Bree

Puzzle dear said:
The NFD book makes him sound like a condescending jerk. I know Bree can be full of himself sometimes but he's not a snob.
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After rereading Horse and his Boy I can't find much reason to defend Bree at the beginning. He is a jerk to Shasta and he can be quite condescending. Not intentionally, for the most part.
He puts down Shasta's riding skills, he insults Shasta infront of Aravis and Hwin, and he is full of himself. And in his ignorance he makes false statements about Aslan. Now Bree's ignorance and his vanity tend to blind him to his faults so it's hard to blame him for his behavior.
But like many heroes he changes for the better. However, looking at Bree's first few chapters he's not really the nicest talking beast. He does a few jerky things, but it doesn't make him a complete jerk.
 
Kitanna said:
After rereading Horse and his Boy I can't find much reason to defend Bree at the beginning. He is a jerk to Shasta and he can be quite condescending. Not intentionally, for the most part.
He puts down Shasta's riding skills, he insults Shasta infront of Aravis and Hwin, and he is full of himself. And in his ignorance he makes false statements about Aslan. Now Bree's ignorance and his vanity tend to blind him to his faults so it's hard to blame him for his behavior.
But like many heroes he changes for the better. However, looking at Bree's first few chapters he's not really the nicest talking beast. He does a few jerky things, but it doesn't make him a complete jerk.
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Ya, I couldn't agree with ya more!!! :D
 
Something that has already been pointed out on this thread by Corin (specifically post #11) is that Bree was brought up as a slave in Calormen. That has a lot of significance. Slaves have no value except their function - they are either useful, or they are valueless. I think that Lewis' depiction of the slave mentality in Calormen, from top to bottom, is one of the most subtle and powerful aspects of Horse. Remember King Lune's assessment of Calormen as a "land of slaves and tyrants" (a tyrant is what a slave becomes when he gains power over other slaves). A slave is one who is always in fear of losing his position, and this breeds a particular mentality: you tend to be harsh with others who are less competent than you, unforgiving with your own failures, and live in constant dread of those more powerful than you. In Bree's case, that made him condescending and superior to the inexperienced Shasta (as well as Hwin, though to a lesser degree), brutal with himself when he failed in the test at the Hermit's gate, and afraid to draw near Aslan when Hwin, who was humbler, walked right up to Him despite her fear. It also made him vain about his appearance and manners - slaves never want to be thought ill of. Actually, the Hermit's words to him after he announced his intention to return to Calormen were as accurate a prescription as you could hope to find.

Though I don't have the book Narnia for Dummies (and am unlikely to get it), it appears that they missed the subtlety of Lewis' point here.
 
I agree it was his time with the Calormenes that kinda made Bree who he is. Shasta was kind of a lousy rider before he met Bree. But I think Bree can be really nice once you get to know him. :)
 
Certainly! Slavery is quite an ordeal, but you're quite correct in pointing out that it didn't completely destroy Bree's personality. He could be rude to Shasta, but he could also be understanding. He accepted the Hermit's correction and eventually made it to Narnia.
 
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