Dragons have been depicted in many different ways over the years, from fire breathing terrors, such as Smaug in Tolkein's 'The Hobbit', to gentle, loving creatures like the Luck dragon in the film 'The never ending story'. I have always seen dragons as noble, honourable creatures. This may have come from reading Anne Macaffrey's 'Pern' books years ago. In these books, there is a great link and respect between humans and dragons. Each time a dragon is hatched, it chooses it's person. From then on, they are inseperable and rely on each other for survival. It is a great honour for anyone to be chosen by a dragon. The people of Pern ride their dragons across the skies of Pern protecting the planet's surface from the destructive, deadly 'threads' which fall from the sky. The trust and respect that they have for the noble, majestic dragons is inspiring.
One of my favourite films is 'Dragonheart' it shows a mighty creature who can be compassionate and vulnerable. Again, it shows the respect that can be found between dragons and humans, but also shows the folly of humans' closed mindedness (something everybody should learn). 'Puff the magic dragon' was my favourite song as a child. Puff was only visible to Jackie. No-one else could see him. Jackie loved him and spent all his time playing with him, but eventually Jackie grew up and forgot about Puff. Along with his innocence, he lost the ability to see the wonder in the world. I believe that this is a very important lesson for us all. We should nurture our ability to see beyond this realm, not supress it.
If you have read Terry Pratchett's 'Guards! Guards!' You will see another image of another realm where dragons live. Terry Pratchett's Discworld series is found in the category of fantasy/humour, and yes, his books are incredibly funny, but there is also a lot of thought provoking imagery in there too, if you care to look. In Guards! Guards! a dragon is called from the place where the dragons went, against it's will. It is, indeed, a fearsome creature, but there is a human hand behind it's actions *sigh* need I say more?!
