragon has a strong sense of responsibility. Even before he begins his adventure, he dutifully hunts in the Spine, an expansion of mountains surrounding his village feared by many, for food so that his family can survive through the winter, "The deer had led him deep into the Spine, a range of untamed mountains that extend up and down the land of Alagaesia. Strange tales and men often came from those mountains, usually boding ill. Despite that, Eragon did not fear the Spine - he was the only human near Carvahall who dared track game into its craggy recesses. [...] If he did not fell the doe, he would be forced to return home empty-handed. His family needed the meat for the rapidly approaching winter and could not afford to buy it in Carvahall," (6-7). Although Eragon's family's inability to obtain meat from Carvahall plays a part in the necessity for Eragon to hunt in the Spine for meat, it does not cloud the fact that he is willing to hunt in those mountains even though many others would avoid them due to fear. Eragon's courage stems from his family's reliance on him to hunt so that food can be provided to last throughout the winter. The tales that others tell about the Spine mountains does not suppress his sense of duty. Instead, it only causes him to gain stubbornness.
     Another trait Eragon has is that he is stubborn. When something has great importance to him, his stubbornness would show when he refuses to listen to others. Because the crash-landing of the stone caused the game Eragon was hunting to run away, it forced Eragon to go to the village's butcher shop in hopes of trading the stone for meat that his family needs. However, once Eragon replies that the stone was found in the Spine when the butcher questioned its origin, the butcher refuses to trade meat to Eragon, causing Eragon to refuse to leave. Luckily, Houst, the town's blacksmith stepped in and bought Eragon the meat and offered Eragon the opportunity to work off the debt by working at the blacksmith when he had free time, "'Good thing I came - the two of you were almost at blows. Unfortunately, I doubt he'll serve you meat or any of your family the next time you go in there, even if you do have coins...As for payment, Albriech plans to leave for Feinster next spring. He wants to become a master smith, and I'm going to need an assistant. You can come and work off the debt on your spare days,'" (15). Eragon's stubbornness mostly derived from the obvious fact that his family would starve if they are unable to attain the necessary meat. They would not be able to survive through the winter so he defiantly stay in the butcher shop even though he knew that his actions would only cause the butcher to hate him and his family even more even though they have not done anything harmful towards the butcher and his family. However, this stubbornness only contributes to his rashness.
     On top of being stubborn, Eragon is also rash. During his journey for "revenge," he comes across a bottle with a symbol that is the same as that of his enemy's. Knowing that his enemies are inhumane beings, he is inconsiderate of those who cares about him. His curiosity leads him into trying to identifying the content immediately rather: "Lying on the ground was a metal flask with a leather strap just long enough to hang off someone's shoulder. A silver insignia Eragon recognized as the Ra'zac's symbol was wrought on it. Excited, he picked up the flask and unscrewed its cap. A cloying smell filled the air - the same one he had noticed when he found Garrow in the wreckage of their house. He tilted the flask, and a drop of clear, shiny liquid fell on his finger. Instantly Eragon's finger burned as of it was on fire...After a moment the pain subsided to a dull throbbing. A patch of skin had been eaten away," (166). Without being conscious about possible outcomes, he simply smells the content of the bottle before pouring a drop onto his finger. Even though he had enough common sense to test the liquid first rather than drinking or using the belongings of his enemies, his rashness still caused him to do something that would not have been the best choice. In this case, he had prioritized his desires to find the use of the content by testing it out right then and there rather than returning back to camp so that he could at least have asked his companion whether or not he knew about the liquid.
     Over the course of his adventure in Eragon, Eragon displays many characteristics that distinctively represented himself. His stubbornness, rashness, and sense of responsibility are qualities that both help and harm him depending on the situation. However, these qualities are what makes him himself. Characteristics are qualities that differ between people, forming individuals' identities.