Lyra Belacqua Our Heroine and the Protagonist

Lyra, who is more or less raised as an orphan, has a streak of adventurousness that makes her the perfect heroine for Pullman's story. Lyra is hungry for experience. She is rebellious and wilful and obeys no one unless she thinks she has good reason to do so. Pullman's story about an imposter God and a rebellion against an all-powerful Church demands a character as headstrong, adventurous, and strangely innocent as Lyra. Lyra is the “Second Eve.”

Mrs. Coulter The evil witch and an Antagonist

Mrs. Coulter, Lyra's mother, is an almost purely evil character. Despite her charming and persuasive demeanour, Mrs. Coulter is the greediest, most power- hungry character in the trilogy. Her daemon, a vicious little golden monkey, reflects its owner's personality. Mrs. Coulter is associated with the Church, where she heads up the General Oblation Board, the organization that kidnaps children in order to perform dastardly experiments on them.

Mrs. Coulter's relationship with Lord Asriel, Lyra's father, adds another dimension to her character. The struggle between Mrs. Coulter and Lord Asriel drives much of the trilogy's narrative. Though Mrs. Coulter and Lord Asriel battle for control of their daughter.

Lord Asriel The Gentlemen “Devil” out to rule the Heavens.

Lord Asriel is the gentlemanly devil who plans to overthrow God and establish a Republic of Heaven. In other stories, Asriel would almost certainly be the villain. In Pullman's trilogy, Asriel is complicated, arrogant, and unlikable, but in many ways he is also a heroic figure. Lord Asriel instill’s in her the thirst for knowledge.

The name Asriel is derived from Asrael, the name of a biblical angel. In the Bible, Asrael's appearance heralds the apocalypse. He is also an angel of death who severs human souls from human bodies. Lord Asriel hopes to induce an apocalypse of his own by waging war on God, and he separates Roger's soul (his daemon) from his body.

ACTIVITY Choose Lyra Belacqua and two other characters from the list below: Lord AsrielMrs Coulter PantalaimonRoger Parslow Iorek ByrnisonJohn Faa Iofur RaknnisonLee Scoresby Serafina Pekkala You are creating a complete profile for each character.

The profile will follow essay format and must include the following aspects: Introduction – One paragraph (10-20 lines) Introduces character: age, appearance, background, family etc. Lists three personality traits of the character that you have chosen from the list on the wall display. Describe why they are important in the novel; for example how do they help to display an important theme – you must state the theme here.

Body – four paragraphs discussing personality three traits and/or strengths of the character. Topic sentence stating the personality or strength. At least one important example of the character displaying the trait. An explanation of how this trait is important to the development of the story, and how it relates to the theme you are discussing. Do the traits in order of importance. In your final body paragraph: Does the character change/develop at all? If so state how this happened and how it is important.

Conclusion – One paragraph (10-20 lines) States all three traits of the character again. States how the character has changed/developed. States why the character is important and your thought of them. States how the character displays the teme and why this theme is important to you or teenagers in general. You will end up with three of these Character Profile Essays.