Ogion Character Analysis in A Wizard of Earthsea

Ogion is the wise Gontish mage who takes on the young but promising Ged (then known as Duny) as a prentice. After giving Duny his true name of Ged in a ritual ceremony on Ged’s 13th birthday, Ogion takes Ged across the island to the village of Re Albi, where he begins slowly instructing Ged in the building blocks of magery. Ogion is a largely silent, wise, and sage man who never sees a need for rush, pompousness, or glory. This frustrates the headstrong and hungry young Ged, who longs to quickly amass skills in powerful and increasingly dark magical arts. Perturbed by Ged’s reckless pursuit of immense power and strange, ancient magic, Ogion encourages the bot to travel to Roke and attend the School for wizards there (which Ogion himself attended), but he also warns Ged not to blindly pursue power, glory, and fame. Many years later, after several painful, traumatic, and dangerous adventures, Ged returns in falcon form to his old master’s doorstep to recuperate. Ged is ashamed of the foolhardy boy he once was, and he tells Ogion, his “true master,” that he should have better integrated the skills of patience, care, and a slow accumulation of knowledge that Ogion tried to teach him at a young age. Ogion is an endlessly forgiving, tender, and understanding man. As the wise mage he is, Ogion understands the passion and foolishness of youth. His initial sense of Ged’s powerful potential never fades, and he continues to support his onetime prentice even years after Ged leaves his side. Ogion teaches Ged many important lessons about patience, kindness, duty, and the ineffable cosmic balance which governs all things.

Ogion Quotes in A Wizard of Earthsea

The A Wizard of Earthsea quotes below are all either spoken by Ogion or refer to Ogion. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

He crossed to the far bank, shuddering with cold but walking slow and erect as he should through that icy, living water. As he came to the bank Ogion, waiting, reached out his hand and clasping the boy's arm whispered to him his true name: Ged.

Related Characters: Ged / Duny / Sparrowhawk, Ogion

Related Symbols: True Names

Page Number and Citation: 17

Explanation and Analysis:

In this passage, Duny receives his “true name” from his master-to-be, the wise old wizard Ogion. This passage introduces the concept of true-names and use-names. In the world of Earthea, every living thing has a true name—and throughout the novel, true names symbolize the ways in which the denizens of Earthsea seek to know, name, and understand the fundamental essence of all living things. Ogion gives Ged his true name, demonstrating early on in their relationship that he sees, knows, and accepts his new prentice (the word the novel uses for “apprentice”) for who he is, good or bad. True Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Po

"You want to work spells," Ogion said presently, striding along. […] Wait. Manhood is patience. Mastery is nine times patience. What is that herb by the path?"

[…]

"I don't know."

"Fourfoil, they call it." Ogion had halted, the coppershod foot of his staff near the little weed, so Ged looked closely at the plant, and plucked a dry seedpod from it, and finally asked, since Ogion said nothing more, "What is its use, Master?"

"None I know of."

Related Characters: Ogion (speaker), Ged / Duny / Sparrowhawk (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 19

Explanation and Analysis:

As Ged begins his apprenticeship with Ogion—who is known throughout Gont as “Ogion the Silent”—he finds himself frustrated with his master’s quiet, humble demeanor and refusal to use magic to complete everyday tasks. In this passage, Ogion demonstrates to Ged that he is unwilling to change his nature for Ged’s benefit. Ogion wants Ged—whose thirst for power the older man can easily sense—to slow down and approach his education without an outcome in mind. Ged wants to amass knowledge and power as quickly as he can. He knows he is talented, and he feels he is bound for greatness—but Ogion Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum vo

“Ged, listen to me now. Have you never thought how danger must surround power as shadow does light? This sorcery is not a game we play for pleasure or for praise. Think of this: that every word, every act of our Art is said and is done either for good, or for evil. Before you speak or do you must know the price that is to pay!”

Related Characters: Ogion (speaker), Ged / Duny / Sparrowhawk

Page Number and Citation: 27

Explanation and Analysis:

After Ogion walks in on Ged toying with a dark, ancient summoning spell—a spell well beyond Ged’s faculties, and possibly even beyond Ogion’s—Ogion speaks sternly to his prentice as he explains the careful equilibrium that governs the practice of sorcery. This passage is significant because it represents Ogion’s desperate attempt to impress upon his headstrong, power-hungry prentice the dangers of making a “game” of serious arts. Power, Ogion warns, is often surrounded by an aura of danger. Just as there cannot be light without shadow, there cannot be a concentration of power without the threat of that power’s perversion. Throughout Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta.

"I have no strength against the thing," Ged answered.

Ogion shook his head… […] "Strange," he said: "You had strength enough to outspell a sorcerer in his own domain, there in Osskil. You had strength enough to withstand the lures and fend off the attack of the servants of an Old Power of Earth. And at Pendor you had strength enough to stand up to a dragon."

"It was luck I had in Osskil, not strength," Ged replied, and he shivered again as he thought of the dreamlike deathly cold of the Court of the Terrenon. “As for the dragon, I knew his name. The evil thing, the shadow that hunts me, has no name."

“All things have a name," said Ogion.

Related Characters: Ged / Duny / Sparrowhawk (speaker), Ogion (speaker), Yevaud, the Dragon of Pendor, The Shadow, Benderesk

Related Symbols: True Names

Page Number and Citation: 150

Explanation and Analysis:

After fleeing the Court of the Terrenon in the midst of an assault by the shadowy Servants of the Stone, Ged flies in falcon form to the home of his old master Ogion the Silent. Ged is driven to Ogion’s hut by instinct—having lost his otak, failed to protect Serret, and nearly losing himself in his bird form forever, Ged knows on a primal level that he must return to the place his journey began in order to figure out what to do next. In this passage, Ged laments to Ogion his feelings of being unable to match the shadow Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligen

"You must turn around."

"Turn around?"

"If you go ahead, if you keep running, wherever you run you will meet danger and evil, for it drives you, it chooses the way you go. You must choose. You must seek what seeks you. You must hunt the hunter."

Related Characters: Ogion (speaker), Ged / Duny / Sparrowhawk (speaker), The Shadow

Page Number and Citation: 151

Explanation and Analysis:

In this passage, Ogion explains that what Ged has been doing so far—outrunning the shadow whenever he meets it—is counterproductive and in fact dangerous. To continue pursuing the shadow makes Ged more vulnerable to it. Metaphorically speaking, this suggests that to be so afraid of the unknown that one refuses to try and understand it means that one is all the more vulnerable to unknown, unseen, or unspeakable forces. Rather than letting himself (and his destiny) be controlled by the shadow’s whims, Ogion suggests, Ged needs to take control of the situation and harness his own skill, power, and self-knowledge Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis

Ogion Character Timeline in A Wizard of Earthsea

The timeline below shows where the character Ogion appears in A Wizard of Earthsea. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Knowledge and Patience vs. Power and Pride Theme Icon

The wizard, who is called Ogion the Silent, announces that the tales of Duny’s deed with the fog have reached his... (full context)

...him. On the far bank, as the boy emerges from the river, he finds that Ogion is there to receive him. Ogion gives the boy his true name: Ged. That evening,... (full context)

Ged thinks that as the prentice of a great mage like Ogion, he will quickly and easily amass power, knowledge, and mastery of his skills—he imagines transforming... (full context)

Ogion encourages Ged to learn about everything around him. He doesn’t want Ged to simply learn... (full context)

After many days of travel, Ogion and Ged arrive in the village of Re Albi, where Ogion lives. Ogion gives Ged... (full context)

Spring arrives, and Ogion begins sending Ged out each day to gather herbs. Ged takes delight in exploring nature... (full context)

...him in the meadow the next day and then heads home to peruse some of Ogion’s ancient Lore-Books. (full context)

Ogion flings the door open and enters surrounded by a bright white light. He speaks a... (full context)

Ged says he was forced to turn to the books since Ogion teaches him nothing. Ogion tenderly says that if Ged wants to leave and seek knowledge... (full context)

Ogion seeks passage for Ged on a ship bound for Roke—a ship called the Shadow is... (full context)

...of Roke is known as the Archmage Nemmerle. A very old man who once trained Ogion when Ogion was a young mage, Nemmerle asks Ged to tell him about the seas... (full context)

...lore. Ged stretches out his arm and begins the summoning spell—the one he read in Ogion’s book years ago. The others watch as Ged falls to the ground and then rises... (full context)

...Port at Havnor. From there, he thinks, he might return to Gont and seek out Ogion. (full context)

...have taught him so far: the Masters of Roke, the Archmages Gensher and Nemmerle, and Ogion, too. He is embarrassed about running away from his shadow yet again. He keeps mostly... (full context)

Ogion, who has been wandering the forests of Gont for a whole season, returns to his... (full context)

Ogion knows that great dangers accompany the art of changing—the longer a person stays in their... (full context)

In the morning, Ged wakes and apologizes to Ogion. He feels he has returned to him just as he left: as a fool. As... (full context)

Ged tells Ogion that he needs the shadow’s true name to defeat it—but he believes it has none.... (full context)

Ged, Ogion points out, has already returned to Gont, the place where his journey began—now, he must... (full context)

Ged arrives at the Port of Gont with nothing but the staff Ogion has carved for him. He asks for passage on a ship bound north or west,... (full context)

Ogion Character Analysis

Ogion Quotes in A Wizard of Earthsea

Chapter 1 Quotes

Chapter 2 Quotes

Chapter 7 Quotes

Ogion Character Timeline in A Wizard of Earthsea