A Wizard of Earthsea

Chapter-by-chapter summary

Spoiler warning: this section covers the whole plot, including the ending.

Chapter 1: Warriors in the Mist

The boy Duny grows up in the village of Ten Alders on Gont, an island known for its wizards. His mother is dead, and his father, a bronze-smith, is hard on him. When his aunt, the village witch, sees him copy her words to call the goats, she starts teaching him the little magic she knows. He is so good at calling hawks that people nickname him Sparrowhawk. When raiders from the Kargad Lands attack Gont, Duny, about twelve years old, raises a thick fog that confuses the warriors and saves the village. The spell leaves him dazed and empty until the mage Ogion comes and heals him. When Duny comes of age at thirteen, Ogion gives him his true name: Ged. Why it matters: we meet a talent far bigger than its owner's wisdom, and that gap drives the whole book.

Chapter 2: The Shadow

Ged becomes Ogion's apprentice and lives with him at Re Albi. He expects to learn great spells. Instead he gets long silent walks, the names of herbs, and chores. Ogion teaches that real power comes from knowing the true names of things, and that it should be used rarely. Bored, and stung when the daughter of the lord of Re Albi teases him, Ged searches Ogion's books for a spell to summon spirits. As he reads it, a shapeless darkness gathers by the door and whispers to him. Ogion comes back and breaks the spell. He then lets Ged choose: stay and learn slowly, or go to the school for wizards on Roke. Ged chooses Roke. Why it matters: the shadow appears for the first time, drawn by Ged's pride, and Ged chooses speed over patience.

Chapter 3: The School for Wizards

Ged sails to Roke, and the school's door opens only when he tells the Doorkeeper his true name. He makes friends with Vetch, a plain, kind student from the East Reach. He also quickly makes an enemy of Jasper, a polished older student who looks down on him. Ged learns fast. The Master Hand teaches that illusion is easy but real change is serious, because even changing a single pebble shifts the Equilibrium, the balance of the world. Ged takes in the lesson but not its spirit, and his rivalry with Jasper keeps growing. Why it matters: Le Guin lays down the rules of her magic, where knowledge brings responsibility instead of the freedom to do anything.

Chapter 4: The Loosing of the Shadow

Pushed by Jasper's scorn, Ged agrees to a contest of skill one night on Roke Knoll. He casts a spell to call up the spirit of a woman who died long ago, a figure from legend. The spell works, but it also tears a rift in the world. A shadow-beast leaps through and claws his face, leaving scars. The old Archmage Nemmerle closes the rift and drives the creature away, and the effort kills him. Ged lies near death for weeks. When he recovers, he learns that the shadow is loose and wants him, and that only Roke's protections keep it away. Vetch visits and tells Ged his own true name, Estarriol, an act of complete trust. Why it matters: Ged's pride costs a great man his life and creates an enemy that partly comes from Ged himself.

Chapter 5: The Dragon of Pendor

Ged finally receives his wizard's staff and takes a humble post in the Ninety Isles. His job is to protect the poor village of Low Torning from dragons that have taken over the nearby island of Pendor. He makes friends with Pechvarry, a boatbuilder. When Pechvarry's little son falls gravely ill, Ged cannot save him. He follows the child's spirit too far toward the land of the dead and sees the shadow waiting for him there. He returns, weakened, and realises the shadow could bring danger to the village. So he sails to Pendor to deal with the dragons first. After killing several young dragons, he faces the old dragon Yevaud, who offers to tell him the shadow's name. Ged refuses the bargain. Instead he names the dragon and makes him swear never to attack the islands. Why it matters: for the first time, Ged puts duty before his own interest.

Chapter 6: Hunted

After Ged leaves the Ninety Isles, the shadow hunts him more openly. He wanders north, frightened and sleeping badly. A stranger he meets on his travels tells him that at the Court of the Terrenon on Osskil he will find help against the shadow. A rough local man named Skiorh guides him across the moors. On the way, Skiorh's face goes blank: the shadow has entered his body and taken control of it, turning him into a gebbeth, a living puppet. Ged runs for his life through the snow and reaches the gates of the Court just ahead of it. Why it matters: the shadow can now use other people, so running away is no longer safe.

Chapter 7: The Hawk's Flight

Inside the castle, Ged is welcomed by Serret, the lady of the Terrenon. She is the same girl who teased him into summoning spirits back at Re Albi. Serret and her husband Benderesk show him the Terrenon, an ancient stone that holds one of the Old Powers of the earth. Serret urges him to speak to it and gain enough power to master the shadow. Ged senses that the stone wants to own him, and he refuses. Serret tries to escape and is killed by the stone's servants, who then come for Ged. He turns into a hawk and flies south over the sea all the way to Gont. He lands at Ogion's feet, lost in the bird's shape, and Ogion brings him back to himself. Ogion's advice is simple: stop running, turn around, and hunt the hunter. Why it matters: Ged turns down easy power, and the book reaches its turning point.

Chapter 8: Hunting

Ged leaves Gont in a small boat, and this time he is the one chasing the shadow. When he finally meets it at sea, it flees from him. During the chase his boat is wrecked, and he washes up on a tiny sandy island where an old man and an old woman live alone. They were left there as small children and can barely share a language with him. Before he leaves, the woman gives him half of a broken metal ring, a puzzling gift that the next book in the series explains. Ged follows the shadow from island to island and keeps hearing about a man who looks just like him. Why it matters: the roles of hunter and hunted have reversed, and Ged learns that the shadow can take on his own shape.

Chapter 9: Iffish

On the island of Iffish in the East Reach, Ged finds Vetch again. Vetch is now the wizard of his home island and lives with his younger sister Yarrow and his younger brother. He welcomes Ged warmly. When Ged explains that he is going east to face the shadow, Vetch insists on coming, even after Ged warns that it could cost him his life. Yarrow asks simple, sharp questions about magic and names, and Ged glimpses the quiet, ordinary life he has never had. Why it matters: friendship gives Ged the support he needs, and the question of what the shadow really is comes close to an answer.

Chapter 10: The Open Sea

Ged and Vetch sail east past the last known islands into empty ocean. Eventually the sea seems to turn into dry sand, and Ged steps out of the boat to walk toward the shadow. It comes to meet him, taking on faces from his past along the way. At the same moment, man and shadow speak one name: Ged. They come together, and the shadow merges into him. Vetch, watching, fears his friend is lost, but Ged comes back laughing and whole. The narrator explains that Ged has neither won nor lost. By naming the shadow with his own name, he has made himself complete. The two friends sail home. Why it matters: the climax replaces a battle with self-knowledge, which is the heart of the book.

Characters

Ged (Duny, Sparrowhawk)

The hero, a boy from Gont with great natural power and a quick temper. His birth name is Duny, people know him as Sparrowhawk, and he shares his true name, Ged, only with people he trusts. His pride lets the shadow loose. His growth lies in owning what he did.

Ogion

The mage of Re Albi who names Ged and becomes his first teacher. Ogion says little and rarely uses magic for his own comfort, because he believes power should be used sparingly. His advice to turn and hunt the shadow changes the course of the story.

Vetch (Estarriol)

Ged's best friend at Roke, a dark-skinned, plain-spoken young man from the East Reach. He is not the most brilliant student, but he is loyal and steady. He tells Ged his true name and later sails with him to the edge of the world, which shows what real friendship can cost.

Jasper

A proud older student at Roke from a wealthy family, who treats Ged as a country boy. Jasper is talented and cold, and his sneers push Ged into the fatal contest. He is less a villain than a mirror of Ged's own vanity.

Archmage Nemmerle

The very old head of the wise men of Roke. He seals the rift Ged tore open and dies from the strain. His final act of protection weighs on Ged for the rest of the book.

Serret

The daughter of the lord of Re Albi, who taunts young Ged into his first summoning. She later becomes the lady of the Court of the Terrenon on Osskil, tempts Ged to use the ancient stone, and dies trying to escape its servants.

Pechvarry

A boatbuilder in Low Torning who becomes Ged's friend during his first post. His son's death, and Ged's failed attempt to follow the boy's spirit, show Ged how close the shadow has come.

Yevaud

The old dragon of Pendor, clever and greedy. He offers to reveal the shadow's name if Ged leaves him in peace. Ged refuses and names the dragon instead, one of the best-known scenes in the book.

The shadow

A shapeless, nameless creature that comes through the rift Ged opens. It hunts him, can take over other people's bodies, and grows stronger the longer he runs. What it really is remains the book's central mystery until the last chapter.

Writing about this book

A Wizard of Earthsea works well for essays because its fantasy plot carries a clear human question. Strong angles include:

• What is the shadow? Track when it appears, what draws it closer, and why it flees once Ged chases it. Is it a monster, a part of Ged, or both?
• Names and trust: compare how true names are used by Ged, Vetch and Yevaud. What does the book suggest about who should know your true self?
• The courage not to act: find scenes where using magic causes harm and scenes where holding back is the wise choice.
• Who the hero is: Le Guin made Ged and most people of the Archipelago dark-skinned, an unusual choice in fantasy of the late 1960s. Why might that matter?

Questions to start your own thinking: When have you wanted to prove yourself so badly that you made a mistake? Is Ged's ending a victory? What might have happened if he had accepted Yevaud's offer?

Use one or two specific scenes as evidence rather than retelling the plot. A good essay explains what those scenes mean, both in the story and to you.