Reading Log 5: The Silver Chair

The Chapter 5: Puddleglum

Comprehension questions

1. What kind of person did Puddleglum seem to be from his speech and what the children could see of him?

• He seemed to be a kind and hospitable person because he provided a good accommodation for the children when they arrived in his place. And, right after the children woke up, he was catching some fishes to cook for them — which made them think of him as someone who takes life seriously — and even the first thing he asked from them was how well they rested in the wigwam. On top of it, he kindly said he can tell his name as many as it is needed.

2. What did the children find outside the wigwam in the morning?

• It looked so different from the Narnia. There was a vast of flat area, yet, it was separated into many parts by many channels of a river. So, wherever they looked, there was a plenty of grass and muds. An interesting thing they saw was those wiggles built their shelters in a quite good distance from each other because they like their privacy.

3. Why had the marsh-wiggle been hard to see at first? What did he look like?

• Because the color of his clothes was so similar to his surroundings and he was not moving any of his body when they looked him from his back. He was wearing a high pointed hat and he had a long face and sharp nose and no bread. He was relatively tall and his legs and arms were long and thin. One distinctive feature he had was his fingers were like frog’s.

4. Why did Puddleglum say he might as well go with the children?

• Because he was not happy with how he was living in wigwam. So, he wanted to do something that is memorable and valuable in his life by going on the journey with the Eustace and Jill.

5. What had the other Marsh-wiggles said to Puddleglum?

• Other wiggles think him as someone who prefers his own comfort rather than living purposefully and meaningfully.

6. What were their traveling arrangements?

• They were going to start their journey at the early in tomorrow morning.

Reflection

I felt a bit sad when Puddleglum shared how he felt about his life. Even if it’s a fictional story, yet, its ideas came from a human mind who lived once on this earth together with us. Therefore, there are lots of things that reflect the real life. As same as how Puddleglum thinks about his life, in real life, many people think lowly about their lives as well. Time runs without waiting us even a millisecond. Some people walk like a lost child while some walk confidently as if they knew where they would stop. In this chaos, it is hard to walk straight with a high spirit all the time. And, it is true that we want to have a meaningful life in this loop, therefore, we sometimes decide to venture.