Talk:The Eye of the World

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Contents

[edit] Confessor's Summary Of Edits Made 03-04 AUG 2005

[edit] Textual Changes/Additions/Subtractions

1. Changed verb tense and added more details & an exact date of publication for the two-volume re-relase of tEotW for young adult audiences.

2. Made a preliminary attempt to tie the "Ravens" prologue into the main Plot Summary. This seems correct, since any search for either of the two volumes will probably be redirected here.

3. Split 'Prologue' portion of the plot summary into two paragraphs to assist readability and reduce the impact of word repetition.

4. Modified the sectioning of the Plot Summary as a whole. In my opinion, the body of the book (Prologue aside) can best be described as (1) The travels of a unified group from Emond's Field to Shadar Logoth, followed by (2) The individual travels of three groups from Shadar Logoth to Caemlyn, in turn followed by (3) The travels of a unified group from Caemlyn to the Eye of the World.

5. Excised most "real-world" reference points, such as Bel Tine = Beltane & Traveling People = Gypsies in favor of more generally descriptive terms. Such information would be better placed in articles about the actual subjects.

6. Made a point of trying to mention characters by name only when they become important to the overall plot of the book (example: Nynaeve al'Meara). Several characters which appear in multiple chapters but do not significantly affect the overall plot (example: Tam al'Thor) are missing from the summary entirely. This helps cut down on total article length, but also brings with it several problems & limitations which I will discuss in my next posting.

7. Added the encounter with Mordeth, since Fain/Mordeth appears frequently in later books & has a major role in books 2 & 4.

8. Mentioned Bayle Domon, since we'll meet him again in Book 2 and beyond.

9. Fixed a couple of miscellaneous errors. For example, Elaida never thought that Rand was a spy; she merely recognized him as a dangerous individual. Balthamel was subbed for Ba'alzamon at one point, and so on...

[edit] Possible Textual Improvements

1. Several minor characters introduced in tEotW become more important to the plot of later books, and though they do little to advance this book's plot, failing to mention them here could make their introduction in the later books more awkward. Among these are:

Emond's Fielders (Tam al'Thor, Bran al'Vere, Cenn Buie, and Luhhans in Book 4)

Min (who *has* to be included in Book 2's summary) fixed

Basel Gill, Lamgwin, & Tallanvor (Morgase's companions during her Book 5 exodus)

Dain Bornhald (Book 3, 4, and beyond) fixed

Geofram Bornhald (Briefly a PoV character in Book 2) fixed

2. I've neglected to mention of Padan Fain, a definite oversight given his great importance in Book 2.

3. Several subplots have been ignored, including:

Egwene & the One Power Nynaeve & the One Power Nynaeve & Lan Rand & his reactions to touching the One Power (Baerlon, River Arinelle, road to Caemlyn)

4. The prologue takes place 3000 years before the actual story, not just "several hundred years" fixed

5. Rand Does not Kill Balthamel, the Green Man does. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 195.212.10.40 (talk) 10:39, 28 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Possible Presentation Improvements

In my opinion, the inclusion of book cover graphics for From the Two Rivers and To The Blight is unsightly and probably unwarranted. Smaller graphics might be better.

Additionally, I propose we use a template similar to that used for the Harry Potter Characters to offer an overview of the books - order of publication, chronological position in the series, major characters, and the most common book graphic... in this case, the Moiraine, Lan, & Horses picture.

[edit] In Closing

I *think* that this improves on what was there before, but I recognize that there is still much room for further improvement. Please don't hesitate to edit what I've re-written. The Confessor 22:57, 4 August 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Should we *split* verbose plot summaries to another page?

If we're to write plot summaries which include all necessary hooks for later books, including the introduction of characters of increasing importance (Min seems to be the most obvious example here, but there are several others, including Bayle Domon), their size will begin to intrude upon the reader's expectation of brevity... the article risks becoming too top-heavy.

I propose that we split off verbose plot summaries and have the in-line summaries include only the most important events in the book by character. Rand, Mat, & Perrin would have priority, next being Nynaeve and Egwene. Other characters would be included when necessary, such as Min during Book 4 & 5 and Morgase during Book 5 & 6.

Obviously, this construct would be much easier to maintain in the later sequels, when the group is fractured among several tasks, than in the first, but here's a shot:

Rand, Mat, and Perrin are hunted by Ba'alzamon. Rand discovers that he can channel. Mat takes a ruby-hilted dagger from Shadar Logoth and becomes infected by its taint. Perrin learns how to communicate with wolves.

Nynaeve and Egwene become aware of their ability to channel. Egwene wishes to become Aes Sedai. Nynaeve wishes only to learn enough to revenge herself on Moiraine.

Min meets Rand for the first time in Baerlon.

Elayne meets Rand for the first time in the Royal Palace of Caemlyn, while both are trying to catch a glimpse of Logain.

Since this would be a *bloody* big change, I'll keep it up for discussion here for at least a week before acting on it. If it draws no comment, I'll put it on the main WoT Talk page, since it will (eventually) affect all of the books. The Confessor 04:05, 13 August 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Notes on edits on 12-05-05

Made some edits to summaries of the first four novels on 12-05-05. I thought I was still signed in, but I wasn't. This is just a note for the record that those edits were done by me. BPMoldovan 23:54, 5 December 2005 (UTC)

Correction, the edits were only to books 2 and 4. BPMoldovan 00:13, 6 December 2005 (UTC)

Huh? Why is the date stamp showing 12-6? Greenwich Mean Time or something? Anyway, my edits of the WOT summaries have been done in the early evening of 12-5, Eastern Time. Apparently that's late evening/early morning of 12-6 GMT. BPMoldovan 00:29, 6 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Min's visions

I reread it and I keep seeing more and more of what she say's making sense as it happens there are only about 2 visions that arent done yet.

[edit] Policy violation

The article, as it stands now, is currently in violation of WP:NOT#INDISCRIMINATE section seven, as it is mainly a plot summary. More information will be need to be added concerning real-world context and sourced analysis, offering detail on a work's achievements, impact or historical significance, or it will continue to be in violation of policy. This is a major series; we should bring it into compliance. —Preceding unsigned comment added by MPoint (talkcontribs) 22:32, 21 February 2007

[edit] To improve, Why not include the conflicts?

Not the battles, of course, but the conflicts. Man vs Man, Man vs self, Man vs environment, and man vs nature. Perrin Aybara faces the man vs nature, as he battles what nature intended to do to him. Just a though. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 65.23.110.57 (talk) 14:29, 7 March 2007 (UTC).

[edit] To improve, Why not include the conflicts?

Not the battles, of course, but the conflicts. Man vs Man, Man vs self, Man vs environment, and man vs nature. Perrin Aybara faces the man vs nature, as he battles what nature intended to do to him. Just a though. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 65.23.110.57 (talk) 14:29, 7 March 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Trimming the summary

Does the summary really need to be cleaned up? It looks nearly as large as the summaries for the other books in the series (perhaps a little larger)--GTPoompt 18:58, 30 May 2007 (UTC)