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Dust (His Dark Materials)
In Philip Pullman's ''His Dark Materials'' and '' The Book of Dust'' trilogies, Dust or Rusakov particles are particles associated with consciousness that are integral to the plot. In the multiverse in which these trilogies are set, Dust is attracted to consciousness, especially after puberty; the Church within the series associates Dust with original sin and seeks its end. Pullman described Dust in an interview as "an analogy of consciousness, and consciousness is this extraordinary property we have as human beings". Analogs ''Paradise Lost'' Anne-Marie Bird links Pullman's concept of "Dust" to "a conventional metaphor for human physicality inspired by God's judgment on humanity." Writing in ''Children's Literature in Education'', she suggests that the first trilogy develops John Milton's metaphor of "dark materials" from '' Paradise Lost "''into a ‘substance’ in which good and evil, and spirit and matter – conceptual opposites that form the basis of religious du ...
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Aurora And Meteor
An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of brilliant lights that appear as curtains, rays, spirals, or dynamic flickers covering the entire sky. Auroras are the result of disturbances in the magnetosphere caused by the solar wind. Major disturbances result from enhancements in the speed of the solar wind from coronal holes and coronal mass ejections. These disturbances alter the trajectories of charged particles in the magnetospheric plasma. These particles, mainly electrons and protons, precipitate into the upper atmosphere (thermosphere/exosphere). The resulting ionization and excitation of atmospheric constituents emit light of varying colour and complexity. The form of the aurora, occurring within bands around both polar regions, is also dependent on the amount of acceleration imp ...
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Allegory Of The Cave
The Allegory of the Cave, or Plato's Cave, is an allegory presented by the Ancient Greece, Greek philosopher Plato in his work ''Republic (Plato), Republic'' (514a–520a) to compare "the effect of education (Wiktionary:παιδεία, παιδεία) and the lack of it on our physis, nature". It is written as a dialogue between Plato's brother Glaucon and his mentor Socrates, narrated by the latter. The allegory is presented after the analogy of the sun (508b–509c) and the analogy of the divided line (509d–511e). In the allegory "The Cave," Plato describes a group of people who have lived chained to the wall of a cave all their lives, facing a blank wall. The people watch shadows projected on the wall from objects passing in front of a fire behind them and give names to these shadows. The shadows are the prisoners' reality, but are not accurate representations of the real world. The shadows represent the fragment of reality that we can normally perceive through our senses, ...
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The Subtle Knife
''The Subtle Knife'' is a young-adult fantasy novel published in 1997 and the second book in Philip Pullman's ''His Dark Materials'' trilogy. The novel continues the adventures of Lyra Belacqua (now known as Lyra Silvertongue) recounted in the first novel, ''Northern Lights'', as she investigates the mysterious phenomenon of Dust. Will Parry is introduced as a companion to Lyra, and together they explore new worlds in the search for Will's father. Setting The main setting is a universe dominated by the Magisterium, an international theocracy which actively suppresses heresy. In Lyra's world, humans' souls naturally exist outside of their bodies in the form of sentient " dæmons" in animal form which accompany, aid, and comfort their humans. An important plot device is the alethiometer, a truth-telling symbol reader. By setting the alethiometer's hands to point to symbols around a dial a skilled practitioner can pose questions, which are answered by the movement round the dial ...
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Cittagazze
This article covers the fictional locations in the ''His Dark Materials'' trilogy and related works by Philip Pullman. Locations Jordan College Jordan College is a fictional college. It exists in Oxford in a universe parallel to our own and is the home of the trilogy's young heroine, Lyra Belacqua. The location and layout of Jordan College is analogous to the location of Exeter College, Philip Pullman's alma mater, at the University of Oxford. However, unlike the fictional college, Exeter College is not the oldest ''(it is the fourth-oldest)'', nor is it the largest or richest college at Oxford. Jordan College is an exaggerated version of the real Exeter College, rambling above and below ground in a motley arrangement of buildings, cellars and tunnels constructed over several centuries: :''What was above ground was only a small fraction of the whole. Like some enormous fungus whose root-system extended over acres, Jordan (finding itself jostling for space above ground with S ...
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List Of His Dark Materials And The Book Of Dust Characters
This is a list of characters from the two Philip Pullman trilogies, ''His Dark Materials'' and ''The Book of Dust''. Introduced in ''Northern Lights'' Lyra Belacqua Lyra Belacqua, later known as Lyra Silvertongue, is the central character of ''His Dark Materials'' and a key character in ''The Book of Dust''. Together with her dæmon Pantalaimon, she is introduced in ''La Belle Sauvage'', where she is being protected from the Magisterium. Initially, as a baby, by the nuns of the Priory of Saint Rosamund, and later she is brought up by the scholars of Jordan College. In '' Northern Lights'', as she leaves Jordan in the company of her mother, Mrs Coulter, the Master of the college gives her an alethiometer, which allows her to find answers on any subject. Searching for a kidnapped friend of hers, she ends up travelling to the far north of her world, and then across the multiverse, where she plays a part in a cosmic war between forces led by an angel named The Authority and her ...
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La Belle Sauvage
''La Belle Sauvage'' is a fantasy novel by Philip Pullman published in 2017. It is the first volume of a planned trilogy titled ''The Book of Dust'' and is set twelve years before Pullman's ''His Dark Materials''. It presents events prior to the arrival of the six-month-old Lyra Belacqua at Jordan College, Oxford. Setting The Setting (narrative), setting is a Parallel universes in fiction, world dominated by the Magisterium (commonly called "the Church"), an international theocracy which actively suppresses heresy. In this world, humans' souls naturally exist outside of their bodies in the form of Sentience, sentient "Dæmon (His Dark Materials), dæmons" in animal form which accompany, aid, and comfort their humans. An important plot device is the Dust (His Dark Materials)#Alethiometers, alethiometer, or symbol reader, of which just six are known to exist in this world. By setting three of the alethiometer's hands to point to symbols around a dial a skilled practitioner can po ...
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I Ching Divination
I Ching divination is a form of cleromancy applied to the ''I Ching''. The text of the ''I Ching'' consists of sixty-four Hexagram (I Ching), hexagrams: six-line figures of ''Yin and yang, yin'' (broken) or ''Yin and yang, yang'' (solid) lines, and commentaries on them. There are two main methods of building up the lines of the hexagram, using either 50 yarrow sticks or three coins. Some of the lines may be designated "old" lines, in which case the lines are subsequently changed to create a second hexagram. The text relating to the hexagram(s) and old lines (if any) is studied, and the meanings derived from such study can be interpreted as an oracle. Methods Each hexagram is six lines, written sequentially one above the other; each of the lines represents a state that is either ''yin'' ( : dark, feminine, ''etc.'', represented by a broken line) or ''yang'' ( : light, masculine, ''etc.'', a solid line), and either ''old'' (moving or changing, represented by an "X" written on th ...
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Adolescence
Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the teenage years, but its physical, psychological or cultural expressions may begin earlier and end later. Puberty now typically begins during preadolescence, particularly in females. Physical growth (particularly in males) and cognitive development can extend past the teens. Age provides only a rough marker of adolescence, and scholars have not agreed upon a precise definition. Some definitions start as early as 10 and end as late as 25 or 26. The World Health Organization definition officially designates an adolescent as someone between the ages of 10 and 19. Biological development Puberty in general Puberty is a period of several years in which rapid physical growth and psychological changes occur, culminating in sexual maturity. The aver ...
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Mulefa
''His Dark Materials'' is a trilogy of fantasy novels by Philip Pullman consisting of '' Northern Lights'' (1995) (published as ''The Golden Compass'' in North America), ''The Subtle Knife'' (1997), and ''The Amber Spyglass'' (2000). This is a list of the fictional races and creatures in the novels. Armoured bears (''panserbjørne'') The ''panserbjørne'' are polar bear-like creatures that have opposable thumbs on their front paws. Despite their large digits and immense strength they have remarkable dexterity. This, together with an innate gift for metallurgy, makes them exceptional metalsmiths, and they are capable of creating and repairing metal items far beyond the capabilities of human smiths. While they mainly speak English, they are shown to be able to speak other languages. Bears are very difficult to deceive. One exception is Iofur Raknison; the bear-king emulates humans by drinking spirits, wearing opulent clothes, and wanting a dæmon. His gullibility is attributed to h ...
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Dæmon (His Dark Materials)
A dæmon () is a type of fictional being in the Philip Pullman fantasy trilogy ''His Dark Materials''. Dæmons are the external physical manifestation of a person's "inner-self" that takes the form of an animal. Dæmons have human intelligence, are capable of human speech—regardless of the form they take—and usually behave as though they are independent of their humans. Pre-pubescent children's dæmons can change form voluntarily, almost instantaneously, to become any creature, real or imaginary. During their adolescence a person's dæmon undergoes "settling", an event in which that person's dæmon permanently and involuntarily assumes the form of the animal which the person most resembles in character. Dæmons are usually of the opposite sex to their human, though same-sex dæmons do exist. Although dæmons mimic the appearance and behaviour of the animals they resemble perfectly, dæmons are not true animals, and humans, other dæmons, and true animals are able to disting ...
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Tree Of The Knowledge Of Good And Evil
In Judaism and Christianity, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil ( he, עֵץ הַדַּעַת טוֹב וָרָע, ʿêṣ had-daʿaṯ ṭōḇ wā-rāʿ, label=Tiberian Hebrew, ) is one of two specific trees in the story of the Garden of Eden in Book of Genesis, Genesis 2–3, along with the Tree of life (biblical), tree of life. Alternatively, some scholars have argued that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is just another name for the tree of life. In Genesis Narrative Genesis 2 narrates that God places the man in a garden with trees of whose fruits he may eat, but forbids him to eat from "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." God formed woman after this command was given. In Genesis 3, a Serpents in the Bible, serpent persuades the woman to eat from its forbidden fruit and she also lets the man taste it. Consequently, God expels them from the garden. Meaning of ''good and evil'' The phrase in Hebrew, () literally translates as "good and evil". This ...
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Adam And Eve
Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. They also provide the basis for the doctrines of the fall of man and original sin that are important beliefs in Christianity, although not held in Judaism or Islam. In the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible, chapters one through five, there are two creation narratives with two distinct perspectives. In the first, Adam and Eve are not named. Instead, God created humankind in God's image and instructed them to multiply and to be stewards over everything else that God had made. In the second narrative, God fashions Adam from dust and places him in the Garden of Eden. Adam is told that he can eat freely of all the trees in the garden, except for a tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Subsequently, Eve is created from one of Adam's ri ...
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