"The Neverending story" is a famous children and young's novel by Michael Ende. It was published in 1979 and it brought the author worldwide success. It was such a success that Wolfgang Petersen made a movie adaption in 1984 and then it was one of the most expensive German cinematography movie.
The world of which the author speaks is well described. Except for the magical creatures it contains its own rules.
The story is based upon the struggle of good and evil.
The main theme is the part of fantasy and imagination in the made-up world but in the real world as well. The author himself stated that his goal was not to teach nor educate but to bring his readers the magic of a special world.
This is a classical work for young people but also loved and appreciated by the older.
Summary
Bastian Balthasar Bux is a ten years old boy. He storms into an antique bookshop because he is running away from some bullies.
The owner of the bookshop is Carl Conrad Coreander who doesn't like children in particular. Despite of that the two of them talk and we find out the boy's mother had died and that he lives alone with his father who doesn't take much care of him.
Bastian was intrigued by the book the owner was reading. It was printed in two colors, with no pictures and two snakes who bit each other were on the cover.
The book's title was "NeverEnding story".
Bastian adored books so he had to have this one. While the owner was on the phone he hid the book under his coat and sneaked out of the bookshop. As soon as he walked out he felt guilty.
Instead of going home he went to the school's attic and started reading the story.
In a forest a sphere of light was found. The white flag upon it marked it as a messenger. She would stop to see where to go and she saw a stone eater, a night elf riding a bat, a creature in a colorful suit with a red cylinder riding a snail.
All of them sat in peace even though many wars are lead in the world of Fantasia. They were carrying the white flag so the sphere of light approached them. The sphere of light's name was Blubb, the one in the colorful suit was Uckuck, the night elf was Wuschwusul and the stone eater was Pjornrachzarck. Blubb explained that he is looking for a way up to the Ivory tower where the children's queen had lived. He came from the swamp and something strange was happening there. The Nothing was spreading and everything was disappearing. He found out the same thing was going on in all parts of Fantasia and that it was endangered.
Bastian realized it was already 9 o'clock and he also came to a conclusion that the book was made for him.
After a week Blubb came to his destination. The Ivory tower was like a big city with many towers and in one of them lived the children's queen.
Many messengers gathered in the tower and all of them conveyed the same message - the Nothing was spreading. Unfortunately the children's queen was ill and nobody knew how to help her.
500 different doctors examined her but nobody knew the cause or the treatment for the disease. She was the center of life in Fantasia, and not its reign, so everyone was equal in this land.
Bastian was reading this part of the story in the hallway he sat in while his mother was operated. He remembered the doctor who told them she didn't make it. Since then his father didn't talk much to him.
The doctors concluded there was a connection between the Nothing spreading and the queen's illness. The last doctor came out of her chambers and he was a centaur named Cairon. He had a golden talisman around his neck with two snakes that bit each other.
Bastian realized it was the same symbol found on the cover of the book. It was a sign of the one who worked for the queen and had the right to replace her in times of need. The talisman was called Auryn and many called him Shine.
The queen told them to go find Atreyu and give them the Auryn because he will manage to save them.
Bastian heard the clock strike 10.
In the Sea of Mist lived seaweed people who had black hair, green skin and lived a humble life. They were hunters.
One day the old Cairon came and demanded to see Atreyu. He was a 10 years old boy but Cairon expected someone older. Atreyu's assignment was to find the cure for the queen and save Fantasia. Atreyu agreed to go on a quest and Cairon gave him the Auryn. It gave him power but he can't use it. It was supposed to only protect him and guide him.
Atreyu didn't have parents and, as his name symbolizes, he was raised by the people. Bastian, unlike him, thought of himself as nobody's son but he equalized himself with Atreyu because he was also looking on the search for something he didn't know what was.
Atreyu went on his adventure with Artax. In the meantime, on the other side of Fantasia, a black creature on 4 legs howled.
Bastian decided to divide his lunch well because he knew he was going to be here for a long time.
Atreyu traveled for a week and then something unexpected happened. In the forest he encountered three trolls. They saw his amulet and came to warn him about a great danger. The Nothing was spreading from one place in the forest and the trolls started losing parts of their bodies. If the process continues they will be extinct.
Later, in his dreams, Atreyu was spoken to by a purple buffalo who he had dreamt of for several nights. He told him to find the old Morla who lived in the Swamp of Sadness.
Bastian though about the PE class he had and he wanted to be like Atreyu.
Atreyu came to the Swamp of Sadness and his Artax began to act strange. With every step he became more and more sad. He became slower and slower until he fell down to the black water.
Atreyu was protected from the sadness by the amulet. He continued to Morla's but then the ground under his feet started shaking. The ground wasn't actually the ground but Morla's armour. She was a turtle and she didn't care about Fantasia's problems and the queen's illness. Atreyu started talking to her and in the end he managed to find out how to help the queen. She needed a new name because her life wasn't measured with time, but with names and all of them already forgot her real name. Morla didn't know who could give her a new name but she thought it could be Uyulala from the Southern Oracle. But to get there Atreyu needed time he didn't have.
The four legged creature smelled Atreyu and went to the swamp.
Atrey was in the Dead hills and he had no food or water.
Bastian heard that the class was over but he decided to stay on the attic and read the story.
Atreyu was in front of Deep Roy and the creature that caught him was a wolf. He heard noise and howling. He saw that above the abyss was a spider's net in which a big white dragon was stuck. He was the fortune carrying dragon. He recognized him because that sort of dragon doesn't have wings and he soars through the sky like fish swim in the sea. The dragon fought with Ugramul, a spider looking creature. Atreyu came to help him. A scream was heard but it wasn't Atreyu's.
It was Bastian's scream and he wondered is it possible that Ugramul could hear his scream.
Ugramul told him that if he lets him bite him he will give him the power to be in any part of Fantasia for an hour. Atreyu accepted and told him he wants to go to the South Oracle. He wanted to take the dragon but Ugramul didn't allow it.
Atrey found himself in a desert filled with red panels. All of the sudden the dragon appeared too. His name was Fuchur and he ran away from Ugramul. The dragon told Atreyu that he will help him but due to the poison Atreyu fainted. He woke up in a cave and around him were two gnoms - Engywuck and his wife Urgl. They saw the amulet around Atreyu's neck and rushed to help him. The dragon was also saved.
Engywuck shower Atreyu through a telescope a big door and two sphinxes that sat around it. They were statues but real life sphinxes.
He explained him everything about Uyulali. The bit stone door were the entrance and behind those doors were three more and Uyulali was behind the third. The first were the door of the mystery, the second one were the door of the magic mirror and the last one were the doors without a key. The next door appears when the previous ones are unlocked. The first doors were always unlocked but one could enter through them only when the sphinxes had their eyes closed. The sphinxes looked at each other only and if a human looks them in the eyes they are left paralyzed until they solve an enigma.
Bastian heard the clock strike 3. The attic was getting dark. He wandered around, saw himself in the mirror and then kept on reading.
If Atreyu walkes through the first door he will come to the second ones, the doors of the magical mirror. They were open and shut at the same time. It was the mirror that showed a person for what he really is, for what's on the inside. If a person wants to enter he had to enter through himself and it takes a big amount of courage to see yourself for what you really are. Some couldn't take it. The third doors were locked and the more someone wanted to walk through them the less they could but when someone had no further desires the doors would open. Behind the doors was Uyulala of which Engywuck knew nothing about.
Atreyu came to the door and he left his dragon with the gnomes. He felt scared in front of the first doors because he saw skeletons. Atreyu thought that the sphinxes were beautiful and awful at the same time. He kept on walking no matter what and the fear was gone. The sphinxes let him through.
He saw the magical mirror doors. He came to the mirror and saw a chubby boy sitting in an attic reading a book.
Bastian was shocked when he read that part.
Atreyu smiled and went through the mirror but when he went through he lost all memories of himself, his life, goal and quest. He didn't know his name or why was he there but he felt relieved and carefree. The third doors were small and had no lock or key. He decided to go back.
Bastian screamed that he can't walk away and that he has to walk through the doors. Atreyu turned to the doors and touched them. It opened and he saw a long hallway. When he walked in the doors were closed shut.
The clock stroke 4. Bastian couldn't even read anymore because he had no light but then he remembered he saw a candlestick and he lit up seven candles.
Atreyu was surrounded by silence and then he heard a far away noise and followed it. Atreyu was asked questions by some voice. The voice was actually Uyulala, the voice of silence. She told Atreyu that the queen can't be helped because they are already made characters so they can't be remade and they can't remake someone else. The salvation can only be brought by a human child. Uyulala went away and Atreyu fell asleep. When he woke up he remembered her words and his whole experience. He knew he had to find a human child from the outer world and bring him to the queen.
Bastian wished to be able to go to Fantasia and come up with a new name for the queen.
Atreyu went back the same way he got there but the sphinxes were destroyed and Fuchur appeared and told him he was gone away for more than a night.
It was 6 o'clock.
Atreyu was gone for 7 days and 7 nights. In the meantime everything turned colorless and the Nothing kept on spreading. Fuchur took Atreyu to look for a human child.
Bastian made his wish and Atreyu came for him.
They traveled for days and nights. They got caught in a tempest, or better said, a confrontation between 4 winds. Atreyu remembered to ask them where are the limit of Fantasia. They were a bit shocked because he carried the queen's amulet but didn't know that Fantasia had no limits. The winds started fighting again and the win threw Atreyu off of Fuchur. He fell to the sea and ended up in the shore but he had lost his amulet. He wasn't the queen's messenger anymore, he was just a regular boy now.
It was 6 o'clock. Bastian listened to the sounds on the attic.
Atreyu headed down the road and saw a group of dancers that acted rare. He waited for them to pass because he was scared they'll hurt him now that he doesn't have his amulet anymore. He regretted not listening to Fuchur before and going back to the queen. Atreyu remembered that Uluyala told him that the outer world was too far for them but that their voice is close to the people of the outer world. Some child just has to remember the voice.
Bastian would have loved to help but he didn't know how.
He followed the dancers and then he saw Nothing spreading. The dancers rushed into it but he managed to resist the urge. He ran away and stopped in front of black walls of a city. He entered it.
Bastian was becoming colder.
Atreyu wandered the empty streets, ate some soup and bread even though they tasted awful.
Bastian was hungry. He remembered some cake Miss Anne made. She came to clean their house 3 times a week. It was 7 o'clock now.
Atreyu kept on walking and all of the sudden he heard howling and moaning. A massive werewolf was tied to a chain and his name was Gmork. Atreyu wanted to liberate him but Gmork told him he'll eat him if he does so. The chain he was on was magical and only the one who tied him can set him free and that was Gaya, the dark queen. Atreyu was surprised that the werewolf wasn't drawn by the Nothing. He explained to him that he doesn't belong to Fantasia and that he doesn't have his own world but rather goes to other worlds. Gmork told him how he could get to the outer world but that he could never come back from it. He told him all he has to do was jump into the Nothing. When the characters from Fantasia come to the human world they call him liars. Atreyu is real in Fantasia but in the outer world he is an imagination. That's the reason why people hate Fantasia. The more lies there are in the human world the more spreads the Nothing.
Bastian realized that Fantasia and his world are connected and that the human world is sick. He remembered all of his lies and decided to find the way to Fantasia when the clock stroke 20.
Gmork's assignment was to stop the hero sent to bring the human child. He looked for him everywhere and then he started working with the Dark Ruler. When she found out about his assignment she tied him up. Atreyu told him he was the one he's looking for and Gmork started laughing but then he became quiet. He bit Atreyu's leg and Nothing started surrounding the city. In the moment Atreyu entered the City of Ghosts Fuchur saw a bright light from the sea. For dragons like him water was dangerous because he could disappear in it since he was made of air and fire. He decided to dive in anyway because the bright light was actually Auryn. He grabbed it before he fainted and the amulet protected him so he got out safely. He took it to the City of Ghosts where Atreyu was next to the dead werewolf. Fuchur couldn't open the werewolf's jaws but when the amulet touched his head they opened. The Nothing was attracting Atreyu and Fuchur saved him.
It was nine o'clock.
When morning came they saw the Ivory tower. Atreyu wanted to know who the Childlike Queen was because it was the biggest mystery of their world.
When they came to the towers they realized that Nothing began to spread there too. There was no one and Atreyu began to climb. He saw the Childlike Empress. She had snow white hair and golden colored eyes which earned her the title of the Golden Eyes Commander of Wishes but now her hair was gray even though she was only 10.
Bastian got scared. He could've imagine everything he read so far but when the Childlike Queen's description came he saw her clearly in front of him. He realized what her name was Moon Child. She looked at him as well. He didn't even think he was getting himself into the most dangerous adventure. He kept on reading and the clock stroke 10.
Atreyu didn't know how to talk to the Childlike Empress. He gave her back the Auryn and told her she can't be saved. The Empress told him otherwise and tells him he had brought the salvation with him. Soon he will pronounce her new name and all of Fantasia will be saved. The only way to call the one destined to save them was to send Atreyu on a quest because that way the human could participate in all of his adventures. Atreyu asked what the savior was waiting for but Bastian didn't know what to do. The Empress needed a new name and only Bastian knew it. Atreyu thought that the savior didn't know how to enter Fantasia. Empress told him he doesn't have to do anything but call her by her new name. Bastian had doubts. How can be sure they were talking about him? Atreyu thought that it is possible that the savior doesn't know they were talking about him. The empress thought that after all of the signs that was impossible. Bastian still had doubts. He wanted to enter Fantasia but didn't want to fight with all of the creatures with which Atreyu had to fight. Atrey thought to himself that maybe the savior doesn't care about Fantasia or the Empress. Bastian asked Atreyu not to think that. The Empress had one last ace up her sleeve. She had to find The Old Man of Wandering Mountain. He was her opposition and she had to find him on her own. Atreyu fell asleep.
It was 11 o'clock.
Childlike Empress was gone for a while. She had to walk the last part of the way alone. She came to a blue hill and started climbing up the stairs made of words. As she climbed, she read. The words told her to go away and never come back. When he climbed up she took a book that levitated freely in the middle of the room. The book covers had her symbol on them. The book title was "NeverEnding Story".
Bastian was curious about the book appearing in itself.
A man with white beard in a blue, long monk's cowl wrote sentences in the book. Everything he wrote down would happen. He warned her she shouldn't have come but she ordered him to tell the story from the beginning. The old man began to write again.
Bastian heard him. The old man started telling the story of bastian arrival to the antique bookshop. He realized the old man was telling his story. Now that he finally had the chance to enter Fantasia he wished he never found the book.
The old man told the whole story about how he stole the book, read it on the attic and everything about Atreyu's quest. Bastian started crying. He called the Empress by her name and told her he was coming. The wind started blowing from the book and the clock stroke 12.
Bastian met the Childlike Queen. She told him that Fantasia will come to life by his wishes. The more he will wish for it the prettier and richer Fantasia will be. Childlike Empress gave him a grain of sand and that was all that's left of Fantasia. The grain began to germinate and many flowers and plants came out of it. Bastian gave it all a name. He was embarrassed because he thought the queen expected a hero not him and he explained as to why he didn't come when she called him. She looked him in the eyes and told him she sees a young prince from the East in him. Looking at that reflection Bastian became the character.
Childlike Empress was goon and he had Auryn around him neck. Bastian had his wish of becoming strong come true. He thought it would be good to see the biggest desert of Fantasia. As soon as he thought of it the forest disappeared and he was in the middle of the desert.
Bastian named it Goab, the desert of colors. He walked through it because he had to find a source of water. He wanted to be courageous and as soon as he made his wish a lion Graograman appeared, also known as Many Colored Death. He told Bastian he was his servant and that he shall help him. Bastian wanted to get out of the desert but lion couldn't do it because he carried the desert with him. He took him to his castle and asked him never to take off the amulet while he's in his empire.
When they arrived the lion sat on his throne and became black. He got petrified every night and woke up in the morning. Bastian explained that it's supposed to be like that because with his death Pelerin was woken up. On the other side if the lion woke up it would prevent Pelerin from spreading and suffocating itself. The forest and the lion depended on each other. The lion realized the significance of his existence.
He gave Bastian a sword which he named Sikanda. He could use it only when the sword jumps to his hands, otherwise it was useless.
The lion told him about a place called Temple of a Thousand Doors. Through that labyrinth he could only walk with a true wish. One night Bastian realized he can't stay with the lion anymore. A door that guided to the room opened and Bastian went through them.
He found himself in a six-cornered room. Every wall had its own doors. Every room he entered had the same shape but different doors. Now he walked through the wooden ones and he wandered many rooms when he realize his true wish was enough to get him into the labyrinth but it wasn't strong enough to get him out of it. He wished to see Atreyu. He opened another doors and found himself outside where he saw a group of people. The hero Hynreck introduced him to the rest of the group and asked him to join them. They told him a knight tournament was being held in the Silver Town and that the three bravest knights will be send on a search for the savior who will save Fantasia and give the Empress her name. the winners will be selected by Atreyu who will be the leader of the search because he was the only one who saw the savior.
They came to the Silver City. The competitors were already fighting and Bastian looked for Atreyu. On a wide balcony Atreyu was observing the fights.
Hero Hynreck had beaten everyone and in the end Bastian confronted him but still wasn't ready to reveal his name. the competitors competed in disciplines such as bow and arrow, throwing weights… Bastian challenged Hynreck to swim the Lake of Tears in which everything melts. Hynreck denied and attacked Bastian with a sword. Bastian's sword flew right out and chopped Hynreck's to pieces. Atreyu came and told everyone there will be no search for the savior because he was present with them.
Even though Bastian changed his look remained the same. Bastian revelaed his real name and then they went to a palace where a big celebration was prepared. Most of them went to bed after the celebration was over. Atreyu told Bastian he saw him as a smalland a bit chubby boy but Bastian couldn't remember that. He had a feeling he didn't really amaze Atreyu so he decided to do what he did best - storytelling. The next morning a special festivity was held where Bastian told stories. He decided to tell a story about a bookshop in Amarganth. The story talked about the genesis of the Silver City and everyone was grateful to him because he helped them learn something more about their origins.
Bastian didn't want to go back to the human world and the Fantasia's existence was determined by his desires. The camped out and got some rest. Atreyu noticed that the Auryn is making Bastian forget about the human world. The Auryn had a different influence on human children - it granted their wishes but it made them forget the human world.
In the middle of the night they were woken up by a noise which turned out to be the sound of big ugly worms crawling out of the Lake of Tears and building the Silver city up. They were so ugly they hid from the sun. The worms asked Bastian to give them a different appearance and Bastian promised they would wake up as butterflies. In the morning Bastian saw the new butterflies being disobedient, laughing and causing a big mess. He wasn't so sure of his decisions anymore.
They hit the road again. Atreyu noticed Bastian's bad mood and he asked him to tell something about the boys who bullied him at school. Bastian couldn't remember them and he thought nobody would dare to bully him. When he turned the worms into butterflies the Auryn took some more memories away. The dragon advised him to stop using the Auryn because he won't be able to find his way back home. Bastian admitted to not wanting to go back ever.
After a few day of traveling they realized they were spinning in a circle, ending always in the same place. The cause of that was that Bastian stopped wishing for anything anymore. He wished to see the Empress and Fuchur warned him he can only see her once but Bastian convinced him that, because he is human, the rules don't apply to him.
They stopped and rested next to a river and during the night seven creatures came up to Bastian telling him to come with them and make up their stories. Bastian responded that he had to go to see the Empress and that they should join him. As they traveled the group expanded.
They traveled through the forest and Bastian had a new wish. He wanted to be dangerous because he felt everyone was treating him like a child. In the forest they walked through lived Xayida, the most powerful witch in all of Fantasia. Everyone wanted to go around her home but Bastian insisted they kept on their path without making any turns. Atreyu and Fuchur suggested to Bastian to hand over the Auryn to Atreyu so he wouldn't forget about the human world. Bastian refused to do it and accused Atreyu of being jealous of him for having the Auryn.
Bastian decided he wasn't going back to the human world because he can give enough names to the Empress so they would never need the human world again. When they landed the giants attacked them. The witch Xayida sent a message to Bastian that he had to be her slave or she will kill three of his knights. Bastian thought of a way to trick her.
Atreyu lured the giants and Bastian freed the prisoners. The witch bowed down to Bastian and accepted to travel with him to the Empress. Atreyu realized the witch had outsmarted them. She let them win so she would get them on her side. Bastian refused to believe it and he yelled at Atreyu. The witch laughed and Bastian forgot about ever being a child in the human world.
The group got bigger and bigger by each day. They made a white tent for Bastia which always stood in the middle of the tents. Atrey and Fuchur walked in the back of the group. Bastian talked to the witch often. She told him how to control things with his mind and gave him a belt which made him invisible. She convinced himthat Atreyu wants to take Auryn away. Bastian got offended by that insinuation and wished to become the wisest creature of all in Fantasia.
In the middle of the night six owls came and they were sent by the Convent of Wisdom. They wanted Bastian to answer one question for them. Bastian accepted and took Atreyu and the witch with him.
The three thinkers asked him a question: "What is the land of Fantasia?" Bastian answered it was an never ending story. The next day they asked about the place where the never ending story was written down. Bastian told them it was written down in a book covered with gold silk. The next was about the location of the book. Bastian told them it was on the school attic. He showed it to them using a jewel he took for the library door. The thinkers were satisfied but Bastian forgot all about the attic, school and he never wondered how he got to Fantasia.
Bastian's attitude changed and he was scared about the Empress wanting the Auryn back. They came to the tower but a messenger told them the Empress hadn't been in the tower for a long time. No one knew where she was. Bastian remembered Fuchur telling him he'll only be able to see Childlike Empress once. He decided to find Fuchur and Atreyu. He placed the invisible belt and listened to the two of them talking how they had to take the Auryn away from him before it become too late. He placed three knights to keep guard and sent the giants to captivate Fuchur and he vanquished him and Atreyu.
The witch convinced Bastian that the Empress left Fantasia for good and that he has to replace her. The group headed towards the tower where a special reception was held for Bastian. He took the chance to announce everyone he was the new emperor and that they had to bow down to him now. They had to listen to him because he carried the Auryn. The crowning day went into the Fantasia's history as the day of the bloody battle for the Ivory tower. The ceremony was interrupted by the news of Atreyu coming with three armies to demand Bastian to give the Auryn back. The battle raged on the whole day. In the end Atreyu and Bastian confronted. Bastian took out the sword even thought he wasn't allowed to do it. The glow disappeared from the sword. He stabbed Atreyu in his chest and then Fuchur came and took him away on his back. The Ivory towers started to crumble down and Bastian blamed Atreyu for everything.
He decided to vanquish him to the end of the world. He wanted to get his revenge for not becoming Fantasia's king. Bastian stumbled upon a silly town where everything was upside down. A monkey told him that the city could be called Old Emperor's City because everyone in it wanted to be a king. The people who didn't know how to get back to their world were there. They could have wishes only if they remembered their world but without the memories they had no future or a past. The monkey advised Bastian to find a wish that will take him home and he only had three or four wishes left. Bastian decided to find the way back home. First he buried the sword so no one would find it and run it through a friend. Bastian traveled for a long time and a wish to be accepted somewhere was born inside of his mind.
He came to a city in which the citizens didn't know about the word "I" and they only knew about the word "Us".
Bastian went on a boat with three sailors. They traveled a few days and then Bastian realized he wants to be loved for who he is but he didn't know who he was anymore.
He came to a land filled with roses.
While Bastian was in Old Emperor's city the witch led a group to find him but the giants didn't want to listen anymore. They ran her over and the witch died.
Bastian found a map and when he came in front of a certain house he heard a voice saying how they were waiting for him for a hundred years. He walked into the house and saw a woman that looked like his mother. The woman told him the story about himself and that he has to stay in the house until he transforms. He wanted to be someone else all the time but he was never ready to change. The woman's name was Auiola and she told him he can go back to his world when he find the fountain and only his last wish could take him there.
He discovered his last wish and it was to love someone. He will be able to love when he drinks the water from the fountain. There is a prophecy which states that people will bring love to Fantasia and that the two worlds will merge.
Bastian started a new journey and his last wish made him forget his own name.
A blind miner Yor was waiting in front of a cabin when Bastian arrived. He showed Bastian a mine consisted out of the pictures of forgotten dreams and explained that Fantasia was founded on those dreams. Bastian had to find at least one picture that will take him to the fountain. Yor helped him and one night he found it. It was a picture of a man holding a denture and he felt he missed the man he didn't even know.
He went on a search for the fountain and he carried the picture with him because it pointed him in the right direction. He encountered the butterflies and they wanted him to be their leader because they weren't able to establish rules upon themselves. The butterflies rose him up but then a strange noise was heard and they let him down. The picture was broken and there was nothing left of it. Bastian saw Atreyu and Fuchur in the distance. He came to Atreyu, took the Auryn and threw it on the ground. Auryn was furious and the boys found themselves in a large room where two snakes biting each other were guiding the Water of Life.
Fuchur understood what the water was telling them. Without memories he couldn't approach it. Atreyu knew Bastian's life story and he claimed he had memories. As Bastian approached the water he became a chubby boy. He jumped into it. He remembered his name and his father but he had to finish all of the stories he had started in Fantasia. Bastian grabbed the water and ran to the exit.
He found himself on the attic again. He didn't know how much time had passed and he couldn't find the book. When he came down from the attic, the clock stroke 9. He ran home where he told everything to his father who expected him eagerly. He wanted to bring him the water but he spilled it on the way. His father cried and then Bastian realized he did bring the water.
The next day he went to the antique bookshop and apologized for stealing the book. The owner explained that he never owned such a book and Bastian told him everything that had happened. The owner understood everything because he knew all about Fantasia. The NeverEnding story was different for everyone.
Genre: novel
Place: north England
Time: late
Characters: Bastian, Koreander, Atreyu, Fuchur, Childlike Empress
Character analysis
Bastian Balthasar Bux - chubby boy that was bullied at school and he tried to avoid his sufferings by running away. He lost his mother and after that his relationship with his father got bad. He we lonely and desperate and found his comfort in books.
He loved to read and he was good at inventing stories. After he became the hero of one his life changed. He became what he wanted to be - a tall boy with a nice figure and he gained self confidence. His changed appearance changed his character. He became braver, confident and had a thirst for everything.
With time his new characteristic went to the bad side. His bravery became madness and he became submissive to manipulation. He lost people he cared about and the worst part of it all was him losing himself. It was shown on the worse possible way when he started losing the memory of his past, origins and everything that got him to where he was. The more he lost his past, the more he lost himself.
The good nature of his heart wasn't suffocated. It brought him to a happy ending and he started to appreciate his own values which weren't courage or confidence but love towards people around him. He rejected his appearance and went back to being his old self but the most important part was the change of his mind.
Atreyu - a here sent to save Fantasia by the Childlike Empress. He went on brave adventures to complete his mission. He was a brave boy and Bastian saw a friend in him. He tried to help him on his way even when Bastian became hard to handle. Atreyu saw the good in him and he tried to have a positive influence on him.
Even when Bastian rejected him, he kept fighting for him, his memory and his return to home
In the end his fight was a success and he helped his friend find his way back home. He became a brave hero that helped him friend even in his darkest times.
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