The first task--how possible was it?

MrBob

MrBob

Well-known member
First, as soon as the Boy Eustace sets foot in Narnia, he will meet an old and dear friend. He must greet that friend at once; if he does, you will both have good help.--Aslan to Jill in Chpter 2 of TSC

Of the four tasks that Jill was given, the first one was the only one not absolutely necessary and the only one that required perfect timing and both their memories.

They entered into Narnia right before Caspian gives his speech from the foot of his ship. Jill's recollection of the task is also worded a bit differently when she asks Eustace if he sees anyone he knows. Meeting for me implies close contact while seeing just implies being able to see a recognizable face, even at a distance.

Eustace also has to remember about the time differences and how the range for his cousins was between 3 years to 1,200 years. When Eustace finds out that it was Caspian as king, it was too late to go up and greet him (although he could have been flown onboard by Glimfeather.

My subject question--how possibble was it that Eustace would have been able to recognize, meet, and greet King Caspian before he set sail? Was this doomed to fail?

MrBob
 
As Jill said herslef, if she had not nearly got Eustace killed by her " showing off", he would have also knowen the signs, and maybe would have realised who caspian was in time. Aslans leadings are perfectly possible to follow,: it was the humans who stuffed it up. We dont know " what would have hapened" if this was the case, but I think that it would have been very diffrent.
 
I agree with Narborg, the task was possible -- of course it would have had a better chacne of success if Eustace had been there so he could also understand it and be on the look-out. He would have known that he had a task, and then he would have started asking people right away where he was and what was going on. But because he didn't know anything about the tasks, he just hushed Pole up and they missed their chance to meet Caspian ...

So, the task was much harder when it was dependent on Jill alone, and that was her own fault.
 
I agree as well.

If Eustace had heard the signs from Aslan, and knew that as soon as he set foot in Narnia he would meet an old and dear friend, he would have been prepared and would have been more prepared when he saw Caspian, especially when Aslan said to Jill that in the Land of Narnia there was an old king who was sad because he had no son. I think that Eustace would have put two and two together a bit quicker.
 
It just seems to me to be worded in such a way that it couldn't be followed exactly unless my connotation of the word "meet" differed from Lewis' meaning. For me, the term "meet" implies close contact with another person. As soon as Eustace sets foot in Narnia, he is still a distance from Caspian.

Now Jill uses the term "see" instead of the term "meet." Is that a failed memory on her part or an aspect of the British English language that I do not understand. For me, they are two very different concepts with seeing someone as less intimate and more distant than meeting. There is a big difference between seeing a famous person, even a few feet away and meeting that famous person. Meeting for me implies a greeting, a hand shake,
or some other visible gensture of acknowledging another's presence.

I am aware that had Eustace been there with Aslan, he would have been able to more easily seek out the friend. Would it have been the first person he met? Probably not since he would probably ask someone else, which in my book would be a meeting.

My point is that he never met Caspian according to my definition so the first task failed on both her part and Eustace's part for not remembering the time change.

MrBob
 
Thankyou for the welcome inkspot :)

The thing with the meet/see thing, is that we don't know what would have happened if Jill had not made Eustace fall off the cliff, thus making Aslan blow him to Narnia alone. I think that a bit of time wasted becuse of Jill. If both of them had gone together a bit earlier, Caspian might have been nearer to them and there would have been more thinking space.

Aslan gave Jill the signs as they should have been if both she and Eustace had gone together I think, he was not about to alter them just because she wasted time. Aslan says to her "The task will be harder because what you have done".
 
Yah -- we dont know how Aslan intended for the children to get to Narnia if Eustace hadn't fallen. Maybe if that hadn't happened, Aslan intended to deliver them right to the castle to "meet" Caspian before he began his journey or something? The idea that what Jill had done made it "harder" to recognize the first sign makes sense in this context. It was harder, but still not impossible.
 
I'm sure Aslan wouldn't give the children an impossible task! But I'm also certain that He intended Jill and Eustace to get to Narnia together. And that would have made their task much easier!!
But as in the real world humans don't always do what God wants them to do. The good thing is, that Aslan could still use the children to find Prince Rilian. They got a second chance! And even a third one, after forgetting the instructions and going to Harfang. :)
 
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