Eustace the Dragon

I think part of Lewis' point was that he was a dragon at heart - but the circumstances he put himself in (sleeping in a dragon's lair on a dragon's hoard with dragonish thoughts in his heart) acted as a catalyst. There's a post on it over in the Thoughts for the Journey thread.
 
I don't think so - I think that was just a trinket in the hoard. The only explanation Lewis offers is this:

"He had turned into a dragon while he was asleep. Sleeping on a dragon's hoard with greedy, dragonish thoughts in his heart, he had become a dragon himself."

The rest I think you have to chalk up to the innately magical nature of Narnia!
 
PrinceOfTheWest said:
I think part of Lewis' point was that he was a dragon at heart - but the circumstances he put himself in (sleeping in a dragon's lair on a dragon's hoard with dragonish thoughts in his heart) acted as a catalyst. There's a post on it over in the Thoughts for the Journey thread.
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No, I don't think that is quite it. He might have wanted to be a dragon, but Eustance Clarence Scrubb was in no way a dragon in any form, he was a self-absorbed weenie in dire need of a lesson--one he'd never gotten from his parents.
 
Kaosium said:
No, I don't think that is quite it. He might have wanted to be a dragon, but Eustance Clarence Scrubb was in no way a dragon in any form, he was a self-absorbed weenie in dire need of a lesson--one he'd never gotten from his parents.
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Well, that all depends on how you define "a dragon". That Eustace was self-centered and therefore greedy is established beyond doubt in several places, most notably his attempt to steal water and his initial reaction to finding the hoard. He had no thought for letting others know about the treasure, he only wanted to keep it for himself and escape to Calormen where he could have "quite a decent time". That he was disagreeable and (in his petty way) ruthless is also beyond question, particularly in his sullenness and willingness to pick on the (he thought defenseless) Reepicheep, who was the only person on board smaller than he was. That he was stand-offish and unwilling to lift a finger to help others (though he was eager to reap the benefits of other's work) is also clear, particularly by his willingness to slip away and sleep while others got about the work of repairing the damaged Dawn Treader. All these are, in Lewis' mind, "dragonish" traits (read The Northern Dragon, Book 10 Chapter VII of Pilgrim's Regress for a clearer picture of Lewis' view of dragons.)

The important thing is that we not say something like, "Oh, Eustace was surly and petulant, but he wasn't as bad as all that." To say this would miss one of Lewis' major points: specificially, that we all have the capacity for both great nobility and terrible depravity within us at all times, and every little decision and action we make each day will encourage one aspect and discourage another. Only when the crisis comes, the time of testing, will the result of our mundane daily choices be revealed. I'm afraid that Eustace did have the capability to be a dragon, as the incident proved. Fortunately, he retained enough human heart to realize his need and seek the fellowship he had spurned before. (He could have hardened his heart still more and attacked those he had seen as demons in human form - which would have hardened his dragon nature still further.) On the other hand, in Horse and His Boy, Shasta - who had never been entrusted with anything more serious than mending nets - proved in the moment of crisis to be capable of self-sacrifice and heroism worthy of a prince - which he turned out to be.

Fortunately, Aslan was near at hand, both when Eustace made the choices that manifested his internal character and to take action to undo the fateful effects. Eustace did learn the lesson he needed so badly, though it's important to note that Lewis cherishes no illusions about complete and dramatic turnarounds. He still had his days, and change was slow in coming, but change did come - suddenly enough that when they were encountered the Sea Serpent, he had enough courage and concern for others to attack the beast, even though it did no good.
 
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Nicely said, PotW, but I was saying that while he might have had 'dragonish' traits, he wasn't a dragon, he just wanted to be. He wanted to be rich and powerful, a creature that inspired fear in others, but he was in fact a rather nasty little boy who couldn't have held his own with Lucy.

Eventually he realized he didn't want to be a dragon at all, he wanted to be a little boy and the experience changed him dramatically.
 
Eustace was just a self-centered person that thought nothing more of bettering himself. He wanted to be intimidating and higher-up than others. I feel the whole dragon thing was his greed overcoming him and changin him physically in the Narnia world. Of course in the world he was from he wouldn't have changed but Narnia seems to have a strange effect on people, like their physical traits representing their emotional triats.
 
It is not so amazing that Eustace was changed into a dragon. After all, he already was a dragon in any way that mattered. The amazing thing is that he was changed from a dragon into a boy.
 
weell, those are interesting thoughts, but all in all I agree very much with what PrinceoftheWest has said at first. You see, as a friend told me once, Narnia is all about the symbolism, and I believe Eustace did turn into a dragon because he was already partly a dragon at heart. And then, when his 'redemption' came up, he was finally freed from his dragon form because he was no longer a monster inside.
 
Let's say that the dragon was a reflection of Eustace's personality, a greedy, self-centered little twerp. It's through this experience that Eustace learns the error of his ways.
 
romanticdraco said:
:) He was turned into a dragon because he wore the ring after his discovery of the jewels in the cave... Isn't it nice for Eustace to become a dragon than a human? :p
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Ignoring the first part (which is contradicted by the text) Eustace's initial reaction, after getting over the first shock, was to think "This is way cool!" - but he soon realizes that being powerful enough to get his own back on Caspian and the rest is not, after all, what he wants; he just wants to be a normal boy once again, not an inhuman monster stranded on a distant island doubly cut off from humanity.
 
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