Essays

Reading Project

Plot Summary

Fat, little Bastian escaped from his bullying peers into Mr. Coreander’s bookshop, where he discovered and stole an old book that attracted him in a strange way. He started reading, and wandered into a decaying world called Fantastica, where its Childlike Empress was dying of sickness. A young boy hunter named Atreyu was entrusted with the mission to find the cure for the Childlike Empress’s sickness. He received the AURYN, a badge that represented the Childlike Empress’s power. After going through a great adventure, he found out that the Childlike Empress needed a new name, and only humans could give her one. Bastian did this, and became a character in the story. His wish to become a strong, handsome hero came true. Step by step he created Fantastica, by making wishes from the AURYN.

Atreyu and Bastian became great friends. However, Atreyu and Falkor, Atreyu’s luckdragon, noticed that every time Bastian made a wish, it took away Bastian’s memory of his world, where he used to be fat and was teased by other children. Atreyu told Bastian that, but Bastian never listened, because he didn’t really want to go back. Atreyu knew that the only way to save Bastian was to steal the AURYN away from him. Bastian grew mad at Atreyu and Falkor, and told them that he never wanted to see them again. Bastian decided to take over Fantastica, to take place for the Childlike Empress who was missing, when Atreyu gathered a host of rebels and demanded Bastian to give up the AURYN. Bastian ended up stabbing Atreyu.

Bastian found himself in the City of Old Emperors, where the whole city looked as if it had gone mad. The inhabitants’ behaviors were weird, they didn’t seem to know what they were doing and were feverishly active. They were all humans, who were once the Emperors of Fantastica or wanted to be one. Bastian realized that he needed his memory of the human world to go back, or else he would end up in this city.

He tried to stop sacrificing his last few memories unless it would help him get back to his world, but without knowing he had wished for company and to be loved for what he was. He went to the House of Change, where he learned what he truly wanted— to be capable of loving. To grant that wish, he needed to drink the Water of Life. He went to the Picture Mine to find a picture that would guide him to the fountain. When he found the picture, he forgot the one last thing he had left— his own name. However, a creature Bastian had created earlier in his journey ruined the picture. When he had nothing left, Atreyu and Falkor were there, as if an answer to his prayer. Bastian gave up the AURYN to Atreyu. The two snakes that were on the AURYN appeared in front of them and in the middle was the Water of Life. Bastain drank the water after losing everything the Childlike Empress had given him such as his appearance and power. He returned to the world. The book was gone, but Mr. Coreander didn’t even know about the book. Mr. Coreander had also gone to Fantastica before, in a different way, and made Bastian promise to come often to his shop and exchange experiences with him.

Strong Points

l Michael Ende has a special way of describing imaginary characters and places. Here is an example of his character description. It is a description of will-o’-the-wisp

It was a glittering sphere about the size of a child’s ball; it moved in long leaps, touched the ground now and then, and then bounded up again. Inside this ball of light there was a small, exceedingly active figure, which ran and jumped with all its might. It was neither male nor female, for such distinctions didn’t exist among them.

I could almost see this little creature zigzagging through the woods. All the descriptions are even more detailed than this one. From these descriptions, we can understand what’s going on in this story very clearly. We can go on a journey along with Bastian, Atreyu and the other characters, by letting our imagination go wild. This makes the book a lot more fun and interesting.

l The dialogues between the characters are very funny. I like the conversation between the Gnomics the best. Actually, it is more like an argument, rather than a conversation. The grumpy Urgl and lecturing Engywook make a great combination. There are also some very talented rhymes in the middle of the story.

l I like the part where Bastian realized that he was a character in the book, not just a reader. And from that, Bastian think, Heaven only knew who else might be reading it at the exact same time, also supposing himself to be just a reader. In this way, the author is including me, the real reader, into the story. This book is linked to the reality world in a special, magical way. This is the clever, unique part of the way Michael Ende writes this book.

Weak Points

l There are many unsolved mysteries and paradoxes in this story. When I finished reading this story, I felt very satisfied and yet I felt that something was missing. There was a part in the book where the Childlike Empress met the Old Man of Wandering Mountain, the person who writes the Neverending Story. We don’t know what happened to him after Bastian gave the Neverending Story a new start. There are many characters that just disappeared when Bastian came, and I think it would be better if Michael Ende told us what happened to them.

Star Rating

I gave four and three quarters out of five stars for this story. I wanted to give it five, but there is a small chance that I may read a different story that would entertain me even more that this one. There are many reasons why I gave this story such a high score. There are many things about this book that are different from a normal one.

The way the chapters are made is certainly rare. The first chapter begins with the letter A, the second is B, the third is C, and so on up to chapter twenty-six, which begins with a Z. And in the thirteenth chapter, which begins with an M and is the middle of the alphabets, the main character Bastian, who was reading this story, suddenly became one of the characters. Then the story, which was only a fantasy in the beginning, comes to life.

Michael Ende created so many new creatures and places that can bring wealth to our imagination. One of my favorite parts in this story is when Bastian starts making the world of Fantastica by wishes. The pure wish fulfillment is wonderful. Each creation came to life once they had a name and seemed as though it had always existed, as the book said. I think that is a very clever way to put it. I make fictional stories myself and once I make the characters, it’s as though they had always been there. There are many things a child could learn from reading this book: to be brave and calm no matter how horrible things are, the importance of friendship and the happiness of being able to love and be loved by people.

I think Atreyu was a wonderful friend from the way he did everything he could to make Bastian stop making wishes and save him from not being able to go back to his world. Unfortunately, Bastian didn’t understand and ended up stabbing his friend. When you are mad at someone, it is very hart to think clearly, think over what is right and what is wrong. Naturally, you blame the other person and never stop to think if you had done anything bad. You might do something horrible, something you would regret forever, as in the case of Bastian. It was lucky for Bastian that Atreyu hadn’t been badly hurt. If he had not been able to recover or perhaps died, it could have become a great burden for Bastian, which he would have to carry throughout his life.

This story expresses a strong bond of friendship between a boy who comes from the real world and a boy who comes from the fantasy world. I think Bastian is very, very lucky to know two entirely different worlds very well and even have friends in the other world.

The story is just the way it is expressed by the title: The Never-Ending Story. The story has an end, and yet it doesn’t. The last sentence is “But that’s another story and shall be told another time.” It ends the story that was told now, and yet it begins an entirely new one. There are many stories that are not finished in the Never-Ending Story. And while trying to finish those unfinished stories, a new story begins and so on it goes forever. I love the idea of being able to listen to stories forever, because I can’t think of anything that is more entertaining than stories. Human lives are just one of the many stories that are happening in the world, or should I say the whole universe. I think what Michael Ende wanted to say most in this book is that stories are infinite and as long as there are living creatures is the world, the stories would go on forever.