Northern Lights by Philip Pullman Essay

How is tension created in the extract and how does it make the reader feel for Lyra? In northern light Philip Pullman takes the reader on an exciting journey which has unexpected conclusions that catch their imagination. Suspense is built up throughout as Lyra’s life is in danger. The story outlines the feelings of Lyra as she goes on the thrilling voyage. Philip Pullman has created imagery by using adjective and adverbs to give it life. In the extract tension is created and Lyra’s feelings have been expressed as she worries for Roger. The extract shows the reader a bit about Lyra’s personality. â€Å"En’t you heard of the Gobblers?† This shows that she is not well educated as her English is not correct. â€Å"†They en’t real, Gobblers. Just a story.†Ã¢â‚¬ They are!†Lyra said†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Suddenly she felt very afraid. Pantalaimon as a fierce lion, sprang in her arms and growled† In these lines Philip Pullman expresses Lyra’s character; she is portrayed as someone that wants her own way and does not like it if someone argues against her. She also can be violent seeing that she got very aggressive when she heard the bad news and pantalaimon turned into a lion. â€Å"And then something else had hit her heart: where was Roger!† This sentence is very powerful as the short sentence make the reader feel as if they were Lyra. â€Å"In Mrs Coulter’s flat, everything was pretty. It was full of light†¦. and the walls were covered in delicate gold and white striped wall paper†¦. it seemed to Lyra’s innocent eye, with pretty little china boxes and shepherdesses and harlequins of porcelain.† Phillip Pullman portrays Mrs Coulter as a very nice typical lady. He represents her flat by creating a picture of a clean, open and bright place. Lyra will not suspect a thing as she seems so nice and friendly. Pullman has created a lot of tension as the audience will be worried for Lyra and what Mrs Coulter will do to her. Page 72 and the extract together create an extra special touch to the novel because they create a great deal of suspense. Lyra is being convinced by Mrs Coulter to be her partner on the journey she is going on however Lyra has no realized that she is the one that is kidnapping the children. In the story before Lyra is telling her friends about someone who eats children and at that point the audience will be pulled into the story but they don’t know if Lyra will be caught by her. As the story continues Lyra meets Mrs Coulter who is the kidnapper. Now the tension really builds. â€Å"Mrs Coulter said â€Å"So Lyra I’m to have an assistant, am I† â€Å"Yes† said Lyra simply† Now that Lyra will be assisting Mrs Coulter the audience will start to worry for Lyra. Philip Pullman uses tension very effectively as he has created suspense right from start to the end as Lyra faces many problems. He has even used imagery to portray the mystical world. He has portrayed Lyra’s character very effectively as the reader know now what her personality is like. The reader gets an understanding of how Lyra’s life has been up until now. Overall the story is a nice one because the reader goes through an adventure including sadness and happiness.