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    For this last discussion post, I read about the Pazyryk culture and what they specifically believe about horses. I think this topic is really interesting when you compare it to how we view the relationship between horses and humans today. Gala Argent, the author of this paper write: “Within  this  belief  system,  animals  are  tied  to  the  unseen  world  in  that  they may undergo  transformations  themselves, and  it is only through  animals  that humans  may  move  between  the  three  levels  of  the  seen  and  unseen  worlds,” (187). In today’s world, we are drifting further away from the spiritual belief or mindset that would have shaped these peoples’ worldviews. This lack of emphasis on the afterlife or spiritual things I think is a cause in the mindset that there is nothing too special about animals, as they don’t have a spirit and we don’t really need them anymore to move between the seen and unseen worlds. Instead, we focus less on nature and more on the self, and how we function as humans in society, which is now totally separate from the animal kingdom or nature. I suspect this is all because we depend on animals much less in modern times than we did when Pazyryk was around, when they would use animals for transportation, crops ,etc.; all tasks we now use human made mechanisms, like cars and machines, for now. This interdependency and emphasis on the spiritual realm is most likely what made the Pazyryks idolize horses so much, and why they were such a huge part of their culture and deaths.

Due to the vital role silk played in Palmyra, women were made into integral parts of the community, improving the product, enabling trade, and utilizing silk in the funeral practices. Perhaps this is evidence that if a community is focused on one output, gender discrimination lessens because both men and women are needed to fulfill the task?

Because so much of Earthsea is divided by ocean, all people in it have strong connections to water (even though this varies in nature from one place to the next). The archipelago is the only significant landmass, so many people of Earthsea live on one of the scattered islands completely surrounded by water. The archipelago seems relatively well connected and, even where people don’t travel to other islands, there’s still trade and communication with other places. However, this seems very different for the Reaches. Ged and Vetch stop briefly at Astowell (or “Lastland”) which is described as completely isolated from the rest of the world. So few people travel that far and the island has so few resources for trade that only their very old leader had ever encountered someone from the archipelago (pg 203). Their physical distance from the closest land (about 150 miles based on the map) is combined with being limited by boats made of woven reeds due to not having wood available, resulting in a very different way of life compared to other parts of Earthsea. This is an interesting contrast to Ged and Vetch, who use the “magewind” to help them travel and by this point had seen many other places on the way. 

Something interesting to note about these two locations and the stories that occur around them is how an invasion is used to frame both the place and its characters.  Given the forces involved, the locations do not necessarily provide protection though, as stated above, influence those within and how they tackle the oncoming threat.  The stark difference in the attitude of the individuals who inhabit each location is also on full display.  The Hobbits of the Shire, knowing they have very little chance against the invading ruffians, bow and cave immediately; meanwhile, the villagers who decide to remain in Ten Alders spend the entire night forging equipment to take with them to the bitter end, showing their hardiness and unity.  Most importantly, both invasions are used to frame their leads in nearly opposite ways, with Sharkey’s gang showing how far the Hobbits had grown and assisting with the closing of the narrative.  The Kargs, on the other hand, demonstrate how much potential and power Ged could eventually reach for, opening the story to a vast sea of possibilities.

When Frodo chooses to trust Gollum a final time, he does his best to control fate by scaring Gollum into obedience, but ultimately he is risking everything. There is a common phrase saying a clear path in the hand is worth two secret paths in the bush, but when one gives a better chance at finishing the mission, Frodo trusts in Gollum. “it seems I must do so,” he says, “and that it is my fate to receive help from you” (640).  

But what if the danger comes not from the outside, but as deep within as it could possibly be?  When the adventurers first arrive at Meduseld, however, all of the above traits seem to be noticeably lacking.  While still decorated with the glorious treasures and paraphernalia of the kingdom and vast as one would expect, the building feels dark, cold, and borderline lifeless; this, of course is quite the opposite of how a hall would usually be found.  It would seem as if the corruption of the king, the head of the throne, had seeped itself into the rest of the body of the kingdom and the very cultural traditions that founds such a celebrated landmark.  With this deep-seeded corruption at the center, the bastion of society ceases to properly function and so to does the rest in turn.  Once the king has been restored, so too are the kingdom, people, and hall itself reborn to their old, traditional glory.

Given the connection between the dead and the supernatural that is present in the Barrows, one wonders if the negative impressions the hobbits feel about Weathertop stem from the presence of the dead buried there? Or at least the knowledge that there must have been much death there because of the nature of it being a ruin. It is strange to think that hobbits so removed from the history of Man-made Weathertop would still be affected by the echoes of death and destruction, but as the reading attests, Fin Cop “was held to be significant by successive generations of people,” and “The destruction of the hillfort can therefore be seen as a watershed moment in the history of this place — one which removed, probably intentionally, some of the significance of the site for ensuing generations.” (219) Hillforts like Weathertop would have been important landmarks, and even after its destruction it does not lose all of the meaning it has accrued. After being reduced to rubble, it is still a destination that draws in both Gandalf and the Fellowship after all.