48 pages • 1 hour read
Russell HobanA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
On the way to Fork Stoan, Riddley is torn. He does not know where to go or who to trust. That night, he sleeps among the dogs and wakes up the next morning to find raw meat brought to him by the dogs. He waits until dark and passes the time by playing with the Punch puppet, inventing a conversation between Punch and Greanvine. He walks on toward Fork Stoan and eventually comes across a group of people.
Goodparley dangles by his hands at the center of the group. Riddley sees Orfing and his guards, as well as Lissener and other Eusa folk. They all have “faces like bad dreams” (121). The dog pack howls. Orfing explains to Riddley that he has removed Goodparley as prime minister and taken on the title for himself. Riddley frees Goodparley and hides the sulfur in Goodparley’s pocket. Orfing explains that he has taken control to put an end to Goodparley’s rule, and he plots with Lissener to gather together the Eusa folk to use the sulfur. The Eusa folk sing as they pass around a gleaming axe. Riddley jumps forward to try and save Goodparley from being killed but he is knocked unconscious.
Riddley wakes up to the sound of Goodparley howling in agony. His eyes have been cut out by the Eusa folk. At Goodparley’s request, Riddley leads him to Orfing. Goodparley begs for mercy and Orfing allows him to leave with Riddley. Goodparley’s final request is to be allowed to perform shows using Riddley’s Punch puppet. Orfing is confused, but he agrees on the condition that he modify Goodparley’s ritual scarring. Taking a knife, Orfing cuts a new scar on Goodparley’s belly. Riddley and Goodparley leave, accompanied by the Bernt Arse pack, to search for Granser. Riddley explains to Goodparley that Granser is alive, and he hopes that the old man has the medical knowledge needed to deal with Goodparley’s wounds. As they walk, Goodparley admits that he no longer had the heart to be prime minister as he did not realize that Orfing was conspiring against him.
Riddley leads Goodparley to the woods where the charcoal burners live, and they find Granser. He greets Goodparley warmly, though Goodparley grumbles that he did not stick his knife far enough into the old man who sexually abused him. Riddley and Goodparley stay with Granser a while and learn that the charcoal burners have their own set of beliefs. They do not believe they can recreate the 1 Big 1 (the nuclear bombs which destroyed the world) but they have the knowledge to make 1 Littl 1 (explosive material equivalent to gunpowder). The charcoal burners have kept this knowledge secret, waiting for the final ingredient to be brought to them. When Granser discovers the sulfur, he agrees to try and make gunpowder. Goodparley worries that Orfing has allied with the Eusa folk to try and do exactly the same. Granser succeeds in creating gunpowder but he accidently blows himself up. Goodparley is killed by a piece of shrapnel.
Riddley walks back to Cambry with the pack of dogs at his side. Along the way, the intimidating leader of the pack rubs his muzzle against Riddley’s hand. The demonstration of affection has a profound effect on Riddley, who breaks down and cries for the dead. He returns to a thought which has occupied his mind: the idea that the only power is no power. He returns to Cambry but does not have any visions. The dogs find Orfing at the center of the town, and he admits that he had come to search for Riddley and Goodparley. The Eusa folk held a symposium and created their own batch of gunpowder after torturing a charcoal burner. However, they had an internal disagreement, and, during the argument, the gunpowder exploded. Lissener and other Eusa folk were killed. Orfing admits that he never really wanted to usurp Goodparley. Instead, he felt himself sucked in by the promise of power. He believes that the secret of gunpowder will now inevitably spread everywhere. Orfing suggests that he and Riddley launch their own traveling puppet show.
Riddley and Orfing travel together. Riddley begins to write down what will eventually become his story. They hide from people, and Riddley assumes that most people are attempting to make their own version of the gunpowder. As a result, Riddley wonders whether the Ram and the rudimentary government has broken down. Riddley and Orfing live on borrowed time, certain that they will be killed but not sure how. Orfing pressures Riddley into starting their puppet shows. Using Goodparley’s puppets, Riddley teaches himself how to be a puppet showman. They begin to travel and put on shows, unsure whether the Ram will allow them to do so. In the village of Weaping Form, they are interviewed at the gate. Riddley spots the heads of Granser and Goodparley stuck on spikes along the walls.
Riddley and Orfing perform their first show in Weaping Form, thanks in part to Riddley’s impromptu performance with the Punch puppet at the gate. The audience is unsure how to treat this new form of entertainment. They do not like Punch’s appearance and, when Punch tries to kill and eat a baby, they leap up and try and save the puppet. The stage is knocked over and a fight breaks out. Riddley and Orfing slip away that same night, taking several new friends with them in their party. As they leave, Riddley hears a young boy on the village wall singing a song about Riddley’s adventures.
In Chapter 17, Riddley experiences a profound moment which changes his emotional perspective on the world. Riddley is an orphan, a young man whose mother died when he was young and who has recently lost his father. His traumas also include witnessing numerous deaths, the loss of his community, and betrayal by supposed allies such as Lissener. The narrative takes place over a short space of time and, throughout this period, Riddley has had no time to stop and reflect on his life. Additionally, he has received no emotional support. All of his friends, allies, and associates are either dead or they wish to see him dead. When the leader of the dog pack rubs his muzzle against Riddley’s hand, Riddley breaks down in tears. The small display of affection and empathy from the dog is the closest Riddley has experienced to emotional support throughout the novel. For the first time, he stops and reflects on the traumatic experiences he has endured. This moment of catharsis represents Riddley’s transition into emotional maturity. While he is still very young, his breakdown helps him to deal with the pain he has experienced and safeguards him against future travails.
The Eusa folk use an axe to blind Goodparley as punishment for the many years he spent overseeing their systemic torture. Rather than killing Goodparley, the removal of his eyes is a more symbolic gesture. The Eusa folk are defined by their physical disfigurements, so they seek to bring Goodparley to their level. The key difference is that they have spent their lives dealing with their disabilities and they know how to function in the world. By blinding Goodparley, they make him completely dependent on others for survival. The Eusa folk inflict their own pain on Goodparley and, in doing so, demonstrate how ill-equipped he is to live as they do. The act of blinding is an important symbolic gesture because it forces Goodparley to live with the pain he inflicted on others, rather than just giving him a mercifully quick death.
At the end of the novel, Orfing suggests that Riddley start a new puppet show. The traveling show is an indicator of the ways in which Riddley can challenge the status quo and rebuild the society of Inland in the wake of the failures of the Ram. Orfing, as a former deputy prime minister, knows the power of the Eusa shows. The puppet shows are the only cultural product in Inland, so they teach the population about important ideas. The Eusa shows have been used to warn the people about the dangers of science and to recommend that they change from foragers to farmers, thus using culture to shape the social ideology which the Ram wishes to implement. The new puppet show is not an instant success. Riddley uses his Punch puppet and invents a new storyline, but the violence of the show causes anger in the crowd. Like Riddley’s first connexion, the first show is something of a failure which is imbued with a grain of hope. While the first connexion taught Riddley how to use his intelligence to challenge everything around him, the puppet show reinforces this lesson. The crowd reacts angrily to the show but, by the time he and Orfing leave, a group of followers has formed around them. This is an important act, as Riddley’s show has inspired the people to leave behind their government-approved lives as settled farmers and take up with a radical new cause. The puppet show might still be in its infancy, but it suggests that Riddley has a powerful role to play in charting the future of Inland.
Action & Adventure
View Collection
American Literature
View Collection
Disability
View Collection
Earth Day
View Collection
Fantasy
View Collection
Memory
View Collection
Required Reading Lists
View Collection
School Book List Titles
View Collection
Science Fiction & Dystopian Fiction
View Collection
Science & Nature
View Collection
Sexual Harassment & Violence
View Collection