They say knowledge is power, and that's perfectly true in The Dark is Rising. There are certain important truths that some characters are privy to and others are not; in general, the Old Ones are in the know while the humans are left in the dark. When Will gets to read the Book of Gramarye, he learns all about his new crowd and how they got to where they are. Which leaves us with a question: Are the Old Ones being a little selfish by keeping all this knowledge under lock and key? Are they just forcing humans to stay ignorant, or is it to the regular folks' benefit to not know what's really going on all around them? Perhaps future books will shed some light on this matter.
Questions About Wisdom and Knowledge
- Why do the Old Ones keep the knowledge in the Book of Gramarye? Why not make it public? Who or what are they trying to protect by keeping everything a secret?
- How do you think the novel would change if everyone were on a level playing field, knowledge-wise? What would the humans think about the truths that Will knows? Why are they kept a secret from the humans?
- Merriman stresses the importance of Will learning things for himself, rather than simply being told. Why is this important?
Chew on This
The knowledge that the Book of Gramarye contains is only kept a secret from the humans because they are not involved in the battle between the Dark and Light.
Will wants to gain as much knowledge as he can from Merriman, but it turns out that the best kind of wisdom comes from personal experience.