I was reading Golem's Eye today and got to a few interesting chapters. It was a Bartimaeus chapter, then a Kitty chapter, and then a Nathaniel chapter, all one after the other. After I finished Nathaniel's chapter, I realized something. Each of the 3 chapters was very similar, with each narrator in a very similar situation and expressing the same idea: Being Helpless and having No choice in the events in their life.

Now, I was used to Bartimaeus talking about his servitude and being envious of the magicians and other humans who were 'free'. But then I saw Kitty and Nathaniel saying the same thing. Kitty hated the magicians and demons because they had power and she, as a commoner, felt powerless. Nathaniel hated commoners and demons because they were always working against him, he felt, and as a result his career and life were always in danger.
Each one of them hated and kind of envied the other. Magician, Commoner, Demon, they all thought the other was cruel and had it so much easier. But in truth, they were all the same. None of them was really 'free'.

-Bartimaeus was a slave because he was a demon. He had to do terrible things, not because he was (that) evil, but because he had no choice.

-Kitty was a slave because she was a commoner. She wasn't a traitor or terrorist, she only joined the Resistance because she wanted equality, but also because she felt indebted to Mr. Pennyfeather. She needed the money and she was so young, she got roped into it unintentionally, and after a while she couldn't turn back. Because she was born a commoner, she got treated unjustly and was pushed into her life in the Resistance. But even if that hadn't happened, her fate was already decided, just because she was born a commoner. She had no choice.

-Nathaniel's lack of any control in his life may be the most obvious, but because he is a magician, this is often overlooked. Nathaniel didn't even want the great 'honor' of being a magician, it was forced upon him when he was just a kid. His parents abandoned him and forced this life onto Nathaniel. He was forced to learn magic and was forced to enslave demons. Nathaniel had no allies, not even in his Master or fellow magicians. Nathaniel was only taught the skills of being a magician, he couldn't try to find another profession if he tried, for he didn't have the training for anything else. After Lovelace's failed coup, Nathaniel was left with even Less than he had before. He had no master, no possibility of leading a simple life as a mediocre magician. At a very young age, huge amounts of responsibility and pressure were thrust onto Nathaniel. His new master was even colder than Underwood. If Nathaniel displeased her, Whitwell would likely thrown him onto the street, if not worse. Just to Survive, Nathaniel had to do the work of the Magicians without fail, all the while fighting off demons, commoners, and fellow magicians that tried to ruin him. He had no choice in his life.

I find this similar theme of having no choice among all three protagonists to be very interesting. The three heroes of the book seem to have it worse off than the rest of the demons, magicians, and commoners. There are many powerful demons, magicians, and at least commoners who are much better off and less stressed than our protagonists. Our three main characters seem to have the Least amount of freedom than anyone else in the series....yet, They are the only real Heroes. I wonder why this is? You'd think that those with more power and freedom would be a bit more likely to be heroes, considering that have a Choice in the matter. Yet, most of the free and powerful in the trilogy Choose to be cruel and unjust. And the three people that the world tried to push down, that tried to make them just as Heartless and Evil as everyone else...they are the only ones who Chose to do what's right.....

^ I think this somewhat subtle point adds to how we can judge the morality of all the characters in the book. It's saying that "The world is corrupt and everyone has to be rotten to survive." Our three protagonists don't consider themselves heroes, in fact they are just trying to get by, but despite this they still try to do what's right. Everyone tries to fit into the world they are born into, and often they are Forced to fit it. You shouldn't judge them too harshly for believing what they were taught and doing what they had to do. It's not what we Have to do that defines us, it's what we Choose to do that makes us who we are. Bartimaeus, Nathaniel, and Kitty have all done some nasty things that they aren't proud of, but when they had the Chance to do the Right things, they took it, regardless of their own well-being.
That is what it means to have a Heart. That is what it means to be truly Human. That is what it means to be a Hero.

ThunderWolf wrote:I find this similar theme of having no choice among all three protagonists to be very interesting. The three heroes of the book seem to have it worse off than the rest of the demons, magicians, and commoners. There are many powerful demons, magicians, and at least commoners who are much better off and less stressed than our protagonists. Our three main characters seem to have the Least amount of freedom than anyone else in the series....yet, They are the only real Heroes. I wonder why this is? You'd think that those with more power and freedom would be a bit more likely to be heroes, considering that have a Choice in the matter. Yet, most of the free and powerful in the trilogy Choose to be cruel and unjust. And the three people that the world tried to push down, that tried to make them just as Heartless and Evil as everyone else...they are the only ones who Chose to do what's right.....

^ I think this somewhat subtle point adds to how we can judge the morality of all the characters in the book. It's saying that "The world is corrupt and everyone has to be rotten to survive." Our three protagonists don't consider themselves heroes, in fact they are just trying to get by, but despite this they still try to do what's right. Everyone tries to fit into the world they are born into, and often they are Forced to fit it. You shouldn't judge them too harshly for believing what they were taught and doing what they had to do. It's not what we Have to do that defines us, it's what we Choose to do that makes us who we are. Bartimaeus, Nathaniel, and Kitty have all done some nasty things that they aren't proud of, but when they had the Chance to do the Right things, they took it, regardless of their own well-being.

I don't think the three protagonists had the least freedom. There were many like them. But they were some of the very few people who didn't change or buckle down to fit into the world they were forced into. That is what made them unique. They remained true to their selves and fought for what they wanted. Most of the others just gave up and accepted their fate (willingly or unwillingly).

Very interesting analysis. I do agree that this theme is particularly emphasized throughout the series with Bartimaeus, but I never truly realized how it continued through with the other two.

Yes, I realized how Kitty was under the thumb of the magicians like all the other commoners, and, as Bartimaeus also realized, Nathaniel did not have a choice in who he would become. Indeed, he did warm up to the idea of being a magician, but the changes that he undergoes is certainly not in control.

I'd like to also add two points. One, each have their own little freedoms that match the aspects that they are slaves towards. Bartimaeus is so free to learn and experience, even if he becomes more cynical as a result of this freedom. Kitty does not have any expectations or pressures, while Nathaniel is the only one with true physical freedom to a large extent.

Second, in Ptolemy's Gate, all three show how, when the bird cage door opens, they all choose to grab as much as their own free will as possible (we could also discuss philosophically the true idea of free will, but that's something else, done so many times over). Nathaniel drops John Mandrake, Kitty goes to the Other Place, Bartimaeus gets inside Nathaniel (all the innuendos intended).

nathanielandbartimaeus wrote:I don't think the three protagonists had the least freedom. There were many like them.

Yeah, but they seemed to be the worst off compared to everyone else around them, I think. It's mostly Nathaniel who was really given a bad hand compared to the rest of the magicians, but I still saw a bit of Bartimaues and Kitty getting it worse than most Demons and Commoners as well. Sure there is always tragedy, like those who got killed, but compared to everyone else around them in the story, these 3 had the least power or control.

-While most magicians could get by doing boring, meaningless work, Nathaniel had an extremely important job. All the other magicians around Nathaniel had some leeway or choice. The lower magicians had much easier jobs and if they screwed up no one really cared. The more powerful ones could just do whatever and blame someone else (like Nathaniel) if they messed up. So, Nathaniel had to be near Perfect at his extremely demanding job, or he'd be ruined/disowned/etc. That, and most of the other magicians hated him for his status and young age.
Most magicians Chose to try and get more power, knowing the rewards and consequences that come. But Nathaniel didn't have a choice. Sure he wanted to become powerful and great someday, but not this kind of stressful, dangerous position, not this fast. He was promoted and forced to handle more and more responsibility because of his talent. The more powerful magicians chose to put Nathaniel in a dangerous position to benefit Themselves.
Even if Nathaniel could have turned down such responsibility, his limited knowledge of the real world prevented it. Nathaniel was Very young and still under the delusion that the magicians were a Just and Noble leadership. Nathaniel was force-fed this charade of reality, not knowing how cut-throat his associates truly were. While most people were taught this propaganda, most magicians were allowed time to grow up and see the world for what it really was before they had to join the work-force. Nathaniel did Not have that opportunity. He was given no chance to learn the truth before it was too late. At a crucial moment, his master betrayed and abandoned him. Most magicians have an 'okay' relationship with their master. Nathaniel, on the other hand, got 2 masters, and was betrayed and abandoned by Both of them...
As Nathaniel said many times in the series, "I have no allies, I have no one." Most of the other magicians had some kind of allies. Either between Master-Apprentice, powerful magicians and their servants, conspirators united in try to ruin other magicians, and possibly even normal friends (if magicians even have those). Nathaniel was abandoned by the world, again, just as he had started. Because of his age or because of the jealousy and malice of everyone else, he was forced into this demanding, lonely life at a young age. (Ironically, Nathaniel's only real friend is Bartimaeus. I guess that's the only real luck he's had. I'd rather have a demon on my side rather than always plotting to kill me. And I'd rather have Anything than some back-stab happy 'magicians who would throw me under the bus the first chance they got...)

-Now, all the Commoners had it bad, but they still had some control. As I read, I'd see that most of the commoners in Kitty's life, her parents and Jakob's parents, got through the oppression by keeping their heads down. Of course tragedies happened like Kitty's mom being fired or Jakob's horrible suffering, but they still had some choice and control. Kitty's mom found another job. Jakob eventually got Justice against Tallow. But Kitty had it a bit worse, it feels to me.
She got stuck with that $600 fine after the trial. She and her parents would be thrown in jail if she didn't get the money. And because she needed the money, she got pushed into the Resistance. She was young and desperate at the time, and soon, she had no way to get out of the Resistance, she had already done too much. Kitty basically got Forced into a life of crime. Constantly hunted, constantly fighting, in addition to the normal persecution of a commoner.
Even the other Resistance members had more choice than Kitty. Everyone in the Resistance, I believe, willingly chose to join, except for Kitty. She was pressured by being imprisoned. Mr. Pennyfeather himself, while justified in his action and anger, was not forced to start the Resistance. He was under no further danger or threat. He could have just lived off his successful business and lived a normal life. Compared to Jakob's family, her own parents, and other Commoners, it seems that Kitty had far less choice or control in her life. She couldn't just try to get by like the rest of them, she didn't have that choice. Desperation and her own sense of Justice saw to that.

-All demons are enslaved, but Bartimaeus had the sought-after trump card that all demons want: The name of their 'master.' Despite this, Bartimaeus still kind of let himself get pushed around by Nathaniel. For whatever reason, Bartimaeus never even really Tried that hard to use Nathaniel's name against him. Bartimaeus has proven himself to be very clever, so he could have probably found a way to get free if he really put his mind to it. And reading through this series, we get to hear about a lot of the shenanigans that demons pull to try and get freedom or revenge. Bartimeaus could have 'misinterpreted' everything Nathaniel said, he could have Always chosen a very disgusting or disturbing form to try and embarrass Nathaniel, Bartimaeus could have even just pretended to be super incompetent so that Nathaniel wouldn't want him as a slave. Bartimaeus always seemed to have a much more complacent and less malicious nature than most other demons.
Maybe Bartimaeus is so much nicer than most demons because of his experience with Ptolmy. After seeing that a magician could be kind, Bartimaeus couldn't bring himself to be so callous to other Magicians. He could now longer wantonly outwit and destroy every magician who crossed him because, "what if they were good like Ptolmy?" Bartimaeus was enslaved by his conscience and, relatively, compassionate nature. Some may say that isn't True enslavement, but can Any of us escape from who we are? We can never escape from our conscience.

It may not be much, but each of our three heroes had a few more chains on them than everyone else, I believe.

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Nero wrote:Very interesting analysis. I do agree that this theme is particularly emphasized throughout the series with Bartimaeus, but I never truly realized how it continued through with the other two.

Yes, I realized how Kitty was under the thumb of the magicians like all the other commoners, and, as Bartimaeus also realized, Nathaniel did not have a choice in who he would become. Indeed, he did warm up to the idea of being a magician, but the changes that he undergoes is certainly not in control.

I'd like to also add two points. One, each have their own little freedoms that match the aspects that they are slaves towards. Bartimaeus is so free to learn and experience, even if he becomes more cynical as a result of this freedom. Kitty does not have any expectations or pressures, while Nathaniel is the only one with true physical freedom to a large extent.

Oh very nice, I hadn't noticed that. Even though their 'class' makes them all are powerless in some way, it also Gives them some power and freedom.
I think the reason I missed this point is because the main characters Themselves miss this point. Each one is always worrying about their own situation (not that I can blame them) and whishing they had the things that the others have.

Kitty wants the freedom and status of magicians, but the pressure and danger from the responsibilities included keep Nathaniel constantly stressed and alone. Nathaniel wants fame and the great power that demons posses, but Bartimaeus is enslaved and suffers due to his infamy and power. And Bartimaeus wants nothing more than to have a simple and free life like commoners, but while Kitty is free from huge responsibility and pressure, she is made miserable and oppressed by forces more powerful than her.
They often take for granted the abilities they have (Power, Resilience, Intelligence) even though it is those abilities that have helped them the most. *(I made this out as a rock-paper-scissors thing, but that's not accurate. It's more like a 3-sided pyramid. Each 'class' has some disadvantages and advantages over the other 2 classes. But no 1 class really trumps the others.)

It's kind of like a "the grass is always greener on the other side", kind of deal. To me, this says two things: We are Not alone, We are Not Powerless.
1. Not in the way of "oh you have it so good, quit complaining", but more in a sympathetic understanding. You may envy and hate these other kinds of people, but realize that they are suffering too, just like you. They are forced into their lives just like you are. So, maybe you 3 are not really enemies. Maybe the Real evil is this system in place that forces you against one another, and the people who perpetuate that system. People are not separated by what life they are born into. We are all separated by our Hearts and our Desires. There are those who walk over the lives of others....And those cry out for Justice with all their might.
2. Even though you have many burdens and may feel helpless, there is Always hope. There is always Something we can do, some power or advantage, no matter how small, that everyone has. You don't have to feel powerless.