Since I changed so much from my original post. I deleted the old and am posting the revised version now.
Prologue 1.02
This is going to be much longer than my typical write up, as I believe GRRM put a lot of extra thought into the beginning ... as do most writers.
Opening scene of
Game of Thrones:
"We should start back,” Gared urged as the woods began to grow dark around them.“The wildlings are dead.”
“Do the dead frighten you?” Ser Waymar Royce asked with just the hint of a smile.
Gared did not rise to the bait. He was an old man, past fifty, and he had seen the lordlings come and go. “Dead is dead,” he said. “We have no business with the dead.”
“Are they dead?” Royce asked softly. “What proof have we?”
“Will saw them,” Gared said. “If he says they are dead, that’s proof enough for me.”
Will had known they would drag him into the quarrel sooner or later. He wished it had been later rather than sooner. “My mother told me that dead men sing no songs,” he put in.
GRRM opens with
3 men in the middle of a
Quest and currently facing a
Challenge.
1)
Gared - "
old man, past fifty" - grizzled veteran -
Past
2)
Will -
POV character - observer & guide -
Present
3)
Ser Waymar Royce - "
lordling" - youth commander -
Future
The
Old Man (
Past) speaks first. He is cautious and wants to
start back. The
Lordling (
Future) speaks second. He is impulsive and challenges the manhood (emotion) of the
Old Man. He wants to go forward. The
Old Man does not fall into the
Lordling's trap. He remains resolute.
Seeing that shaming will not suffice, the
Lordling resorts to logic (mind).
What proof have we? Once again dodging, the
Old Man offers Will's, the
POV (
Present), word as proof. Will does not like this. However, as the
POV character, Will delivers the whammy here:
“
My mother told me that dead men sing no songs,”
A Song of Ice and Fire thus begins.
Setting:
GRRM paints the type of society we are in through the characters.
Gared, the
Old Man (Past) has been with the Night's Watch nearly his whole life. He is the most experienced by far - forty years with the NW. But, he is also the
lowest man; the one who is here by birth rather than deed.
Will, the
POV (Present), is with the Night's Watch because he was caught "poaching" four years ago. As a
common man, he is being punished for trying to survive off of land that is reserved for the aristocracy; at the expense of the many.
Both of these characters are oppressed, but to a different degree and for a different reason - yet by the same person/class.
Ser Waymar Royce the
Lordling (Future) just arrived and is ...
a handsome youth of eighteen.
... Mounted on his huge black destrier, the knight towered above Will and Gared on their smaller garrons. He wore black leather boots, black woolen pants, black moleskin gloves, and a fine supple coat of gleaming black ringmail over layers of black wool and boiled leather. Ser Waymar had been a Sworn Brother of the Night’s Watch for less than half a year, but no one could say he had not prepared for his vocation. At least insofar as his wardrobe was concerned....
His cloak was his crowning glory; sable, thick and black and soft as sin...
...drew his longsword from its sheath. Jewels glittered in its hilt, and the moonlight ran down the shining steel. It was a splendid weapon, castle-forged, and new-made from the look of it...
By the description of Royce, one can see the vast entitlement that comes with being even the youngest son of an ancient house. As leader of the
Quest, he
(Future) is constantly belittling his older and more experienced followers
(Past & Present). He is shown to be bumbling to a certain degree, however he is clearly educated and displays the most logic of the trio (progress).
Royce's skepticism of the threat from the dead shows that in this world, things such as zombies are not believed to be real by the educated
(Future). While Gared and Will are clearly rattled, Will internally confirms that they are not usually like this.
Until tonight. Something was different tonight. Thus, the ruled classes do not presently believe in such a threat either, but they are more sensitive to its approach than the ruling class.
Their interaction then further guides us in regards to the more subtle social structure of this setting.
Will reflects that Royce is mocked by the common men and thus,
hard to follow. He thinks that Gared must feel the same. When Gared wants to build a fire in defense of the cold, he shows Royce the damage he has suffered over the years. Royce still refuses the
Old Man's request to build a fire and replies, “
You ought dress more warmly, Gared.” This is essentially, "Let them eat cake." Not only is this disregard for the well being of the ruled but also ignorance in regard to them. (
Future is uncaring and ignorant irt
Past & Present, even though it is supported and guided by them.) Does anyone really think that Gared did not dress as warmly as possible? And why could he not dress more warmly? Perhaps it had to do with nobility funding.
When Royce is nearing engagement, he seems to ignore Will in regards to being stealthy and even mock's Will for the attempt. Is this just another example of bumbling and inexperience? Or, is it a comment on the folly of the romantic chivalric ideal of honorable combat vs the grittiness of reality? This could also be seen to show the differences between the common man and the ruling class. One must hide in order to survive; the other can flaunt most anything freely and expect fair (or better) treatment.
This spotlights the problematic social structure that will end up being the crux of the song; one of the wheels sought to be broken.
Plot:
The
Lordling/Future in his
Quest with his 2 followers
Past & Present (
3 party members) approaches the
Challenge. The
Old Man/Past, who is wise, urges caution. The
Lordling/Future, who is impulsive, pushes forward. The
POV/Present must lead the way stealthily.
At a certain point, the wise
Old Man/Past is left behind, and the
Lordling/Future continues on with the
POV/Present. Along the way, the
Lordling/Future is clumsy, foolish and arrogant; but smart, educated and brave when he finally faces the
Challenge.
The
Challenge kills the
Lordling/Future. The
POV/Present then dies. The wise
Old Man/Past is an unknown.
The
Challenge is currently
3 fold:
Magic (killed Royce as an Other) - the
Dead (killed Will as zombie Royce) -
Ice (will kill Garen in hands of Ned Stark).
Trope Notes:
Schoolhouse Rock - 3 Is A Magic Number
Somewhere in the ancient mystic trinity
You get three as a magic number
The past and the present and the future
1)
Gared - Old Man - Past - cautious and aged - desiring to
go back - Unknown status - but will die by Ned &
Ice
2)
Will - POV - Present - aware & stealthily observing the the current pathway - Dead - died by
Dead Royce
3)
Royce - Lordling - Future - impulsive youth pushing forward boldly and foolishly - Dead - died by
Magic Other
Conclusion
At the end of this chapter nearly everything has been shattered. The current rule of the
Lordling is dead with an uncertain
Future. The
POV common man/
Present is dead as well. Fade to black. The
Old Man and the
Past are an unknown, but we know he/they shall die soon. By who? Ned of course. With the great sword
Ice.
The rest of the Song is about the
Quest to conquer the
3 part
Challenge; the
game that shall determine what and who shall replace all that has been shattered.
Bran, Son of Ned - judge and executioner of the
Past - is the next chapter.
Questions
`1) Who is Will's mother?