1 This new island seems quite different; does this surprise you?
Maybe a little. I’m so familiar with the story it is hard to say. Each of the islands has been different from the others so in that sense different is to be expected. It does seem a bit odd following after several uninhabited islands. In that respect it is a bit surprising because people would expect the islands to get wilder not more civilized the closer one got to the end of the world.

2 What do you think of Eustace's comments and efforts in this chapter?
He is thinking. He still is thinking about civilized countries. He still notices flaws in plans although in this case he does so without malice.

3 How has Lewis written the character of the Chief Voice, to make him likable to the reader?
Lewis uses his own words to paint a picture of his characters. He also cuts out the comments of the other voices during the story which cuts out the annoyance the reader would like feel if we had everything. I’m not sure how likeable the travelers that he was.

4. Which of the theories about the voices seems best to you? What would you have thought of them in Lucy's situation?
Well, I guess I agree that they don’t sound very treacherous or brave. I probably would have been too scared to think much. Maybe I would guess they got around by jumping?

5. How would you try to deal with invisible enemies?
I think I would have a weapon out and be very quiet to try to hear if anything was coming.

6. What do the character's reactions to the situation tell us about them?
They all seem to handle the possible attack calmly enough. They make a plan and do not panic. Edmund cares about Lucy and wants to protect her. Reepicheep is protective of Lucy’s honor (he makes sure they know she is a queen). His chivalrous makes him want to protect her by force but he is smart enough to know that isn’t possible. Caspian also is upset about what they are asking Lucy to do. He is worried about the magician. Eustace is suspicious. Lucy is scared but she knows it is up to her to save herself and others. She is smart enough to figure out that the voices may be not be the most reliable witnesses as to the character of the magician. We also know that the boys have been afraid of things and are embarrassed by the fact.

7.Why do you think Lucy chose not to ask the others to wait? Would you have asked the others to wait? If the others had noticed her drop behind, do you think they would have insisted on waiting for her?
She probably thought it would take her very little time to get it out. I think in a strange place I would ask the others to wait or just deal with the rock. I would hope that they would have learned from the experiences in the Lone Islands and on Dragon Island and stay with her. Felimath seemed perfectly safe and yet they were kidnapped.

8. Eustace says that the crew of the Dawn Treader will think that they are just swinging their swords around for fun if they fight the invisible enemy. Do you think this makes sense?
No, it doesn’t. I can see practicing swings or doing practice duels with each other but just swinging them around for fun doesn’t make sense to me. However, since I do not own a sword I might be missing something that would make it make sense to just randomly swing swords around.

9. The Chief says that they "crept" upstairs. How quiet do you think they actually were?
I imagine they were quite loud. They may have been able to keep their steps to a soft thud, but I bet they made quite a racket warning each other to be quiet.

1. This new island seems quite different; does this surprise you?
So far, at least, all of the islands have seemed peaceful, albeit a little wild and untamed. As Twigs said, you would expect to find less civilization the farther you sailed, so it must have been a surprise for them. This island is also peaceful, but in a cultured, domesticated way--as he said, "like the grounds of a great English house where ten gardeners were kept."

As an aside: notice that he says "used to be." Lewis would have seen the change from the old ways himself, such as we can only read about now. Things were quite different before World War I, both in regards to labour conditions and the position of the great families. He would have witnessed the crumbling of that societal structure as the young men failed to come home, the money trickled away after the war, and the resources to maintain the old places simply vanished. I wonder if Lewis regretted the change, or not?

2. What do you think of Eustace's comments and efforts in this chapter?
Still yearning for the flesh-pots of Egypt, or the comforts of civilization, if you'd rather put it that way.

He still notices flaws in plans although in this case he does so without malice.

Yes. He seems to be gaining more practical sense--he made several valid observations.

3. How has Lewis written the character of the Chief Voice, to make him likable to the reader?
He seems quite a reasonable chap, if a trifle conceited--not at all abashed to admit to fear or other like qualities. He sounds like a friendly pirate; a gentlemanly pirate, if such a thing exists. You also find yourself laughing at him (and the whole lot of them) in a mildly incredulous fashion. Surely no one could be that ridiculously deceived.

This is neither the first nor the last occurrence of someone having an alternate view of reality in the series. The Dufflepuds are amusingly comical; some of the others are quite chilling and sobering e.g. Uncle Andrew and Jadis, or the dwarves in the stable.

4. Which of the theories about the voices seems best to you? What would you have thought of them in Lucy's situation?
I probably wouldn't have any clue; the idea of large insects (as Eustace suggested in the following chapter) would be rather nasty. Nowadays, one might think it a recording or some other stunt; really, it would be quite odd, whatever it was.

5. How would you try to deal with invisible enemies?
Skulking sounds like a good idea. If that wouldn't work, as Reep pointed out, you would think you would want to find out why they were your enemies, much as they did in this case. At least if they were human. Sometimes the antagonist in a story is an impersonal force, like a violent storm or natural disaster. Or a tiger is stalking you through the jungle.

6. What do the character's reactions to the situation tell us about them?
Well, nobody exactly panicked, which proved them all to be braver than I. They were worried, but tried to stay practical. Even Eustace didn't begin to complain.

7.Why do you think Lucy chose not to ask the others to wait? Would you have asked the others to wait? If the others had noticed her drop behind, do you think they would have insisted on waiting for her?
It would only take half a minute to fix her shoe, and there was no need for the others to stop. Besides, Lucy had a habit of going off on her own, or lingering behind the others.

I would hope that they would have learned from the experiences in the Lone Islands and on Dragon Island and stay with her. Felimath seemed perfectly safe and yet they were kidnapped.

Precisely what I was thinking. I suspect the others wouldn't have left her, after the incident on Felimath, but then they had gone off on their own at Deathwater. This seems to be a recurring pattern.

8. Eustace says that the crew of the Dawn Treader will think that they are just swinging their swords around for fun if they fight the invisible enemy. Do you think this makes sense?
Not sure on that one. I don't know that Eustace was wrong. What else could the crew think? From the little I've seen of it, sparring moves and real battle moves are pretty much the same. Unless the enemies became visible when stabbed, and Drinian or someone happened to be watching at the right moment. On the other hand, even if they did figure it out, they might have been too late to have come to their aid. I do find it a little puzzling that they didn't think of Aslan's help in this case.

9. The Chief says that they "crept" upstairs. How quiet do you think they actually were?

I bet they made quite a racket warning each other to be quiet.

Yep. Maybe for Dufflepuds they were, but I have my doubts. There must have been a certain amount of thumping, and do you really think that they would be able to keep from talking? If they were frightened enough, I suppose. Not sure they had the sense to be frightened, in spite of their avowed dread of the magician.

1 This new island seems quite different; does this surprise you?

A bit. It is somewhat unusual to find a well-cultivated parkland estate, such as you would find in well-to-do parts of the real world, pigeons and lawns included, in the middle of nowhere. Especially as we already know about the non-availability of British Consuls etc in Narnia, thanks to Eustace.

2 What do you think of Eustace's comments and efforts in this chapter?

Naturally, the well-groomed features of the island have the most impact on Eustace, who can't help commenting about getting to civilized parts. He doesn't pick up the clue about a smoking chimney but, unlike the others, ascribes the moving water pump to machinery, something which would be foreign to his companions, or at least Reepicheep, Drinian and Caspian. Noticeably, he tends to keep his head down and not say the sorts of things he has been known to say earlier in the voyage.

3 How has Lewis written the character of the Chief Voice, to make him likable to the reader?

I know that Australians, in particular the men, have a habit of addressing everyone as "Mate", or even "Matey", and so do cartoon pirates and sailors. But that is what struck me about the Chief Voice mostly. I don't know how it would sound to other English speakers. Basically it makes the Chief Voice sound homely, and not necessarily as aggressive as he pretends to be. Though that could be misleading....

4. Which of the theories about the voices seems best to you? What would you have thought of them in Lucy's situation?

I'd be just as wary of them as Lucy was. I'd be keeping my ears pricked and would try to conceal myself as much as possible.

5. How would you try to deal with invisible enemies?

When sight doesn't help, one uses other senses, such as hearing, touch or smell to figure out what is there. Using indirect clues such as imprints in the sand, or shadows cast by the Sun might help. Sitting down quietly and listening is probably the best idea to deal with invisible enemies. But wouldn't they be able to see Lucy? Or didn't they notice she'd become separated from her friends?

6. What do the character's reactions to the situation tell us about them?

They are uncomfortable at not being able to see their opponents. Reepicheep, as usual, is the one who would fight nevertheless, understanding that fighting these invisible opponents is unavoidable. When discussing what they can do about the situation, they all try to keep their heads, even Eustace. But he is the practical one who realises that if they can't see these mysterious people, then the people on board ship won't be able to do so either.

7.Why do you think Lucy chose not to ask the others to wait? Would you have asked the others to wait? If the others had noticed her drop behind, do you think they would have insisted on waiting for her?

No, I don't think either Lucy or the others would consider it important to stay back for her, or at least not until they were sure there were other people around. Maybe they didn't notice her missing, as it was only for a short period for a fairly minor reason. Maybe it would have been easier if Lucy had asked the others to wait, but would it have made any difference to the outcome? Would the Voices have noticed the others a bit sooner?

8. Eustace says that the crew of the Dawn Treader will think that they are just swinging their swords around for fun if they fight the invisible enemy. Do you think this makes sense?

It makes perfect sense to me. If you can see someone, chances are, they can see you, too, if they follow the same line of vision back to yourself. If the Voices are invisible to the people on shore, how are the sailors on board the Dawn Treader going to see them?

9. The Chief says that they "crept" upstairs. How quiet do you think they actually were?

What? With all that thumping? They are about as quiet as a pneumatic drill in full operation. With the racket they make just getting along, even the penguins in Antarctica would be able to hear them without difficulty.