Terribly Beautiful

"How could something so terrible be so
beautiful at the same time?" (932).
Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings (2010)



Points for Reflection

Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings (2010), Part Five (chps. 58 thru Epilogue, pp. 811-1001)

  1. which aspects of dress and appearance does Dalinar think important?
  2. does the novel as a whole support Navani’s conviction that “art was about creation” (948)?
  3. does this book either ratify or question stratification built on any particular physical features?
  4. did Nohadon, the ancient king of Alethela and writer of The Way of Kings, ultimately conclude that contention--and subsequent violence--are inevitable?
  5. in what ways does Danlan defeat common Alethi gender expectations?
  6. how do Alethi men manage to justify reading glyphs, yet dismiss the reading of texts as the proper province of women?
  7. in the wake of witnessing betrayal, Kaladin asks himself whether there’s any hope for humankind.  Is this question as relevant to the real world as it is to Roshar’s fictional one?  Do its fictional moorings deepen or lessen this observation about human nature?
  8. in what ways do both Navani and Jasnah, despite their very different convictions, configure religious ritual and belief as artforms?
  9. what does the Herald Talenel’Elin blame himself for failing to prevent?
  10. why does Dalinar conclude that he should have done more to compel the kind of proper behavior discussed in the Alethi Codes of War, instead of trusting the highprinces and lighteyes to come round to these principles on their own and in their own time?
  11. what occupation reliably brings Navani great delight?
  12. what does Syl approve of Dalinar’s giving away?
  13. how does one restore heavily damaged shardplate armor?
  14. what does Shallan learn about the surge of transformation from Jasnah?
  15. why does Dalinar think current kings have little right to govern?
  16. do the principles contained in The Way of Kings sound more idealistic than useful?
  17. what does Adolin really want, relationally?
  18. does Adolin ever decide to value The Codes as his father does?
  19. what innovations allow Bridge Four to accomplish as much as they do?
  20. how exactly have bridge four’s conditions changed by the end of the novel?
  21. is Dalinar a coward?
  22. unpack these enigmatic words Dalinar speaks to Navani: “weakness can imitate strength if bound properly, just as cowardice can imitate heroism if given nowhere to flee” (888).
  23. describe the battlefield epiphany Dalinar has about himself.
  24. what surprising trades does Dalinar make, and why?
  25. does Dalinar allow The Thrill to overtake him once more, now that he questions it?
  26. how does what Dalinar learns about the nature of his visions alter his understanding of their messaging?
  27. who cut the strap on Elhokar’s horse? How does one of his family members use this information?
  28. why didn’t Jasnah notice when Shallan replaced her soulcaster with another, broken one?
  29. in what ways does Kaladin’s epiphany on the battlefield resemble that of Dalinar?
  30. Kaladin’s facility with the spear has been likened to an artform by others (604). Is he able to find any beauty in the actual use of it, in acts of killing part of him abhors?
  31. how forceful a leader does Kaladin prove himself when speaking to those other than bridgemen of Bridge Four?
  32. what immediate, personal applications of “Life before death. Strength before weakness. Journey before destination” alter Kaladin’s intended trajectory at a pivotal moment in the novel’s last battle scene?
  33. what does surgebinding with Stormlight allow Kaladin to do?
  34. does Kaladin prefer being firmly on terra firma to dangling high off the ground?
  35. why doesn’t Kaladin (prior to the 2nd ideal) release more of his Stormlight at once?
  36. what strikes Kaladin so hard that it tosses him backwards into the bridgemen?
  37. does the second ideal of the Knights Radiant (really, of specifically the Windrunners), which comes to Kaladin mysteriously (he’s never heard it uttered before), seem immediately applicable to the situation in which he finds himself at the time?s
  38. what changes following utterance of the second ideal?
  39. does Syl approve of Kaladin’s violence?  Does she either support or interrupt his efforts?
  40. how has Navani changed in recent years, and how remained the same?
  41. why does Sadeas ask for Dalinar to send a clerk over with a copy of The Way of Kings?
  42. how do the surprising actions that Kaladin witnesses on the Shattered Plains affect his feelings about Amaram’s betrayal years earlier?
  43. what justification does Sadeas provide for his untoward actions?
  44. how do the surprising actions that Kaladin witnesses on the Shattered Plains affect his feelings about Amaram’s betrayal years earlier?
  45. how do Shallan's discoveries about Jasnah alter the relational dynamic between them?
  46. does Szeth find fulfillment and a sense of completion by the novel's end?
  47. does this first book in the series explain King Taravangian's true goal?
  48. as described by Teft, are the Radiants warmongs who love the thrill of battle?
  49. what key differences between Alethi and Parshendi to both Kaladin and Dalinar recognize?
  50. the first novel ends with the conclusion that who are the Voidbringers of legend?


abstract image of sun in distant, its rays penetrating a bluish landscape in the foreground
The Way of Kings (2010)
Michael Whelan

Dr. Paul Marchbanks
pmarchba@calpoly.edu