Yep, that's very much a problem, and it isn't helped in the least by us not getting to know much of what "the common people" actually know about the dragons (and they should know quite a bit; the last one, outside of Shruikan, died in the memory of most people). Not knowing that, it'd make quite some sense if everyone refuses to talk about the Riders and dragons because of how awful they were... though of course the Forsworn should be well-known in that case. Thinking about it, I don't think many people are actually surprised to see dragons? That'd suggest that they are well-known, but Paolini never bothers to get into it, and that's a real pity!
If he did focus on how much people know of dragons, the loss of the Riders could also be quite a bit more effective than everyone seemingly not noticing... but then, he seems more concerned with the dragons on their own, not in context.
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Yep, that's very much a problem, and it isn't helped in the least by us not getting to know much of what "the common people" actually know about the dragons (and they should know quite a bit; the last one, outside of Shruikan, died in the memory of most people). Not knowing that, it'd make quite some sense if everyone refuses to talk about the Riders and dragons because of how awful they were... though of course the Forsworn should be well-known in that case. Thinking about it, I don't think many people are actually surprised to see dragons? That'd suggest that they are well-known, but Paolini never bothers to get into it, and that's a real pity!
If he did focus on how much people know of dragons, the loss of the Riders could also be quite a bit more effective than everyone seemingly not noticing... but then, he seems more concerned with the dragons on their own, not in context.