Status Updates From The Horse and His Boy (The ...

"But one of the worst results of being a slave and being forced to do things is that when there is no one to force you any more, you find you have almost lost the power of forcing yourself" (p.137). This stuck with me, I am definitely catching on more to the imagery and analogies, and am excited to see how the book ends!

They take great pains to cover their tracks, which requires them to move slowly and quietly. At the top of the ridge, Shasta sees open and grassy, endless, wild and lonely and free. “For Narnia and the North!” which was what Lewis wanted to call the book originally.

Bree tells Shasta to wrap the reins on the saddlehorn because Bree will determine where they go. He tells Shasta to squeeze his knees and sit up straight to hang on. Grabbing the mane is a no-go. He told Shasta put away the spurs because they can sell them in Tashbaan to buy food for the boy. Bree teases him about acting like the horse is a haystack. In that case, Shasta rides like sack of potatoes. LOL

Bree says the reason why Shasta has always longed to go North and asked his foster father about the North is because he’s from there. It’s like someone growing up in an atheist household being drawn to Christ anyway. Shasta checks to see that his father and the lord are sleeping. He sneaks the key to the donkey stable, kisses the donkey goodbye, and gets the tackle. Bree tells him how to strap it all on him.

The name of Aslan has not been said. Bree did say, “By the Lion’s made,” which sounds a lot like “by Merlin’s beard.” However, Bree refuses to say, “May he live forever” concerning the Tisroc because that is foolish slave talk. A Narnian does not care if the Tisroc lives forever. His lord is heading North to the Tisroc’s court in the city of Tashbaan, named for the Calormen god Tash which turned out to be a demon.

Bree says, “Oh the sweet air in Narnia! An hour's life there is better than a thousand years in Calormen” Psalm 84:10 implies that Calormen is where the wicked dwell. Bree tells Shasta that he is treated well because he is valuable as a warhorse. Lord Anradin treats human slaves horrible and Shasta is better off dead. Bree scoffs that at Shasta knowing how to ride because of having ridden a donkey.

Shasta strokes the horse and talks to it in the barn. “If only you could talk and tell me what kind of master you have!” Then, the horse talks! Bree lived on the border of Narnia and Calormen, ignored his mother’s warning not to graze there, and was captured in a raid. He has had to pretend to be a dumb horse in hopes of escaping. He suggests they run away: he can carry Shasta far and Bree won’t look like a runaway.

The influence of Mercury is strong! Shasta leaves because the men are going to haggle the price for the rest of the night. They will go back and forth (LOL) between 15 crescents and 70, He goes to the barn to ponder the meaning of it all. He’s relieved because he tried to love his father, but could not. Then he wonders who is really is. Can you say identity quest? He realizes he is a slave. The lord might be better.