Born without Memory: An Analysis of The Book of Three

What is a man without memory? In The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander lack of memory makes a person a tool for evil. 

To those that have not read this book, it is a quick read and I would highly recommend it. It is an attention-grabbing and fast-paced book. To give a quick summary, the story revolves around Taran, a young man, growing up at Caer Dallben where he has the humorous title of "Assistant Pig Keeper" to Hen Wen, a pig with the power to tell the future.  

He does not know where he is from or what his lineage is, but he has a wise teacher, the enchanter Dallben, who teaches him about the great stories of the land from the Book of Three. One day, trouble comes. The evil Arawn's minion, the Horned King, thunders towards Caer Dallben.  His approach causes Hen Wen to panic, escaping her pen. Taran follows her into the forest where he meets one of the heroes that he has heard of. This hero, Gwydion, takes Taran under his wing as they both pursue Hen Wen. They discover that the Horned King has built an army to march against Gwydion's people and has the service of the undead Cauldron-Born, the deathless minions of Arawn. 

However, their scouting causes the Horned King to catch them, and the two are split up.  They are imprisoned in a dungeon, and Taran manages to escape with the help of some other prisoners.  This new unlikely band of adventurers take it upon themselves to find Hen Wen and warn Gwydion's people about the oncoming army of the Horned King. 

A few things are interesting to note.  For one, the Cauldron-Born, the terrifying, undead minions of evil, in the story lack any kind of memory. 

"'These Cauldron-Born are utterly without mercy or pity,' Gwydion continued, 'for Arawn has worked still greater evil upon them. He has destroyed their remembrance of themselves as living men. They have no memory of tears or laughter, of sorrow or loving kindness. Among all Arawn’s deeds, this is one of the cruelest.'" 

To a certain extent, their lack of remembrance mirrors Taran's own lack of memory.  He doesn't know where he comes from.  He doesn't really have any experience. He has no memory of any family or race. In his lack of origin, he is like the Cauldron-Born.  What differentiates him from them? Why is he not a servant of evil?  Not only is he not on Arawn's side, he is never even tempted to join the dark lord. Taran chooses to side with Gwydion because he knows from the Book of Three that Gwydion and his people stand for right. He doesn't choose them out of a revelation of kinship but a recognition of the rightness of their cause. 

He has a moral foundation in the stories of the Book of Three while the Cauldron-Born have nothing. Taran does just fine without a knowledge of who his kin are or what his race is.  What he has is a cultural identity based out of the stories that he has been taught growing up.  This is enough to bolster him against evil.  

Without any kind of foundational identity, the Cauldron-Born mindlessly obey their dark master. 

This seems to be a principal we can apply to real life. For example, in Weimar Germany, everything the people once believed in seemed to have failed them.  Money was easier to eat or burn as fuel than spend.  Europe was the reason they were so impoverished.  It seemed that everything they once believed in had failed them.  It is no wonder that Hitler could manipulate them into following him. 

They were so starved for identity that they leaped at the first chance to establish themselves again. Even if this identity was based in their racial supremacy, they had no foundation to reject it.  Without some foundation in a constructive identity, they latched onto a destructive one. 

As the racial and political divisions in the US become stronger and tensions mount, we Americans must find some unifying identity to hold us together. If we cannot find something to make sense of life, we will give into extremism on the Right or Left. Unless we can remember the central ideas and values that once made us strong, ideas that transcend race, class, or gender, we will fall prey to all the old hatreds that have caused so much suffering in our world. 

Unless we can find some grounding identity, we too shall become tools of evil.