Prince Caspian | Chapter 8: How They Left the Island

Chapter Summary:

This chapter returns to Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, who have just been told the story of the previous four chapters by none other than Trumpkin. Trumpkin can see that the blowing of the horn has brought these four children to Narnia, but it is obvious that he does not think that they--children as they are--will be any help to the war. 

Peter decides that they should all go to the armory in the Cair Paravel ruins to get the equipment and armor needed for battle. After they all obtain armor and weapons, Edmund challenges Thumpkin to a friendly sword dual--and Edmund easily disarms Thumpkin. Then, Susan challenges him to a bow-and-arrow match, and Susan easily outshoots Thumpkin. Finally, when Thumpkin mentions that his arm has a severe wound, Lucy heals him with one drop of her cordial. After this, Thumpkin is convinced that Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy are the Kings and Queens of Narnia, and that they will indeed be help in battle. 

The group then discusses the best way to get back to Caspian / Aslan's How in the fastest and safest way possible. It is eventually decided that they should go by boat as far as possible, and after gathering provisions, they set off.

Reflection:

This chapter provides the reader with a classic example of the importance of never judging a book by its cover. (Or, stated in the non-cliched format, never judge a person by what they appear to be on the outside.) In this case, Thumpkin--in a very gracious way--expresses his doubts and concerns about the impact that Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy might have on the war. Then, in as nice a way as possible, Edmund, Susan, and Lucy all demonstrate to Thumpkin that they are worthy. Interestingly, Peter does nothing at all to impress Thumpkin--at least nothing we are told of.

This lesson, obviously, is an important one for young readers to learn, but it is definitely a complex one. And it's complex because despite the our being told never to judge a person on how they appear, we humans do this constantly. That doesn't mean it's good, and that doesn't mean it's right, but we genuinely do this all the time. We judge people instantly all the time. Think about job interviews and the importance of the first 15 seconds. There are articles out there that will tell you that most employers know whether or not a person is hireable within the first 1-2 minutes of an interview. As someone who has sat on both sides of the interview table dozens and dozens of times, I can guarantee that this is true. 

Indeed, the very phrases "first impressions matter" and "don't judge a book by its cover" are antithetical to one another. You cannot agree with one without disagreeing with the other. 

There is, of course, a darker side to judging individuals by their appearance that goes well beyond just job interviews. Because we judge people by their appearance, we hear stories about black men being followed throughout stores, or fat people being shamed for their appearance by total strangers. The fact that people judge others based on appearances is the basis for racism, prejudice, and stereotyping. 

But we can't not do it. Truly, we can't not. I'm not saying that humans must be racist--but I am certainly saying that humans must be prejudice. If you ask a room of 100 people to stand if they have prejudices, and only 50 people stand, there are 50 liars in the room. Everyone has prejudices because in part, it is an evolutionary part of survival. For instance, it would be wise to have a prejudice against a person wearing a mask and carrying a knife. This would be beneficial to your survival. The problem is that television and media and racism have, for centuries, drawn correlations between people that we should have prejudices against (i.e. violent people) and people that we shouldn't have prejudices against (i.e. black people). And that's where we get our isms from.

Anyway, if you don't think you judge a book by its cover, just rewatch this video, and remember the world's reaction to it. Or, if you're watching it for the first time (which you aren't, because you don't live under a rock), see if you can make some snap judgments about her as she comes on stage. And see if those judgments are correct.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OcQ9A-5noM