Nathan Stark Posted January 23, 2021 Share Posted January 23, 2021 Quote He started with the moon and stars and soon as he was done He gulped the clouds, he sipped the wind and gobbled up the sun. Then sitting there in the cold dark air, He started to nibble his feet, Then his legs, then his hips Then his neck, then his lips Till he sat there just gnashin' his teeth 'Cause nothin' was nothin' was Nothin' was nothin' was Nothin' was left to eat. -Shel Silverstein You may be wondering why I chose to make this post about a children's poem that has nothing to do with ASOIAF. That's because the poem does have something to do with ASOIAF. It has a character archetype, the Hungry Mungry. Shel Silverstien's poem tells the fanciful tale of a boy so hungry that he eats, and eats, and eats, until there is nothing left to eat but himself. And when he is nothing left but a pair nattering teeth, the poem ends, with Hungry Mungry eternally lonely, eternally hungry, eternally nothing. There are a number of similar characters within ASOIAF who seem driven to take everything for themselves, to carve up the biggest peice of Westeros they can to satiate the emptiness inside them. From Tywin Lannister and Roose Bolton, to Cersei and Euron Greyjoy, the series is filled with malignant villians who are driven ultimately to fill up the largest space they can, to rule over all. In the end, however, like Tywin rotting away pathetically in the Sept of Baelor, they are fundamentally hollow. Tywin's desire to make his House the greatest power in Westeros ultimatly has led to the brink of its downfall. Ultimately however, the greatest Hungry Mungry of them all is Petyr Baelish. Littllefinger is at heart a dissapointed romantic. He may have best loved the songs about plucky underdog figures who bested the knights and got the lady in the end, or so it appears from his actions. He wanted Catelyn and fought a duel to win her hand, because that was what happens in the songs. His defeat left behind a bitter, spiteful broken little boy determined get revenge on the Starks, obsessed with gaining wealth and power and devoted to the proposition that Littlefinger should have all of Westeros because Littlefinger is the plucky underdog. Like Hungry Mungry, Littlefinger is never satiated, will never be, he thinks, until he has won everything in the world; Westeros, Sansa, Winterfell and Harrenhal and Riverun and the Eyrie, why not? At the end of the day, Littlefinger is still the angry, resentful dissapointed romantic. He has spent his life expanding his wealth and power, eating up everything in his path. But he is hollow, his nihilism leading inexorably to the point where there is nothing left to consume except himself. He is the ultimate Hungry Mungry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Middlefinger Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 You'll be all surprised who Littlefinger turns out to be at the end, because everyone wants him to be dead and readers are almost certain it will happen soon. Well, George also know about that, especially after the show reactions, so he will do opposite thing. You're welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Eyes Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 22 hours ago, Nathan Stark said: You may be wondering why I chose to make this post about a children's poem that has nothing to do with ASOIAF. That's because the poem does have something to do with ASOIAF. It has a character archetype, the Hungry Mungry. Shel Silverstien's poem tells the fanciful tale of a boy so hungry that he eats, and eats, and eats, until there is nothing left to eat but himself. And when he is nothing left but a pair nattering teeth, the poem ends, with Hungry Mungry eternally lonely, eternally hungry, eternally nothing. There are a number of similar characters within ASOIAF who seem driven to take everything for themselves, to carve up the biggest peice of Westeros they can to satiate the emptiness inside them. From Tywin Lannister and Roose Bolton, to Cersei and Euron Greyjoy, the series is filled with malignant villians who are driven ultimately to fill up the largest space they can, to rule over all. In the end, however, like Tywin rotting away pathetically in the Sept of Baelor, they are fundamentally hollow. Tywin's desire to make his House the greatest power in Westeros ultimatly has led to the brink of its downfall. Ultimately however, the greatest Hungry Mungry of them all is Petyr Baelish. Littllefinger is at heart a dissapointed romantic. He may have best loved the songs about plucky underdog figures who bested the knights and got the lady in the end, or so it appears from his actions. He wanted Catelyn and fought a duel to win her hand, because that was what happens in the songs. His defeat left behind a bitter, spiteful broken little boy determined get revenge on the Starks, obsessed with gaining wealth and power and devoted to the proposition that Littlefinger should have all of Westeros because Littlefinger is the plucky underdog. Like Hungry Mungry, Littlefinger is never satiated, will never be, he thinks, until he has won everything in the world; Westeros, Sansa, Winterfell and Harrenhal and Riverun and the Eyrie, why not? At the end of the day, Littlefinger is still the angry, resentful dissapointed romantic. He has spent his life expanding his wealth and power, eating up everything in his path. But he is hollow, his nihilism leading inexorably to the point where there is nothing left to consume except himself. He is the ultimate Hungry Mungry. I thought Tywin's body was taken back to the Westerlands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Stark Posted January 24, 2021 Author Share Posted January 24, 2021 2 hours ago, Angel Eyes said: I thought Tywin's body was taken back to the Westerlands. Maybe it was. I forget what happened to it after it was moved from the Sept. The main point is that it was rotting and foul-smelling while lying in state for the funeral. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay21 Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 On 1/24/2021 at 10:50 AM, littlefingered said: You'll be all surprised who Littlefinger turns out to be at the end, because everyone wants him to be dead and readers are almost certain it will happen soon. Well, George also know about that, especially after the show reactions, so he will do opposite thing. You're welcome! I knew it! He's Benjen Naharis/ Quaithe! Man, the last piece falls neatly into place... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FictionIsntReal Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 Admittedly, we aren't inside Littlefinger's head, but I'd say he's one of the more smug and self-satisfied characters. Would he like more? Sure, why not. But I don't think he views what he has now as insufficient. I don't think he was "obsessed with getting revenge on the Starks" either. His angle was to set both the Starks and Lannisters against each other, even though he had never been wronged by the Lannisters. He suggested that Ned support Renly instead of Stannis (because Stannis hates LF, whereas Renly likes him), and turned against Ned when Ned rejected that option. If the Hand had been a Lannister dealing with the illegitimate children of Lyanna attributed to Robert, LF would have no problem betraying that Hand either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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