The Golden Compass - Relativity of War

It is unfortunate that all children eventually become adults, and in doing so, realize what war really means. I've realized as of late that when I was a child, and my father was away doing "Army things" I never had any traditional grasp on what that meant. Of course, as I got older, but truly not until I did join the Army, did I fully understand what exactly what war meant.

I laughed then, when I read about the little games Lyra and the other children would play, finding it quite amusing, and also, in a way, tragic, that they should use the term war:

"In many ways Lyra was a barabarian. What she liked best was clambering over the college roofs with Roger, the kitchen boy, who was her particular friend... [in] racing through narrow streets, stealing apples from the market or waging war... What could be more innocent and charming?... of course, Lyra and her peers were engaged in deadly warfare." (Pullman 31-32)

It goes on to explain the "Endless permutations of alliance and betrayal" (Pullman 32) that this children fight through, but there is never an example of a child dying, or even really getting hurt at any point during these battles. It is unfortunate, then that kids watch adults and wish to be them to the point that they emulate them. In some twisted comedy, these sorts of habits are perpetuated and remembered through the generations, creating causes for more violence and needless wars.

This all becomes training for Lyra, in some form or fashion, which is ultimately helpful to her in her later adventures. She is able to lie and manipulate those around her in such a fashion that she can get closer to her goal. This as well sets her up in a position where betrayal is a relatively minor concern where loyalty might have been a virtue. This, however, was not in the prophecy, and serves to indeed settle things later on in the trilogy, regardless it is hard to ignore the idea that this was not some form of conditioning for later life.