Archives of Anthropos - John White

This was the original thread which I've merged it with

One thing I've always wondered - why does Mary never come back in the last book - she's not even mentioned!?!?
 
I've read all six books and love them.:D My favorite book is The Last one The Dark Lord's Demise.:) I'm also glad I'm not the only one who has read them. I hope after they're done with Narnia they'll make Anthropos into movies... But mabey by the Time they are done with Narnia I'll be old enough to make the movies. Who knows?

=^..^= (()) (())
 
Wow! I thought I was the only one familiar with these books! I have all six books in the sereis and recently reread them. I forgot how good they are.
 
Well White did say he intended it to be like Narnia, so it doesn't hurt to make comparisons.

I really liked the character of Mary. She was very realistic and I liked the way that even though she came to trust Gaal in IS, she then lost that trust and had to regain it in QftK. It was a real shame we didn't get to see her character develop more in the final book. I really wonder why she's missing - there's not even a mention or allusion of her - it's as if she never really existed!!!?!?
 
I think its like in Narnia when Aslan tells Lucy Edmund Susan and Peter they can't come back to Narnia. Mabey White just thought it was time for a change.

Resolve: I'll ask when I get to heaven assuming White was a Christian :).
 
Ok then, what do you reckon the main message of each book is. They kind of seem to repeat the same message over and over again unlike in Narnia. I couldn't work out if it was an allegory of the general Biblical message or just separate parts.
 
waterhogboy said:
Ok then, what do you reckon the main message of each book is. They kind of seem to repeat the same message over and over again unlike in Narnia. I couldn't work out if it was an allegory of the general Biblical message or just separate parts.
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Each book? Well, in The Sword Bearer it might be, and I quote partly on something like this: 'Trust in the Lord your God and Lean not on your own understanding, with all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your Path's Strait.' Thats like what John learned.

In Gaal the Conquerer, it of course represents Jesus's death and resurrection.

In The Tower of Gebrurah It may represent how when you Journey through life there are trials but you should never give up. Also, Blue Light is True Light

Iron Scepter know what you beleive so your heart is not decived. Also never Trust witches.

Quest for The King is like in the Bible when Jesus is a baby and the Wise Men go to find Him.

The Dark Lord's Demise is a reprersentation of THE END OF THE WORLD!!! :D

That is what I think. ;)
 
White, Anthropos and allegory

Mozart the Meerkitten said:
...
Resolve: I'll ask when I get to heaven assuming White was a Christian :).
Click to expand...

Judging from the allegorical names he gives his characters [examples below] and from John White's nonfiction works on the Christian life such as <The Fight>, I think it is a pretty safe call to assume he is a believer and preceding us in heaven [b.1924, d. 2002].

Here are some examples of allegorical names from Tower of Geburah (my favorite from the Archives of Anthropos, but I've just read books 1-3)
Some Greek names:
Anthropos = man
Kardia = heart

Some Hebrew names:
Gaal = kinsman redeemer
Geburah = strength
Chocma = Wisdom
Bayith of Yayin = house of wine
Nachash = serpent
Nephesh = soul
Quashash = gather together
Tekeleth = blue
Bamah = high place (site of idolatry)

One of the interesting aspects of this series is that you can read it as an adventure fantasy (mostly quests from the few I've read), or if you look up the meanings of the names in a concordance, a whole extra layer of meaning becomes apparent. As allegory they are fascinating although the stories I think lack the fullness of Lewis and the characters and plots are more predictable.
 
I love all that too!! I remember going online trying to find all the meanings of the words.

You've got others too, like the two councillors in Iron Sceptre, Dipsuchos and Dilogos. One meaning 'wavering mind' and the other meaning' double tongued' summing up their characters perfectly!
 
Cool! I'll look those up when I finish getting the books.;)

In ancient Rome at one point Christians were pursucuted so much they were literaly 'Forced Underground'. They made Tunnels where they practiced Christianty and did basicly everything, some people even lived underground.
And what has this to do with Anthropos? This: in Gaal the Conquerer John and Eleanor are taken to a Tunnel complex underground and in the very walls of the city Bamah. There the People who believed in Gaal lived, and had to live because otherwise the consaquenses would not have been good.
I see a conection. Both peoples lived underground in Tunnels after being persecuted by their enemies.
I just thought I'd bring this up because it might be another conection between John White's story and the real world and Christianty.
;):D

Edit: I don't want to post again because it'd be triple posting (that'd be bad) but I keep finding interesting tidbits about Anthropos.

In the first book, The Sword Bearer, there is a bear named Oso, ironicly enough oso means bear in spanish! I thought this was interesting. ;)
 
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