The Count Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 I have just finished listening to tWoK audio book and I noticed something. When Kaladin first uses the Parshendi bones to protect bridge four, the Parshendi become enraged. When they are forced to retreat by Sadeas' cavalry, they make a strange gesture to Kaladin: They cup a hand to their ear and then point at Kaladin (I do not have the book with me to dig out the quote but will find it later). This gesture could be just a general expression of anger or promise of retribution (like running a finger across your throat in the real world) but maybe it is something more... Maybe the reason for the reverence of their dead comes from the fact that Listeners (Parshendi / Parshmen) can still hear their dead (maybe from the spiritual / cognitive realm). Therefore the strange gesture means "We can hear you" (similar to the real world threat "we know where you live") or something like that. Now I know, I know... I am extrapolating massively from a single line of the book and a single gesture of the Parshendi made in anger. Flimsy does not even begin to cover it Any opinions from the assembled? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoser Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 Brilliant! If they could hear their dead from long ago, rediscovering the old forms seems like it would be a lot easier. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Count Posted February 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 That depends on how much information can be conveyed through the songs doesn't it? The Listener songs seem to covey emotion more that specific knowledge, otherwise there would be no need to physical communication at all. Also, the dead could only sing the "We are the dead" song, maybe conveying retrospection and reverence... Like I said... flimsy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morsk Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 I found the quote. I don't have any new ideas for what it could mean. None of the soldiers rushing across the chasm had made any specific effort to attack the archers firing on Kaladin, but the weight of numbers had forced them away. A few gave Kaladin loathing gazes, making an odd gesture by cupping a hand to the right ear and pointing at him before finally retreating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aleksiel Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 But if they could hear their dead, why wouldn't they want to move the bodies? Wouldn't that help them hear better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilNuff Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 I don't think the gesture has anything to do with actually listening but it probably refers to the fact that they refer to themselves as listeners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numuhukumakiakiaialunamor Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 I think it's plausible that they can hear their dead. I can't remember the exact quote or who said it, but it was either Eshonai or one of the other listeners who said something along the lines of The old songs spoke of hundreds of forms. Maybe it's through the dead that they know those songs. The songs wouldn't necessarily give instructions on how to get the forms, but they might speak of The forms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christophalies Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 Reminds me of the Crimson Guard from the Novels of the Malazan Empire and their members that died. Very interesting theory. Still seems to me like if they could hear their dead they would not have lost all their forms or at least would have had no trouble re finding them. Or remember why they "forgot" their other forms on purpose. I guess my point is I this was true there would not be a lack of information about themselves and their past. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocHoliday Posted February 6, 2014 Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 I JUST reread that passage last night, and was considering a topic on it. When attempting to communicate with gestures you try to simplify everything. One gesture, one word kind of thing. Hand to ear is obviously hearing, or listening. But the hand COVERING the ear implies the opposite. Pointing at someone is obviously "you". So we have: hear you. Or perhaps: no hear you. Being that their name is Listener, I think the gesture was the Parshendi equivalent of the middle finger. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuantumHarmonix Posted February 6, 2014 Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 So it's the listener version of "♫ I'm not listening ♫"? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blindillusions Posted February 9, 2014 Report Share Posted February 9, 2014 Or it could be something along the lines of, "we have our eyes on you," only they're implying, "we'll be listening for you." 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgedancermd Posted February 9, 2014 Report Share Posted February 9, 2014 Or it could be something along the lines of, "we have our eyes on you," only they're implying, "we'll be listening for you." I like the idea of this as a "we're watching you" kind of thing. Definitely I got the feeling they will extract vengeance on Kaladin given the chance. This might have been a better thread to post this theory: http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/5956-dawnshards-and-their-relationship-to-the-listeners/#entry95626 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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