Post 2: Islands of the Blessed by Nancy Farmer Chapters 19-21

Right now, I'm up to Chapter 22 of Islands of the Blessed. Many things have taken place so far. In Chapter 19, Jack, Thorgil and Dragon Tongue discovered that the Tanners had taken Fair Lamenting when they wanted to show it to Father Severus in St. Filian's Monastery last chapter. The Tanners were known for stealing so it was easy to blame them. It was even easier to find them thanks to Schlaup and his incredible sense of smell. When Jack and Schlaup find them, they discovered that the bell has not only been rung twice, but also the clapper inside of it was ripped out because one of the Tanner daughters figured out it was magic. This caused more worry to Dragon Tongue because he doesn't want the draugr to unleash her mayhem. In Chapter 20, Jack, Thorgil, Dragon Tongue, and the Northmen make a plan to have Dragon Tongue, Jack, and Thorgil lure the draugr to a place called Notland where her tomb lies.

Finally, in Chapter 21, Jack, Thorgil, and Dragon Tongue make enough money from selling their goods to buy grain for their village. They also made regular visits to Dragon Tongue's elf daughter Ethne and Pangur Ban the cat to make sure that Ethne hasn't gone back to her elvish ways. They make a deal with Father Severus for Thorgil to be allowed to check on Ethne, but to Dragon Tongue's dismay, Ethne looks horrible and her spirits have been downed by the monastery life, according to Thorgil. So Dragon Tongue tells Thorgil to bring things to cheer Ethne up, such as a comb, mirror, water, and sweets.

There are many themes displayed throughout the book; one of them is the idea of power and using power wisely. Within Chapter 20, Jack asks why Father Severus was so mean to them at the monastery. In the previous book, The Land of the Silver Apples, Severus was more kind-hearted toward Jack and Thorgil, even though he was weakened with fatigue. But ever since he took over the monastery from Brother Aiden, he's been barking out orders and punishments as if he were passing out slips of paper to all the monks and nuns. Dragon Tongue tells him that " 'Severus is an able and courageous man, but he has a fatal weakness' " (Farmer 375-76). That weakness is that he loves power. Instead of the citizens of Bebba's Town to go to King Brutus, they go to Father Severus, because Brutus is lazy but generous and throws parties as much as Severus hands out penances.

Power is advantageous at some times and dangerous at others. Power, on one hand, makes one feel stong, inconquerable, and important. Dragon Tongue went on explain to Jack that Severus "didn't want to recognize [him], because [he] reminded him of when he was unimportant" (376). Father Severus doesn't want to go back to that time where he wasn't needed anywhere and he was weak. However, the power is going very far into Severus's head and this is where abusing power is unhealthy. There are new rules in St. Filian's Monastery made by Father Severus the monks, and most nuns and servants must abide by:

The monks attend prayers seven times a day, and the rest of the time they work. Every afternoon I counsel them on obedience. Wherever they walk, their heads must be bowed and their eyes cast down. They must be content with the most menial treatment. They must admit they are inferior and of less value than the vermin crawing upon a dog's belly. Also, laughing is forbidden. (390) 

This type of treatment made Jack question Severus's authority and even made him doubt his Christian beliefs. As another example, one type of punishment give orders out is called trial by ordeal. One of the nuns, Sister Wulfhilda went through this and came out with a large scar on her hand. She had to hold a heated metal bar in her hand and walk a series of nine steps because she was accused of poisoning her husband. This shows the two-side argument with the use of power.

Post 1: Islands of the Blessed by Nancy Farmer Chapters 15-18

Currently I'm reading Islands of the Blessed by Nancy Farmer. This book is the last installment in the Sea of Trolls trilogy, which is named for its first book. From where I stopped, the main characters Jack, Thorgil, and Dragon Tongue (the Bard) are headed off to a place called Bebba's Town in order to save their small Saxon village from being attacked by a draugr, an undead spirit. They must ride with the Northmen, strong-willed, crazy berserkers who pretty much live off of pillaging other villages. Ever since the draugr appeared, strange things have been happening through out the village. For example, in the beginning of Chapter 7, John the Fletcher's rooster and hens were killed and there was a dead lamb in front of his door. This prompts Dragon Tongue to come up with solutions as to how he could save the people and animals of the village.

In Chapter 16, Jack, Thorgil, and the Bard are sailing with the Tanners, a deceitful family of three and the Northmen with a half-troll, Schlaup. Schlaup falls in love with Mrs. Tanner from the first sniff of her braid. From there, their relationship blossoms into that of a commensal relationship among some organisms. Mrs. Tanner benefits because she can order Schlaup around and Schlaup is not affected by it at all. According to the troll tradition, male trolls, or louts wants their females to be strong. Mrs. Tanner has already proven that by her sterness and the fact that she has two children.

To an extent, feminism is one of the theme present not only in this book, but also in this entire series, mostly with Thorgil. However in this chapter, it's Mrs. Tanner that has the power over Schlaup. She gave him a steady flow of orders, such as "hunting for snacks, furs to rest on, [and] bags of cider" and standing "obediently in the sun to provide her with shade" (Farmer 292). Where Schlaup comes from, it is common for females to be greater than or equal to the males. This is what feminists fight for today: woman power, for lack of better terms. They don't want to always submit to the male. But Mrs. Tanner is using Schlaup to get what she wants and she doesn't care about him. Even Jack had his doubts, thinking about whether "she wanted a half-troll trailing after her" (293).