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Although it may seem quite absurd, the role of animals in The Eyes
of the Dragon is a very supreme and dignified part of the novel.
Through the development of the novel, the animal kingdom roars novel
from insects to dogs and they all play their own, individual roles. The
great black and white Anduan Husky named Frisky who is, out of all of
her dogs, Naomi's favorite, leads Ben Staad and Naomi directly to the
whereabouts of Dennis, Peter's butler. Flagg's animals are symbols of
his plans for the downfall of Delain. The dragon that is killed by King
Roland may be considered the most the memorable of all. In this
archetypal tale, Thomas sees Flagg murder Thomas's father through the
eyes of the dragon. In the end of the novel, though, all of the
animals' roles fall into place.
Frisky, Naomi's companion, is a strong-willed, over- confident,
Anduan Husky who may have been the "greatest tracking dog that ever
lived." This dog sums up the meaning of a man's best friend. Frisky,
who can track a three-day-old scent in the middle winter, is the reason
the story takes place as it does. Just as arson dogs help pinpoint the
location of substances used to start fires, Frisky uses her keen sense
of smell to pinpoint exactly where Dennis, son of Brandon, has
journeyed to from Peyna's farmhouse. Dennis's mission is to go back to
the castle where Thomas the Tax-Bringer and Flagg, the king's magician,
live and are at high power. Peyna, who has just given up his
Judge-General's bench, has a feeling that there is some reason why
Peter has asked for the Royal Napkins and his mother's dollhouse.
Dennis is to find this reason by sending a letter to Peter, who is
imprisoned at the time. Dennis journeys from Peyna's farm in the Inner
Baronies back to the fearful castle with nothing except for the risks
of getting killed. Five days later, with not a soul knowing the
whereabouts of Dennis, NaomI and Ben Staad (Peter's best friend) come
upon the deserted farm. Naomi's dogs have been pulling the sleds for
thirty miles all the way from a snowy hollow in which they were
camping. The two now feel helpless. With no clue on where there friend
had traveled to, they search diligently for any signs of what they are
to do next and find nothing at all. "If only there were a way to track
him," Ben says and, thereafter, a light bulb lights in Naomi's head
like the sun on a due-soaked morning (King 296). This is the epitome of
where Frisky fits into the picture. After brief discussion and
argument, Ben and Naomi discover that there are traces of Dennis in
this abandoned shed but it cannot be detected by humans and Frisky's
sense of smell is like the "eyesight of a man with the gaze of a hawk"
(King 299). Stephen King substantially points out that Dennis's scent
is a bright electric blue and that Frisky has the scent stored away in
her "library of scents" (King 299). Frisky leads her companions far and
high, through many miles of snow to the deserted farmhouse and
eventually to a place in which they are forced to pause. Astle moat.
One may appear dumbfounded considering why Frisky is referred to above
as being 'over-confident.' At the moat, after some minor conflict, the
Anduan Husky personally expedites the situation and takes a leap of
faith into the great sewer pipe which takes the travelers under the
castle and directly to Dennis's location. Besides the fact that
Frisky's "noble nose" is a main theme and could be considered by some a
moral, there is more educational and entertainment values here than in
any other part of the story.
Flagg's animals aide him in all of his attempts to doom the kingdom
of Delain. For example, the deathwatch spider that Flagg kept encaged
for twenty years is his way to attempt to kill Sasha, the King's
beloved wife. The spider has been feeding on newborn baby mice that are
dying from poison. The spider is blood red and as big as a rat (King
31). Flagg squeezes the spider to death and mixes the deadly insides
with a glass of brandy, something that Sasha drinks a glass of each
night to help her sleep. Flagg rings for a servant to come and take the
glass to her. Sasha never finds out how close to death she came that
night (King 33). Another example is the mouse Flagg uses to set up
Peter. Flagg is a very powerful magician. With this knowledge, no one
would question Flagg's abilities to place Dragon Sand, the most deadly
substance of the time, into a box that he stole from Peter long ago and
hide the box, along with a cursed mouse, into a secret place that,
allegedly, only Peter knows about. Because the evidence of the crime is
found in a place that only Peter knows about, people begin to see a
murderer's face behind a mask of affection and respect (King 116).
Peter is then tried before a jury and taken to the top of the needle
where he is to spend the rest of his life.
The reader is introduced to the dragon at the beginning of the novel
when King Roland and others are hunting and ire-breathing creature. The
young dragon is killed when the brave King nocks his arrow, draws, and
fires. Roland makes a direct hit in the spot under the dragon's throat
where it takes in air to create fire (King 13). The dragon dies
immediately. Otherwise called the Niner, the dragon's head is hung up
in King Roland's sitting room along with the head of every other animal
in which the King had considered worth keeping (King 92). The dragon's
head is a major secret of the castle. Flagg, being the magician he is,
knows most secrets of the castle (No one, not even he, know all of
them) (King 81) . Flagg, after Thomas has a bad day at a luncheon with
his father, shows the secrets to Thomas, for he has a feeling it may
lead to mischief. This turns out to be true. The secret is this: After
one is led through a maze of corridors and through the "dim" door, he
must press a certain stone in order to access the passageway that is
revealed after the click is heard (King 89). At the end of the
passageway, there are two little panels. After sliding these panels,
one find himself behind the Niner and will discover that he can see
directly through the dragon's eyes. Though heeding Flagg's advice not
to go too often, Thomas is watching the night in which Flagg poisons
King Roland. But after Thomas is declared King, and years of dealing
with terrible nightmares, Thomas discovers one thing: guilt and
secrets, like murdered bones, never rest easy (King 167).
Stated in this collection of ideas is that the role of the animals
in The Eyes of the Dragon is a supreme and dignified part of the novel.
The reader must reread the novel for any further confirmation. In
conclusion, one can now acknowledge that animals' effect on how
something takes place is important to everyday living as well as
important to the world of literature.
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