Jon Ahai Targeryan Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Didnt old Nan say that things were so bad that mothers killed their new born children to save them from the suffering.To me the Long Night was of extinction proportions but people still survived.Also i think it is just an event happening after every 8000 years when the WW decide to march south.We know for certain that when they are beaten it ends so they are pretty much the architects i bet they use some kind of magic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free Northman Reborn Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Quite simply the Long Night was real. But it has become exxagerated through oral history over the millenia. It was not a period of continuous darkness, it was just a long winter with long nights and short, gloomy days, more severe the further north you went, no doubt. And while it may only have lasted for 5, 6 or maybe even 10 years, this duration got exxagerated to "an entire generation" over the course of millenia. A winter of 5 years should in any case be enough to cause widespread extinction all over the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Blizzardborn Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Quite simply the Long Night was real. But it has become exxagerated through oral history over the millenia. It was not a period of continuous darkness, it was just a long winter with long nights and short, gloomy days, more severe the further north you went, no doubt. And while it may only have lasted for 5, 6 or maybe even 10 years, this duration got exxagerated to "an entire generation" over the course of millenia. A winter of 5 years should in any case be enough to cause widespread extinction all over the world. I agree with your first statement but not the rest. A winter of 5 years is normal in Westeros. Clearly the "Long Night" was something else. I wouldn't be surprised if it was dark the whole time. The Night's Watch wearing all black is most likely rooted in the fact that while dressed in black you could blend into the darkness and so could avoid the Others while searching for the way to defeat them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free Northman Reborn Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 I agree with your first statement but not the rest. A winter of 5 years is normal in Westeros. Clearly the "Long Night" was something else. I wouldn't be surprised if it was dark the whole time. The Night's Watch wearing all black is most likely rooted in the fact that while dressed in black you could blend into the darkness and so could avoid the Others while searching for the way to defeat them. No animal life would exist on the planet anymore if it was dark continuously for 10 years. In my view the Long Night was simply the first lopsided Winter that ever came along, catching the entire world unprepared, as before that there had only been normal, natural seasons. And the Others came in this unnatural first Winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ummester Posted October 20, 2014 Author Share Posted October 20, 2014 So the Others may be just a side effect of the Long Night? Something to consider is the title of the saga - A Song of Ice and Fire. Why does the ice come first? I have found fire and ice is the more common way to write this duality, not ice and fire. I think GRRM is conscious of an ice and fire co-existence, though I can't shake the feeling that he is setting up fire as the more destructive side, life giving, for sure - but destructive at the same time. It seems to suggest to me that warmth and life is inherently destructive, whilst cold and death bring peace and restore balance. And the Long Night is obviously something associated with cold and death. I do tend to agree that it is an event that legend has exaggerated, or distorted - as are many events in the far past of this saga. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Ahai Targeryan Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 people are starting to think scientifically here yet we know the normal rules of science dont apply here.maybe the event did last a generation as said and my only arguing point is currently Westeros is undergoing a very long summer.if there is a long summer then there is/was a long winter.currently the whole story is based during a summer aproximately15-17 years that is a generation to me.i also think the WW have something to do with it bcoz as long as they are winning then the winter persits but when they lose it stops.about survival then they rely on livestock ofcourse and trade.plus wildlings have survived up north for generations but they still increase in number.ofcourse by winter we mean light snow and rain like the climate beyond the wall and on bad days blizards and snow storms like the climate up the Lands if Always Winter hence it is survivable though the shortage of food is the main problem especially if you are at war with zombies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ummester Posted October 20, 2014 Author Share Posted October 20, 2014 Well, if the story comes down to a simple war with zombies in harsh conditions, I'm afraid that, for me, the world and overall plot will be less than the complicated/grey nature of the characterisations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.