Summary of Chapter:
In this chapter, all the boys were made men of the Night's Watch. Sam was graciously given a task in the library rather than in action. Jon was made a personal steward to Lord Commander Mormont. Jon was initially upset with his assigned task as exhibited on page 432 where it says, "For a moment Jon could not believe what he had heard. Mormont must have read it wrong." Although Jon has accepted he is a bastard of Lord Stark, he still seems to hold an elitist view of himself in the Night's Watch. Sam soon pointed out that being so closely involved with the Lord Commander day and night was a good thing, because that probably meant that Jon would soon command the Night's Watch. At the end of the chapter when Sam and Jon go to say their oaths in the woods, Ghost brings back a hand (oooh spooky! Whose hand is it, ahhh!?)
Overarching Theme and Personal Thoughts:
The overarching theme of this chapter is that Sam and Jon have come to terms with what they really are now: not Lords or anything of the sort, but a man of the Night's watch. Although nothing is explicitly stated about this in the chapter, Jon and Sam both do a lot of self-reflecting to get to where they are now, and to be okay with their life at this point, like when Jon says "I never asked for this", and Sam replies with "None of us are here for asking" (page 434). Jon still takes a while to realize that he is no longer a prominent member in any regard, and Sam the same. I really liked this chapter because it developed Jon and Sam a lot more. It seems like Sam is finally happy with who he is, and is glad to have the role he has in the Night's Watch. I also liked the "...for once you have taken the black, there is no turning back." quote on page 431, because although this has no innuendos in the book during this setting, it seems like Martin is throwing current day phrases in to make a joke but at the same time not really make a joke. It may not at all be relevant, but I personally found it to be comical.
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