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Aphantasia: Does “Seeing” Aid in Comprehension?
A driving question for me when I began researching this unit, was “Why do my students gravitate towards graphic novels?” My hypothesis was that they are drawn to the illustrations and to the clear and precise text that these books provide. When I read, I am able to form elaborate visuals in my mind that bring the words to life. Often, when a book has a movie version as well, I am unable to remember if I read the book or if I watched the movie. This is how intense my own imagination is. What if not everyone has this same ability? It just so happens that there IS a term for this; Aphantasia. “Aphantasia is the inability to form mental images in one’s “mind’s eye.”1 In fact, according to Carol Westby, “Approximately 1% to 4% of the population experiences aphantasia”. She also points out that individuals who experience aphantasia tend to gravitate more towards math and science than towards reading and arts. This immediately made me think of the many students in my class with reading disabilities, who lack the same learning struggles in math. Westby also explains that it is “more common in persons with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism”.2 If your classroom is anything like mine, this represents quite a few students. Westby also lists a few potential benefits of having aphantasia. The one that stood out to me the most was, “Aphantasia may offer some protection against trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)”.3 This statement makes me wonder if aphantasia can occur as a response to acute trauma, which so many of today’s students have experienced in their lives.
If my students are unable to create mental images of the fictional narratives that we read, I can easily see this affecting their comprehension and overall joy of reading. It seems natural that they would be drawn to graphic narratives as a way to supplement their understanding and to internalize the visual elements of a story. The fact that curriculum designed for students with intellectual disabilities or severe processing disorders often includes symbol supported reading further encourages me that I am on the right track.
Graphic Novels: Providing Visuals for Comprehension Support
“It is recognized that readers of fiction can become oblivious of their surroundings and completely absorbed in the narrative.”4 I know that this is true for me. After some time has passed, my internal visual imagery is often so strong that I am unable to remember if I read a book or if I watched a movie. In a qualitative case study involving 4th graders, students were asked whether or not they could make pictures in their head during reading, “with seven students indicating ‘always’, two students indicating ‘most of the time’, nine students indicating ‘sometimes’ and three students indicating ‘not at all’.5 Think about the last novel that you read. “all we actually see are black marks on a page or screen, we can experience a wealth and complexity of images when immersed in a fictional narrative.”6 What does this mean for students that have Aphantasia? What can we, as teachers, do to help them create visual images to go with the words that they read?
First, we need to disregard the notion that anyone “outgrows” picture books. Picture books, when presented with the right energy, can appeal to people of many ages. We need to encourage our students to engage with as much text as they desire, and in any form. “Reading graphic novels is one of the 21st century literate practices.”7 By participating in this seminar, I have realized how true this is. There are so many classic and new novels that have graphic narrative versions. (I included a list in the bibliography). Why NOT use these to teach comprehension or even content? There is “a common stereotype that reading graphic novels hampers children’s ability to visualize. If graphic novels limit visualization, children who commonly visualize during reading might tend to reject graphic novels as a preferred textual form”8 It’s true. Some students may not pick or even enjoy the graphic novel as much as others. For some though, the graphic novel can give them the visual support that they need to fully engage and comprehend the content. This is why a paired reading of a novel with its graphic narrative version is an ideal way to approach things. Successful reading of texts requires readers to make connections between word and image.9 “In this sense, graphic novels may let students develop positive attitudes toward reading and increasing their reading comprehension.” 10
Providing exposure to the graphic narrative version of a novel can aid students who need visual supports, which most students who are second language learners or students who are on IEPs would benefit from. “Graphic novels are important for student’s incapable of visualization as well as for those who are visually dependent.”11 “students can easily understand what a text implies, even if they do not understand every word in the text. They can make inference within the context of graphic novels.”12 In my unit, students will use the graphic narrative to look ahead and make predictions, to summarize a chapter after they have listened to and read it, and to show textual/visual support to defend their answers to questions. In Brenas case study, she did in fact show that “Summarizing previous plot and character details during the graphic novel studies, stopping to predict coming events in the respective stories and making inferences based on given information in the illustrations as well as in the text were other comprehension strategies supported in, or added to, these young readers’ reading comprehension repertoires.” 13 As an added bonus, “The classroom teacher noted sustained interest from students in self-selecting graphic novels from the classroom box, and at times had to remind the students to put these books away during other subjects.”14 In this study, one of the end results was that the students’ interest in reading increased exponentially!
Listening While Reading: Why Not Just Silent Reading?
When I am doing a novel study with my students, it is important to me that they not only listen but also track the words on the page as they do. In my special education classroom for students with mild to moderate disabilities, this was a classroom wide expectation. In my classroom for students with intellectual disabilities this may look a little different and expectations may be scaffolded by student, starting with the highest level of participation that I can gain and working up from there. This might look like a student listening from under a table, then having book in hand, then pretending to follow along, then sitting with a para who models tracking for them, then tracking themselves, and eventually, hopefully, being independent in the task. “Listening is likely to be an integral part of RWL: To benefit from an audio model during reading, L2 users may need to have attained a certain level of listening ability.”15 It is important to know the listening skills of your students. If they have not mastered this, then it will be hard for them to multi-task listening and tracking. In this research, L2 refers to second language learners, but applies equally to all students who struggle with reading. I choose to use audible versions of books in my classroom because I find that students do need to be held accountable. Audible versions allow me to actively walk the classroom, monitor tracking, and assist students that have lost their place or are struggling. The audible version also allows me to choose and maintain the pace of the narrative.
This unit’s purpose is to teach and increase students’ comprehension of a grade appropriate novel. I do not expect for my students to be able to read it independently. For students that can read, I still want them to listen and follow along. Kuhn and Stahl summarize it nicely, “while learners at the full alphabetic phase can decode words, those words that are encountered sufficiently often become sight words”16 I believe that being an avid reader and having constant exposure to words is a huge element in becoming a fluent reader. Not only does reading while listening improve word recognition, but it also “emphasize practice as a means of improving accuracy, automaticity, and prosody as well as the learner's understanding of a text.” Listening also removes the struggle of decoding, making comprehension of the text more accessible. Kuhn and Stahl have this to say regarding fluency instruction through assisted readings: “To help more readers move from labored decoding to the construction of meaning, we consider it to be important that educators integrate these techniques in the classroom more frequently.”17 This is why listening while reading should be a daily part of your classroom routine.
Reading Stamina: Start Small and Gradually Increase Time on Task
When I was in elementary and middle school, reading daily, for pleasure was encouraged. The teachers created space and time for it. We read chapter books together as a class. This was just something that was done. In my current school, the ELA curriculum focuses on excerpts from writings. The students are never exposed to or expected to read a full text to completion. In my experience with modified curriculum for students on alternate standards, the students interact with symbol supported text created on a Lexile level specific for their instructional level. Again, they are not exposed to a full book. I find that this has greatly decreased students’ stamina for reading. Stephen Sawchuk addresses this in his article How to Build Reading Stamina. He states that “Reading is an exercise in attention, and attention is increasingly fragmented.”18 When beginning to expose your class to read alouds, I recommend starting out with 10 to 15 minutes of sustained reading and building upwards from there. Ideally, I would like to break The Golden Compass down by chapter, focusing on one chapter a day. The chapters range in length, from 15 min to almost an hour (chapter 3). Most average about 20 minutes when played at “normal” speed, and I often will slow the speed down to .80 to facilitate easier tracking for the students. Sawchuk says, “Teachers should include stamina-building exercises as part of the daily reading their students do”.19 Start slow and build up gradually. If tackling the Golden Compass at the beginning of the year, it might be best to break the chapters into chunks, rather than expecting sustained attention from the beginning. “When reading a shared text together, teachers can stop and gauge understanding after a set period of time. If students are struggling to grasp the meaning by the end of the read, that may be a signal that a teacher needs to dial back slightly—or offer more supports on the text’s vocabulary, morphological or language features, and other elements.”20 By the end of the year, my students are able to remain attentive for 45 – 60 minutes without showing signs of fatigue. They often beg for “just one more chapter”! As a teacher, I am able to “wire their habits for sustained attention”.21
Visual Storytelling Techniques: How To Read a Graphic Novel
Before reading a graphic novel with your students it is important for them to understand how to read a graphic novel. In a study done by Oner, her students did not show enjoyment towards a graphic novel that she had them read. She questioned them about their experiences and over all decided that, “Lack of providing background information about graphic novels and how to read them led some students to be confused about how to read the graphic novel that I chose for them.”22 In Brenna’s study though, this background knowledge was taught and “students identified that they were connecting lettering style, format and colour of text with the emotional climate of the story. The students also reflected on purposes for particular panels such as full-page panels, two-page spreads, overlapping pages and floating panels.”23 This section will be a crash course in “Understanding Comics” as explained in Scott McCloud’s book by the same name. While I will make this as comprehensive as possible, I highly recommend you read the book in its entirety.
“Master comics artist Will Eisner uses the term sequential art when describing comics.”24 For many, being able to track a comic through panels will come naturally, as a right to left, top to bottom procedure. For students in my Life Skills class though, and perhaps for other early readers, the motion of reading will need to be modeled and practiced for them. In order to understand a story told through sequential panels, the students will need to follow the right sequence. When reading the Golden Compass, we will be reading the graphic version together as a group, with the images on the projection screen and will start with the teacher modeling the motion of reading.
Students will also need to understand that the visual images that they see may differ from what they imagine, or from what reality would look like. They will need to understand that a picture can represent many things. Icon can mean “any image used to represent a person, place, thing or idea.”25 This will come easily to many of my students, as the reading curriculum that they are familiar with uses symbol supported text. It would present a sentence such as, The apple is red, as, The (picture of an apple) is, (picture of a red square). It may or may not include the word below the picture depending upon the level of scaffolding that the student requires. My students naturally respond better to graphics than to the written word, which is why graphic novels are going to be such a great and natural addition to their curriculum. McCloud explains this as “pictures are received information. We need no formal education to “get the message”. The message in Instantaneous”.26 In the proceeding comic panel, “writing is perceived information. It takes time and specialized knowledge to decode the abstract symbols of language.”27
Closure is a concept that I can see my students struggling with. The “phenomenon of observing the parts but perceiving the whole.”28 This can be as simple as seeing a part of something and knowing that the entire object exists even though you can’t see it. For my students, the struggle will be in understanding that action happens in the gutter of the panels in comics, the space between the panels. “The gutter plays host to much of the magic and mystery that are at the very heart of comics.”29 My students struggle with making predictions using inference. I see a comparison between The Golden Compass novel and its graphic counterpart as a great way to increase this ability. The students will have background knowledge from hearing the story before they engage with the graphics. The visuals provided through the comics, paired with specific questions about what action is happening that they can’t see (between the panels) they will stretch their comfort levels with making predictions based on inference. “To kill a man between panels is to condemn him to a thousand deaths.”30
Panel shapes vary considerably though, and while differences of shape don’t affect the specific “meaning” of those panels vis-à-vis time, they can affect the reading experience.”31
This can prompt some interesting discussion for students while reading, as to the purpose that the shape of the panel may be conveying. Even more important is that the students understand the formatting of the text within the panels. “The most widely used, most complex and most versatile of comics’ many synesthetic icons is the ever-present, ever-popular word ballon!”32 The most well-known word ballon is a familiar icon, an oval shape with the wisp coming down to point to the speaker. In comics, the shape of the balloon, the line edges; smooth, jagged, dark, can all convey meaning. Thoughts are often represented by balloons with scalloped edges with little clouds leading down to the thinker. In The Golden Compass, the illustrator used basic designs with very little deviation. Boxes or ovals with no other definition represent setting, time, or internal thoughts of the person that it shares the panel with. Speech is in the typical word balloon, with whisps coming down to the speaker. Speech with added excitement is in jagged pointy edged ballons. There are rare occurrences when sound effects will be written within a panel outside of any balloon border. While these ARE present in this book, they are few and far between.
The last element that will be useful for students to understand is the role that color plays within the comic. Mainly, how “colors could express a dominant mood”33 The graphic version of The Golden Compass has what I would call a muted color pallet. The colors are soft, often in hues of blue. Scenes within Jordan College are in soft brown tones, snow scenes in blue. Scenes in Bolvangar have a unique green and orange theme. The tone of the color ranges from light and airy to dark and moody. They reflect the time of day, setting of the events, and the overall mood of the words. It will be helpful to draw students’ attention to the colors on the page in regard to setting and the overall emotions that those colors help to invoke in them when they are reading that section of the story. As you listen to and read the graphic version of The Golden Compass with your students, continue to discuss not just the text on the page but also the visual elements and how they emphasize and support the content.
The Golden Compass
Overview
As summarized on the back cover of the book, Lyra has spent her life running wild across the rooftops of Jordan College with her best friend, Roger, nearly always by her side. But now Roger has disappeared, and Lyra and her Daemon, Pan, suspect that he may have been stolen by Gobblers – child snatchers who take their prey north to do unspeakable things. But Lyra will brave it all – armored bears, powerful witch clan, and a mysterious substance called Dust – and Pan will take the form of a lion, a falcon, a wolverine, whatever it takes to get Roger back. What Lyra doesn’t know, mustn’t know, is that her actions will have consequences not just in her world, but in all the worlds beyond.34
The Golden Compass, in novel form, is recommended for grades six through twelfth and has a Lexile of around 930L. The Golden Compass, the graphic novel version, is recommended for grades 6-9 and has a Lexile of around 410L. This makes The Golden Compass a great selection to use for a paired reading in my middle school special education classroom. The novel can be made accessible through technology, giving students access to detailed descriptions of characters, settings, and plot. Meanwhile, the graphic narrative version35 will provide them with immediate access to Lyra’s world, offering visuals to support their ability to summarize and make predictions.
When students are participating in the read aloud, it is important to note that the audible version is not word for word and may cause some problems with student tracking. This involves dialog directly. In the Audible version, the voices are read by different people, so often, rather than saying, “Lyra said”, for example, the part would just be read by the Lyra voice and the words themselves indicating the speaker are not voiced out loud. Because of this, it may be better to read this later in the year once the students have more experience with tracking and are able to find their location when lost for a moment. Having a discussion about this, about quotes and narration in general is also appropriate.
Part One: Oxford
Chapter 1: The Decanter of Tokay: 22 minutes. In Chapter One we are first introduced to Lyra Belacqua, who is an orphan and lives in Jordan College in Oxford. We are also introduced to the concept of Daemons, which are the souls of humans that take animal form. Children’s daemons can change form until they hit adolescence. Lyra’s daemon’s name is Pantalaimon, or Pan. During this first chapter, Lyra and Pan observe the Master of Jordan College attempt to poison Lord Asriel, who is Lyra’s uncle.
Chapter 2: The Decanter of Tokay: 25 minutes. Lyra, while hiding in a wardrobe, watches Lord Asriel's presentation on the North. Lord Asriel explains to the scholars of the College that he has seen a city in the sky. A city that appears to be another world. He also shows that he has found a way to photograph Dust and illustrates how it collects around man but does not appear to collect around children. Lyra overhears her Uncle say that his “alethiometer” has foreseen that Lyra will travel to the North. Chapter 2 takes 25 minutes to read.
Chapter 3: Lyra’s Jordan: 53 minutes. I would recommend doing this chapter in two days, especially since it is at the beginning of the book and the students are most likely still working on building their endurance for long reads. Chapter 3 in the novel begins with more background in regard to Lyra and her character. It then introduces us to Gobblers, and a boy named Tony Makarios and his daemon Ratter, who are abducted by a woman with a golden monkey daemon. The corresponding pages in the graphic version show a young peasant boy named Tim whose daemon is stolen by a golden monkey. Both the novel and the graphic version include Lyra and Roger going into the tombs of the college. Towards the middle of the chapter, we are introduced to Ma Costa who is a Gyptian. Her son has disappeared, and it is feared that he has been taken by the Gobblers. Lyra and Roger, who is the son of the kitchen maid at the College, go looking for him. Lyra returns alone, not having found Billy, and having lost Roger in the process. Both the novel and the graphic end the chapter with Lyra being introduced to Mrs. Coulter, the woman with the golden monkey.
Chapter 4: The Alethiometer: 23 minutes. Lyra and Ms. Coulter get to know each other. Lyra is called to visit the Master of Jordan College, who explains to her that it is time for her to leave Jordan College to continue her education. He tells her that she will be going with Ms. Coulter, Lyra is very excited. That night, she is woken up in the middle of the night and told to go see the Master, who gives her an alethiometer. And object that “tells the truth” and she is told to keep it hidden from Ms. Coulter. Lyra and Ms. Coulter leave Jordan College. Lyra explores the Alethiometer trying to determine what it is and how it works. The graphic version shows a three-panel interaction between Billy and other children that were taken by the Gobblers as Lyra’s blimp flies over their ship.
Chapter 5: The Cocktail Party: 26 minutes
Lyra begins her education with Ms. Coulter. Ms. Coulter finds out that Lyra knows about dust. Ms. Coulter tries to get the Alethiometer but is not successful. Lyra overhears talk about the Oblation Board, and the history of its name, “it’s an old story. Bak in the middle ages, parents gave their children to the church to become monks or nuns. The unfortunate brats were known as “oblates”, which means sacrifice, an offering, something of that sort.”36 Lyra also overhears that Lord Asriel is locked up in the Fortress of Svalbard (in the North) and is guarded by Armored Bears. She decides to run away to rescue him.
Chapter 6: The Throwing Nets: 18 minutes. This chapter begins in the streets of London. Lyra has just run away and has an encounter with a strange man in the street. Once that is resolved, she is then attacked by another stranger. The graphic illustrations on this section are dark, blue, and moody. This would be a great time to talk about the emotions that Lyra might be feeling and why. Lyra is rescued from her kidnap attempt by Ma Costa and the Gyptians. Lyra wakes up on the Gyptians’ boat and learns about different creatures of the North; Nalkainens, Windsuckers, Breathless Ones, and Panservjorne, Armored Bears.
Chapter 7: John Faa: 35 minutes. Lyra continues her journey to the North with the Gyptians. John Faa gathers the Gyptians for a meeting where he announces that Lyra is wanted and is under the protection of the Gyptians. He also tells them that children are being taken by the same people and proposes that they raise a tax to raise money to go and save the children. In the novel, Lyra meets Farder Corum during a meeting with John Faa after the gathering. In the Graphic Narrative, Lyra meets him while she is out fishing. In the novel, John Faa discloses to Lyra that Lord Asriel is her father, Ms. Coulter is her mother, and Ma Coster was the Gyptian woman that cared from her. In both versions she shows Farder Corum and John Faa the alethiometer, and they tell her more about it. In the graphic version, the discussion is interrupted by Chief Raymond, an unhappy Gyptian who questioned saving all the children as opposed to just the Gyptian children. He then threatens to kill them and proceeds to fight. Both end with Lyra being reunited with Ma Costa.
Chapter 8: Frustration: 20 minutes. In the Novel, Lyra re-tells the story of how The Turkish Ambassador had once tried to kill Lord Asriel with poison and then how Lord Asriel saved her from her father, killing him and then tells them about the encounter between her father and Edward Coulter, her mother’s husband, which ended in Coulter’s death. In the Graphic version, the retelling of her escape as a baby is not included. The Gyptians hold another meeting to collect funds and finalize their plans for rescue. Lord Asriel’s past with the Gyptians is explained to justify their involvement in protecting Lyra. Lyra learns that women and children, including her, will not be a part of the mission. She pleads her case as to why she should go too but is sent away. This is a great opportunity to talk about how Lyra is feeling, why, and to predict what she might do next.
Chapter 9: The Spies: 30 minutes. Lyra and Fader Corum talk more about the alethiometer. The novel provides a great description of Fader Corum’s daemon, while the graphic version illustrates the daemon. Lyra decodes her first question using the alethiometer. Jacob, a Gyptian spy who had been searching for answers with another Gyptian named Benjamin, is brought from a boat. In the novel, Lyra is sent away during the discussion. In the Graphic version she watches from the shadows. Jacob dies, which proves that Lyra is actually able to read the Alethiometer. Lyra and Fader Corum as the Alethiometer what Ms. Coulter is doing. Part 1 ends with Lyra being attacked by metal bugs. They are able to capture and lock up one, but the other escapes with knowledge of where Lyra is. It is determined that Lyra and the Alethiometer are essential, and she joins the group heading North.
Part 2: Bolvangar
Chapter 10: The Consul and the Bear: 34 minutes. Part 2 starts with a discussion of the Lapland Witches and the fact that witches have daemons that can separate from them. Fader Corum had saved a witch once, and they were headed to speak to that witch. In the Novel, Lyra learns from Jerry how to stay busy and avoid sea sickness while on the ship. They have a conversation about Daemons, why they are in the form that they are and how that relates to the human they are linked with. Return to this section again for the final project where students create their own daemon. The Graphic goes straight from the story of the witch to Lyra, Fader Corum and John Faa arriving at the Witch Consul, who is a man named Dr. Lanselious. They ask him about the witch, Serafina Pekkala and about the witch’s knowledge of the children being taken. The witch’s Consul confirms that groups of children have been passing through but don’t stay for long. He recommends that they employ an Armored Bear. The Consul then asks Lyra about the Alethiometer. He asks her a question which confirms to him that she can read it, and that she is in fact a child in a prophecy, and that “without this child we will all die”.37 They depart from the Consul to find an Armored Bear named Iorek Byrnison. Irek Byrnison tells them he will fight with them if they help him to get back his stolen armor.
Chapter 11: Armor: 35 minutes. This chapter begins, as illustrated in the Graphic, on an evening when the Aurora is bright and the City is visible in it. Serafina’s daemon finds Lyra, Fader Corum and John Faa on the ship and says that the Witches have known of the other worlds for thousands of years and that the dust hunters are afraid that Lyra’s father is going to use dust to make a bridge between the worlds, which is why he has been imprisoned and is guarded by the Bears. Lyra meets Lee Scoresby, an aeronaut who is joining them on their trip to the North. Lyra, having asked the Alethiometer, tells Iorek where his armor is. Iorek goes to retrieve his armor and tells Lyra that he owes her a debt. Lyra immediately calls in her debt, asking Iorek to stop fighting and to walk away with her.
Chapter 12: The Lost Boys: 17 minutes. Lyra asks the Alethiometer how Bolvangar is being defended. Iorek and Lyra leave to find answers in a Village close to Bolvangar. They see witches flying in the sky. Iorek worries that the witches are flying to the aid of their enemies. They reach the Village where Lyra goes on search for a ghost or small child that the Alethiometer told her to find. Lyra finds a boy, huddled in a corner, clutching a dead fish to his chest. He has no Damon. He is a severed child.
Chapter 13: Fencing: 28 minutes. In the Novel, the boys name is Tony Makarios. In the Graphic Novel, his name is Tim Makarios. In both, he is looking for his Damon Ratter. Lyra and Iorek take the boy and the fish back to the Gyptians. The boy dies overnight. Lyra can’t find the fish that the boy was using as a replacement Damon. Lyra becomes upset and she carves the name Ratter into a gold coin and slips the coin into the boy’s mouth, hoping that it will bring him comfort. They travel North, which is illustrated without words in the Graphic, using one page and five panels. Iorek creates protective containers for the spy bug and the Alethiometer. Iorek challenges Lyra to attack him and then anticipates her every move. He explains that Bears cannot be tricked. Lyra puts an empty container back in replacement for the spy fly and keeps both for herself. In the Graphic, it is not obvious that she did not return it, it appears as if she is returning the fly in a more secure container. At the end of the chapter, Lyra learns that her father had mislead the Scholars at Jordan College by showing them a severed head that had been scalped and had a hole in it, saying that it belonged to Stanislaus Grumman and that the Tartars killed him, only the hole, trepanning, is done as a great privilege and scalping is only done to enemies and that Lyra’s father tricked the Scholars in order to obtain funding for his expedition.
Chapter 14: Bolvangar Lights: 25 minutes. The Gyptians’ are attacked by a volley of arrows. Lyra and Pan are taken. When the men ask her for her name, she says that she is Lizzie Brooks and that they Gyptians are Traders. Both versions clarify that Lyra has both the Alethiometer and the Spy Fly with her. The men then trade Lyra for a bag of coins, and she enters a dark building. Lyra enters the Experimental Station and is showered, dressed, and drugged to sleep. She wakes up amongst other girls, who tell her where she is and that they treat them well, but eventually they take them, and they never return. She also learns that Ms. Coulter is in charge. Lyra falls asleep determined to find Roger in the morning.
Chapter 15: The Daemon Cages: 25 minutes. Lyra finds Roger at breakfast. In the Novel, she waits for an opportunity to talk to him. In the Graphic, she instigates a food fight to provide distraction. In the Novel, Billy finds Lyra during lunch, in the Graphic, Billy sneaks in through the ceiling and finds Lyra at night. He tells her about a place to hide. In the Novel, Lyra is taken for examination by a Doctor and a Nurse. In both, a fire alarm goes off. She is dressed in warm clothes, and they go out for the drill. Lyra, Billy and Roger wander off to a forbidden building. Kaisa, Seraphina’s Daemon finds them, lets them know that the Gyptians are coming to rescue them, and opens the door into the building for them. Inside, they find caged Daemons but no children. They quickly, with help from Kaisa, release the Daemons from captivity. Lyra sends word to the children to plan for escape. The chapter ends with the arrival of a Blimp in the sky, and Ms. Coulter peering out from inside of it.
Chapter 16: The Silver Guillotine: 20 minutes. Lyra crawls through the vents in the ceiling to go and spy on Ms. Coulter’s meeting with the Drs in the conference room. She overhears them talking about the escaped Damons. Ms. Coulter then asks about the progress in separating children to Daemons. It is explained that a blade is used to separate the child from their Daemon and that thanks to Lord Asriel, there is a lower mortality rate now. She also overhears that Lord Asriel is going to be executed. Lyra can’t hate but let out a cry, in the Novel she is found in the ceiling and pulled out. In the Graphic Novel, she falls out of the ceiling and onto the conference table. Lyra and Pan are captured and taken to the separation room, put into the mesh cages, the separation count down begins. Seconds before the procedure begins, Ms. Coulter enters the room, sees that it is Lyra, and takes her away.
Chapter 17: The Witches: 35 minutes. Ms. Coulter tells Lyra lies about the procedure and how it is for the children’s own benefit. Lyra weave a story about what happened to her and where she has been. Ms. Coulter then asks Lyra for the Alethiometer. She takes the bag off Lyra’s waist and takes the Spy Fly tin off Lyra’s belt and pries open the lid of the tin. The fly escapes, causing the perfect distraction for Lyra to escape. She goes to the kitchen, starts fires and chaos and another fire alarm. The children leave the building in their warm coats. Lyra and Pan disclose the true purpose of the station and have the children follow them as they try and escape. They are blocked by Tarter guards and wolves, and she doesn’t know how they can possibly escape. Witches start shooting arrows from the sky, knocking out the guards and the wolves. Lyra continues to push the children forward. Lyra sees Lee Scoresby’s balloon in the air. The Gyptians start reuniting with their children, while Pan is attacked by the Golden Monkey. The end of Part 2 is packed full of action, with several differences between the Novel and the Graphic Novel. Both end with Lyra in the balloon with Scoresby and with her talking to Serafina as she flies along beside them.
Part 3: Svalbard
Chapter 18: Fog and Ice: 33 minutes. Serafina and Lee discuss that they are landing in Svalbard and that Lyra is prophesized to “bring about the end of destiny”.38 In the Novel, Lee is also told that Lyra is tied to Iork’s destiny on Svalbard. Lyra and Serafina also have a conversation, where Lyra learns that “Iorek Byrnison is highborn. He is a prince. In fact, he would be king of the bears if Iofur Rakinson hadn’t stolen his throne by trickery.”39 Lyra understands that there will be fighting when they land and is worried for Iorek. The travelers are then attacked by Cliff-Ghasts, and the balloon is compromised and begins to topple. Lyra is tossed out of the balloon and lands in the snow far below. Lyra is found by an Armored Bear and taken prisoner.
Chapter 19: Captivity: 32 minutes. Lyra is taken into the Palace and is locked in a cell. Lyra asks the Alethiometer where Iorek is and learns that he and Roger are a day away, but on their way to rescue her. A man in the cell next door then speaks to her. Professor Santielia was brought there at the King’s request – to set up a University but ended up imprisoned. He is also an expert on bears. Lyra appeals to his pride to learn more about the bears. In the novel, Lyra remembers a conversation at the College where the Scholars were discussing how Iofur Raknison has always dreamed of having a Daemon of his own. In both versions, she demands to be taken to Iofur Raknison. Iofur Raknison sits on his thrown with a doll beside him, that he pretends is his Daemon. Lyra then claims to be Iorek’s Daemon. She goes on to say that she would rather be Iofur’s Daemon and that she would rather be his. She says that Iorek is on his way to get her and to kill him, and all he has to do is fight him in single combat, defeat him, and she will belong to him. She uses the Alethiometer to prove she is a Daemon by telling Iofur that the first creature that he killed was his own father, a secret that no one but a Damon would know. Iofur agrees to let Iorek into the palace and agrees to fight him to win Lyra.
Chapter 20: Mortal Combat. 30 minutes. Iofur is prepared for battle while Lyra looks on with growing worry over his size, and the excellent condition of his armor. Iorek calls Lyra, Lyra Silvertongue. All he has ever wanted was to fight Iofur, and Lyra was able to trick him, giving Iorek the opportunity. The terms of the battle are announced. The winner will be King. There is a bloody battle between the bears. Iorek also takes advantage of Iofur’s desire to be a human and not a bear to trick him. He makes him think that he is wounded and can no longer fight, then gives the killing blow. Iorek becomes King. Later that night, Lyra is woken and taken to Roger who had just reached the palace. Iorek, Lyra and Roger leave to take the Alethiometer to Lord Asriel before Ms. Coulter can get to them to steal it.
Chapter 21: Lord Asriel’s Welcome: 30 minutes. Lord Asriel was horrified when he saw Lyra standing in front of him. When he saw Roger standing beside her, he seemed to relax. She meets with Lord Asriel and confronts him about being her father. Lyra demands to be told about Dust. Dust does not settle on children. This changes when the Daemons settle in one form, and a child becomes an adult. Lord Asriel tells her to remember Adam and Eve. He said that “Before Adam and Eve had tasted the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, their Daemons took on any form they desired. But the serpent tempted Eve – told he that if she tasted the fruit, her daemon would assume his true form.”40 This is how sin came into the world, and dust is original sin. Ms. Coulter was severing this link to prevent children from having dust settle on them. Lord Asriel believes that he can harness the energy of dust, created when children and Daemons are separated, to access the city, the alternate universe in the Arora, and to destroy the very origin of dust. He believes he can kill death. He refuses to take the Alethiometer, saying that he never needed it.
Chapter 22: Betrayal: 15 minutes. Lord Asriel’s servant wakes Lyra in a panic. Lord Asriel has disappeared, running off in a sedge, and has taken Roger with him. Lyra realizes that it was Roger that Lord Asriel needed, not the Alethiometer. She realizes that he plans on using Roger and his Daemon to create the energy to follow out his plan. She finds Iorek and they race off to save Roger. To Lyra’s delight, she sees that witches have joined them but quickly realizes that it is not Serafina’s clan. The witches start an attack as the other bears join the fight. Ms. Coulter then joins the fight in her zeppelin. The zeppelin fires on the witches, the witches attack all, the bears aim for the Zeppelin. Lyra and Iorek reach a crevice in the ice that Iorek can not cross. Lyra crosses alone to continue her mission.
Chapter 23: The Bridge to the Stars: 17 minutes. Lyra finds Roger and his Daemon Salcilia. Roger is placed in a jar. Salcilia is put in the other jar and the wires were hooked up. In the Graphic Novel, Salcilia is not locked up, but the severance still occurs. Roger becomes limp in Lyra’s arms. Ms. Coulter joins Lord Asriel, and he begs her to go into the other city with him, as a gate has opened up between the two worlds. There is obvious love between them, but she declines and walks away. Lord Asriel walks across the border and into the new city. Pan suggests that if all these people want to destroy dust, that it must actually be a good thing. Something to protect. Lyra and Pan determine that they need to find dust first. Together, with the Alethiometer, they too cross into the alternate world.
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