Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in A Wizard of Earthsea, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Coming of Age
Knowledge and Patience vs. Power and Pride
Identity and the Shadow Self
Duty and Destiny
Cosmic Balance
Summary
Analysis
West of Roke are the Ninety Isles, a community of small islets. Some, uninhabited, are daily erased by the tides, while others are home to villages of seafaring people and fishermen who paddle their boats along the saltwater roads that connect the isles. The westernmost of these islands is Low Torning—and the place is in need of a wizard. Threatened constantly by the dragons of Pendor, a land even further west, the people of Low Torning welcome Ged with humility and reverence, apologizing for the humble quarters they’ve built for him—and yet Ged knows that his pride has no place here.
This part of Ged’s journey continues to show how much he’s learned, grown, and changed from the prideful, headstrong boy he once was. Ged accepts the post on Low Torning with grace and humility. He truly wants to serve the people of the small isle and renounce his former desires for glory and renown.
Themes
Though most graduates of the school on Roke pursue more prestigious positions, Ged knows that the people of Low Torning will need protection from the nine dragons rumored to swarm the isle of Pendor, a desolate place with no food. The dragons have already begun flying as far as Low Torning in search of sheep, and the people need someone to protect them. Ged has accepted the position with grace—since the encounter with the shadow, he no longer dreams of a life marked by fanfare and glory. Still, there is a part of him that thrills at the chance to encounter dragons. Before leaving Roke, the Archmage Gensher warned Ged that a powerful presence which wills his destruction was waiting in the North—Low Torning is a safe, out-of-the-way place where Ged can gather his strength for the struggles ahead.
There is still some excitement in the post at Low Torning—the chance to encounter and even master dragons thrills Ged even as he accepts that he must live a simple, humble life out of the spotlight. Ged knows that his destiny is now forever changed, and yet he wants to find a way to build a new future for himself rather than cower forever in fear of an unseen, unknown enemy.
Themes
Ged begins his duties on Low Torning with a sense of humble gratitude by working herbal remedies and other simple charms such as he worked in his youth on Gont. He makes friends with a boatmaker named Pechvarry and helps the man to charm his boats to make them more sound on the seas. At the end of Ged’s first autumn on the island, Pechvarry’s son grows sick. A witch comes to heal him, but her spells do not help the boy. Pechvarry begs Ged to save the child. Ged kneels on the child’s pallet and senses that the child is already beyond help—yet Ged knows he cannot let his new friend down.
Ged’s humble life on Low Torning is satisfying in small ways—and yet when a large challenge arrives, Ged cannot resist his old impulse to use his powers to save the day. Still so traumatized by the ways in which he failed himself, Nemmerle, and others by releasing the shadow, Ged feels he cannot fail a second major test of his character. He becomes determined to save Pechvarry’s son no matter the cost.
Themes
Ged summons his power and reaches out with his spirit to chase the child’s spirit to the border between life and death. He is able to see the child running ahead of him down a dark slope. He tries to follow the child, but he soon realizes he’s gone too far toward the other realm. Ged begins walking back to the world of the living with taxing, laborious steps. When he comes back to the top of the hill, he sees the shadow waiting for him. Ged knows that if he returns to the world of the living, he will soon have to face the shadow—but if he returns to the world of the dead, he’ll perish. Ged summons his strength and leaps forward back toward life.
As Ged enters this strange space between the world of the living and the world of the dead, he finds himself facing an important choice. Ged’s ultimate decision to rejoin the world of the living—and to face down the shadow, his failures, and his inner conflicts for the rest of his days—signals enormous emotional and spiritual growth. This is an important turning-point in Ged’s coming-of-age journey as it shows that his determination to right his own wrongs and restore balance to his life (and the world) outweighs his fear.
Themes
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Ged, still hovering over the child, collapses to the ground. Pechvarry carries Ged home, where his otak licks him awake. Ged is full of fear and grief: Pechvarry’s son is dead, and as for Ged himself, the shadow has found him at last—now, surely, it will come for him with more strength than before. He begins dreaming of the shadow. Even when awake in the light of day, he feels a cold dread around him. He binds his house with spells to protect him from the shadow but is careful not to spend too much of his power—he still needs his strength to fight off the dragons of Pendor.
Ged’s shadow haunts him in dreams at the most profound moment of self-loathing, dread, and sadness he’s known in a long time. This signals that the shadow has something to do with Ged’s innermost self. Binding his house won’t protect him from the shadow, Ged knows, yet he is so afraid of how the shadow makes him feel that he’s desperate to try and keep it out.
Themes
Ged, frustrated by the difficult situation he has gotten himself into, decides that there is only one way forward. He goes to the Head Isle-Man of Low Torning and asks permission to leave the island and go confront the dragons of Pendor—he does not want to put the people of the isle in danger by bringing the shadow here, nor does he want to abandon them to the dragons’ hunger. The Isle-Man warns Ged of how dangerous facing down nine dragons at once is, but Ged insists that eight of them are rumored to still be young. Sensing Ged’s determination, the Isle-Man gives him leave to go.
Ged is in a precarious position. He knows that because the shadow is near, he is endangering the people of Low Torning, but he cannot abandon them to try to save them, because doing so would leave them vulnerable to the dragons. Ged decides to confront the dragons—placing himself in harm’s way—in order to put the priorities of the people to whom he is duty-bound before his own.
Themes
The great Dragon of Pendor arrived there years ago to take over the castle, drive the townspeople into the sea, and sit upon the once-great king’s horde. No one has ever tried to avenge the loss of Pendor, and ships frequently steer far away from the isle all together. In spite of this, Ged hires a single small boat to sail directly there, He feels fierce and excited as he nears the island—knowing he may die, he feels totally free. As Ged arrives in the harbor, he shouts out, calling the “Usurper of Pendor” to come face him.
In sailing on Pendor, Ged demonstrates remarkable bravery but also a glimmer of his old, reckless self. Ged has not forgotten or erased the person he used to be—and the person he still fundamentally is inside—and in moments like this, his hard-won traits of patience and humility give way to the part of him that still seeks adventure and challenge.
Themes
Several young dragons begin flying at Ged. He casts a binding spell on their wings as they fly close to him. They fall into the sea, one by one, and drown. When three more dragons fly at Ged at once, he casts a Changing spell to transform himself into a dragon momentarily. He attacks them and sends them dropping into the sea. Ged quickly returns to his human form and calls out for the largest dragon to show itself. Ged is startled when the castle appears to change shape—he realizes that the great Dragon of Pendor has been wrapped around one of its spires. Now it uncurls itself and stands in its full power.
Ged demonstrates his immense skill and power in defeating several dragons with little effort. He is a master of spell-weaving and changing alike, and it brings him satisfaction and happiness to use his skills to protect the people to whom he is bound to serve.
Themes
The Dragon speaks to Ged and asks him not to kill his three remaining spawn to try to get to the horde of treasure. Ged insists it’s not the horde he wants. The Dragon, using the Old Speech, flatters Ged by telling him how powerful he is for such a young wizard. Ged knows, however, not to trust the Dragon’s words. The Dragon continues to taunt Ged by asking if he has come to Pendor to seek help against the thing that hunts him from the dark. The Dragon tells Ged to name what hunts him. Ged says he cannot. The Dragon warns Ged that in order to master what chases him, he’ll need to name it. The Dragon says that the shadow will pursue Ged no matter where he goes.
Ged’s encounter with the Dragon shows how far he’s come yet again. Rather than succumb to the Dragon’s carefully selected words of misleading flattery, Ged chooses to remain focused on his mission.
Themes
The Dragon offers to tell Ged the shadow’s name. Ged knows that the Dragon is manipulating him—he is certain that to trust the Dragon would be foolish. Ged tells the Dragon he wants to strike a bargain with him—then he promises that if the dragon never flies east of Pendor, it will come to no harm. The Dragon asks what leverage Ged possibly has. Ged says he knows the Dragon’s true name, and he speaks it: it is Yevaud. The Dragon stands still. After a long while, it again offers to tell Ged the shadow’s name. Ged, addressing Yevaud by name once again, repeats that he does not want any favors. He compels Yevaud to swear that he will never come to the Archipelago. Releasing a breath of flame, Yevaud swears. His oath binds him to the isle, even as Ged, in his tiny boat, sails back to the Archipelago.
Ged doesn’t even accept the Dragon’s offer of help against the shadow, knowing that the personal journey he’s on isn’t one that can be so easily completed. Ged shows himself to be resistant to flattery, to corruption, and to taking the easy way out. As Ged uses the Dragon’s true name against him, it becomes clearer than ever that Ged at last understands how to use his training for good. Ged protects the people of Low Torning—and indeed the rest of the archipelago—without letting his pride, his desire for knowledge and power, or his secret need for glory get in the way. Ged conquers the Dragons of Pendor without sacrificing any of himself in the process.
Themes
