The Dames do Moan Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 Can you try and boil down the best overarching themes of ASOIAF into one sentence? My favorite I've heard many times is "the human heart in conflict with itself" but I'm sure we could up with many others as well. Have a good holiday for those who celebrate and a good weekend for those who don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravenous reader Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 1 hour ago, The Dames do Moan said: Can you try and boil down the best overarching themes of ASOIAF into one sentence? I can do you one better -- I can do it in half a sentence: ' riverrun, past Eve and Adam's, from swerve of shore to bend of bay, brings us by a commodius vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs.' 1 hour ago, The Dames do Moan said: Have a good holiday for those who celebrate and a good weekend for those who don't. You too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
300 H&H Magnum Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 Love is the death of duty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravenous reader Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 Just now, 300 H&H Magnum said: Love is the death of duty Brilliant! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
300 H&H Magnum Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 4 minutes ago, ravenous reader said: Brilliant! Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CornishDornish Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 "In peace, sons bury their fathers. In war, fathers bury their sons." - Herodotus Pretty fitting for a series that is essentially anti-war written by a conscientious objector no less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fattest Leech Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 I think this one is most appropriate: "If ice can burn," said Jojen in his solemn voice, "then love and hate can mate. Mountain or marsh, it makes no matter. The land is one." But I also think these ideas reinforce this idea because it goes to help humanity in Westeros in many ways of survival, to bring two different things together to create something stronger: "He's of my village. You know nothing, Jon Snow. A true man steals a woman from afar, t' strengthen the clan. Women who bed brothers or fathers or clan kin offend the gods, and are cursed with weak and sickly children. Even monsters." and "Bastards were common enough, but incest was a monstrous sin to both old gods and new" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravenous reader Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 7 minutes ago, The Fattest Leech said: "If ice can burn," said Jojen in his solemn voice, "then love and hate can mate. Mountain or marsh, it makes no matter. The land is one." Ooh, good one, Leech! 'One but overwrinkled' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fattest Leech Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 2 minutes ago, ravenous reader said: Ooh, good one, Leech! 'One but overwrinkled' Gotta love those Reed kids Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winter daughter Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 “Life is not a song, sweetling. Someday you may learn that, to your sorrow.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Therae Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 "Different roads sometimes lead to the same castle." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Suburbs Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 On 4/16/2017 at 1:45 PM, winter daughter said: “Life is not a song, sweetling. Someday you may learn that, to your sorrow.” Beat me to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seams Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 On 4/16/2017 at 0:55 PM, CornishDornish said: "In peace, sons bury their fathers. In war, fathers bury their sons." - Herodotus Pretty fitting for a series that is essentially anti-war written by a conscientious objector no less. Yes. The anti-war theme as well as the, "Killing children is bad" theme. "For a start," said Ned, "I do not kill children." Cersei had the babes killed, and sold the mother to a passing slaver. But also: Talk is cheap. Talk of honor means nothing. And sometimes "honorable" behavior is also useless if the logic behind it is flawed or if it does not achieve a just and desirable outcome. Ned had heard enough. "You send hired knives to kill a fourteen-year-old girl and still quibble about honor?" He pushed back his chair and stood. "Do it yourself, Robert. The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword. Look her in the eyes before you kill her. See her tears, hear her last words. You owe her that much at least." " . . . If truth be told, I did the Targaryen girl more good than you with all your talk of honor. Let some sellsword drunk on visions of lordship try to kill her. Likely he'll make a botch of it, and afterward the Dothraki will be on their guard. If we'd sent a Faceless Man after her, she'd be as good as buried." Ned's approach of following the letter of the law is his idea of honor, but I think Mormont's compassionate, pragmatic approach is held up as a contrast to Ned's. Would Ned have tolerated Craster giving his sons to the woods, the way that Mormont and Benjen and the other rangers did? Is Ned more noble because he always passes sentences and executes deserters himself, or is his sense of honor based on a flawed idea of severe punishment for any transgression? Is Mormont less honorable than Ned because he chooses to accept Craster's sacrifice of babies in return for help for the Night's Watch? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Eyes Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 On 4/16/2017 at 11:11 AM, The Dames do Moan said: Can you try and boil down the best overarching themes of ASOIAF into one sentence? My favorite I've heard many times is "the human heart in conflict with itself" but I'm sure we could up with many others as well. Have a good holiday for those who celebrate and a good weekend for those who don't. Troublesome times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucius Lovejoy Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 The first thing that comes to mind is the Bob Marley song "Waiting In Vain" thinking about how long it will be until TWoW comes out (it actually never will). As for the actual story, that is a tough one... I keep coming back to nihilistic themes but I don't want something so negative. I'll borrow a line from my favorite movie "Casablanca" - "Where I'm going you cannot follow, what I've got to do you can't be any part of - I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CornishDornish Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 @Seams Carrying on from the theme of children dying and the senseless nature of war with some real nasty quotes Varys to Ned Quote Varys gave a long weary sigh, the sigh of a man who carried all the sadness of the world in a sack upon his shoulders. "The High Septon once told me that as we sin, so do we suffer. If that's true, Lord Eddard, tell me … why is it always the innocents who suffer most, when you high lords play your game of thrones? Tyrion checking his privilege Quote "Yes." Ser Cleos lowered himself onto a bench. "It is bad in the riverlands, Tyrion. Around the Gods Eye and along the kingsroad especially. The river lords are burning their own crops to try and starve us, and your father's foragers are torching every village they take and putting the smallfolk to the sword." That was the way of war. The smallfolk were slaughtered, while the highborn were held for ransom. Remind me to thank the gods that I was born a Lannister. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarlDanski Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 Winter Is Coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.