His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman and Nicholas Wright Telling the truth. What does His Dark Materials tell us about truth?

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1 What does His Dark Materials tell us about truth? You might like to organise your essay like this: In the first section the introduction explain that you will be looking at the different ways in which the play, His Dark Materials, looks at the theme of truth. Explain to your reader what the different sections of your essay will be. In the second section, outline which characters in the play have a special link with truth and explain what that link is. You might like to mention: Lyra, the armoured bears and the harpies. In the third section, write about Lyra and the truth. Explain that sometimes Lyra s lies can be more useful than the truth, and give examples from the play. Then explain how Lyra herself has been lied to and what the effect of these lies has been. In this fourth section, write about the Alethiometer. Explain what its purpose is, how only children can read it, and what this might tell us about truth. In the fifth section, write about other characters and their attitudes to truth. You should think about the armoured bears and their power to see deception, Lord Asriel and how he tries to find out the truth, and the harpies and what they think of truth. In the final section the conclusion you should sum up what you have found out about truth and explain how important you think telling and knowing the truth is in the play overall doc Page 1 of 3

2 REMEMBER! Each point you make must be supported by a quotation and your explanation of what your point tells us about truth. For example: POINT: At the beginning of the play, Lyra s special link with truth is that she doesn t tell the truth very often! QUOTATION: Lyra the liar. En t that what they call you? EXPLANATION: Tony s comment suggests that Lyra is known by lots of people as someone who doesn t tell the truth and can t be trusted. Planning Use the guidelines and questions below to help you plan your essay. Lyra and the truth (Before filling out this part, you might like to have a go at the Lyra the Liar exercise) Does the truth always help Lyra? When is it better for her and her friends if she lies? In the table below, note down two examples of scenes in the play where Lyra s lies help her or other people. Include quotations and some explanation about how lying helps her or her friends. How Lyra lies Quotation How it helps her or others When she is talking to Lord Boreal, Lyra pretends that she knows all about the General Oblation Board. (p.45) Well I learned about children, of course. And Dust. And sacrifices. Lord Boreal thinks that she knows that the General Oblation Board is the same as the Gobblers. When Lyra finds out, she realises she is in danger and escapes doc Page 2 of 3

3 Who doesn t tell Lyra the truth? What are the effects of their lies? The Alethiometer What is the purpose of the Alethiometer? Usually, only children can read the Alethiometer. Why is this? (p.279) Other characters and truth The armoured bears are special creatures, able to see if someone is lying. But what happens when Iorek drinks spirits as if he were human? What do you think this shows us about truth? (pp.69-70) In Part 2, Lord Asriel is very keen to find out the truth about the Church s plans. But how does he do this? What does this tell us about his attitude to truth? (p.171) When Lyra and Will are in the Land of the Dead, they meet the harpies. What do they say about truth? (p.257) Remember! Each of your points has to be supported by a quotation or example from the play, and you must explain what your point tells us about truth in the play. Some phrases you might want to use when explaining This suggests that This shows us that This tells us that This means that And some connectives In addition (to add information) Moreover (to add information) Nevertheless (to offer a different idea) On the other hand (to offer a different idea) Now write your essay! doc Page 3 of 3

4 What does the play of His Dark Materials tell us about truth? Use the guidelines and questions below to help you plan your essay. Lyra and the truth (Before filling out this part, you might like to have a go at the Lyra the Liar exercise.) Does the truth always help Lyra? When is it better for her and her friends if she lies? In the table below, note down two examples of scenes in the play where Lyra s lies help her or other people. Include quotations and some explanation about how lying helps her or her friends. How Lyra lies Quotation How it helps her or others When she is talking to Lord Boreal, Lyra pretends that she knows all about the General Oblation Board. (p.45) Well I learned about children, of course. And Dust. And sacrifices. Lord Boreal thinks that she knows that the General Oblation Board is the same as the Gobblers. When Lyra finds out, she realises she is in danger and escapes. Who doesn t tell Lyra the truth? What are the effects of their lies? doc Page 1 of 4

5 The Alethiometer What is the purpose of the Alethiometer? Usually, only children can read the Alethiometer. Why is this? (p.279) Other characters and truth The armoured bears are special creatures, able to see if someone is lying. But what happens when Iorek drinks spirits as if he were human? What do you think this shows us about truth? (pp.69-70) When Lyra and Will are in the Land of the Dead, they meet the harpies. What do they say about truth? (p.257) REMEMBER! You should always try and ensure that each point you make is supported by a quotation and an explanation. For example: POINT: At the beginning of the play, Lyra s link with truth is that she doesn t tell the truth very often! QUOTATION: Lyra the liar. En t that what they call you? EXPLANATION: Tony s comment suggests that Lyra is known by lots of people as someone who doesn t tell the truth and can t be trusted. Some phrases you might want to use when explaining This suggests that This shows us that This tells us that This means that And some connectives In addition (to add information) Moreover (to add information) Nevertheless (to offer a different idea) On the other hand (to offer a different idea) doc Page 2 of 4

6 Using the answers from the tasks above, now fill in the gaps below to complete your essay. If you would like to, you can change the words in the paragraphs. Remember: each point you make must be supported by an example or a quotation in quotation marks. What does the play of His Dark Materials tell us about truth? In this essay I will be looking at different ways in which the play, His Dark Materials, looks at the theme of truth. The essay will be divided into three sections: how Lyra is connected with truth; what the alethiometer has to do with truth; and how other characters like the armoured bears and the harpies are connected with truth. Although Lyra is the character most often connected with the theme of truth, she does not always tell the truth! However this can sometimes be useful for her or her friends. For example,... Moreover, some characters have not told Lyra the truth. For instance,... As a result of these lies,... The most important object in the play is the alethiometer, which the Master of Jordan College gives to Lyra before she leaves with Mrs Coulter. It is connected to truth because... To give an example, Lyra uses the alethiometer to... Apart from Lyra there are some other characters linked with the theme of truth: the armoured bears and the harpies. The armoured bears are usually able to tell when someone is lying. For example, Iorek says... However, when Iorek drinks alcohol, doc Page 3 of 4

7 Iofur Raknison is also unable to tell that Lyra is lying when she tells him she is Iorek s daemon. This is perhaps because... The harpies in the land of the dead are also linked with truth and lies. Lyra is unable to lie to them, but when she tells them a truthful story about Oxford, No-Name and the other harpies... The harpies tell her that this is because... In conclusion, I have discovered that truth is one of the most important themes in the play. Different characters have different attitudes to truth. For example, the character of... On the other hand,... Lyra lies less and less as the play goes on, although her lies can sometimes be useful, for instance... Overall, I think that the theme of truth in the play is important because doc Page 4 of 4