Some thoughts on ACoK Theon

[corrielle]

This is mostly me rambling a lot and trying to sort out my thoughts on my beloved messed up Greyjoy before I don't see him in the books for a while.

A lot of fannish meta has been written about Theon Greyjoy.  And why not?  He's the boy torn between the Starks and the Greyjoys, the boy who doesn't belong, who makes terrible choices and brings his

Comments

[dk65]

Theon is an incredibly confused young man with an equally confused understanding of right and wrong. The fact that he is Lord Stark's hostage, who is expected to imbibe an understanding of honour and loyalty from the very man who might have to execute him if his own father rebels would increase that sense of confusion. It is as though he is pulled both ways, by his Ironborn birth and his Northern upbringing. And then, there is his relationship with the Northmen, which has grown and developed in his nine years as a hostage at Winterfell. They are, of course, furious at his betrayal

[corrielle]

The fact that he is Lord Stark's hostage, who is expected to imbibe an understanding of honour and loyalty from the very man who might have to execute him if his own father rebels would increase that sense of confusion.

This is such a good point. It is, in fact, now on my "top ten things that contribute to Theon's messed up psyche" list.

the ironborn are harder, because they have to fight for their means of survival, not just against the sea but also against the lack of natural resources on the Iron Islands.

Yep. (Nothing much else of substance to say here. Just thought this was a good point.)

Asha's reasons for building an alliance with the North, which were based on common sense--the need for food and fuel; the possibility of settling Ironborn on the Stony Shore--is reminiscent of Japan's often troubled relationship with Asia.

Ooooooo.... interesting. Real life historical parallels in ASoIaF for the win.

Thanks for commenting!

[dk65]

There are times when I think ASOIAF is based ENTIRELY on real-life historical parallels that have been mixed and mashed up to create a new universe.