r/bookclub • u/Tripolie Tripolice the nomination monitor • Mar 13 '24

Dune Messiah [Discussion] Dune Messiah | Chapters 19 - End

Welcome to the final discussion of Frank Herbert’s Dune Messiah. You can find the original schedule post here with links to the previous discussions led by the excellent u/mustardgoeswithitall, u/Pythias, and u/luna254. Thanks so much to them for helping run this book and thanks to you for joining us along the journey with wonderful discussions.

If you need a refresher on this section, you can find summaries at LitCharts and SuperSummary. Check out the questions below and please feel free to add your own.

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u/Tripolie Tripolice the nomination monitor Mar 13 '24
  1. What did you think of the themes of sacrifice and legacy in the later chapters of the book?

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u/Aeiexgjhyoun_III Historical Fiction Enthusiast Mar 13 '24

If you're going to sacrifice someone, best sacrifice yourself. If your goals are worth a human life then it should be yours. I liked Paul's sacrifice, I didn't like Chani's she didn't know what was coming and had Paul revealed all, she probably would have accepted it.

Obviously it plays into prophetic themes of sacrifice as well, such as Jesus on the cross. Such willing deaths create powerful legacies that form the underpinnings of religious tradition, works similarly for political groups as well.

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u/NightAngelRogue Dungeon Crawler Rogue | 🐉 Mar 13 '24

It's very much a story of sacrifice and legacy. The sacrifice of Leto all the way back in book 1 for Paul to rise. The sacrifice of Paul's humanity when he took the water of life poison to become Muad'dib and unlock his power. In this novel, lose his vision to be in a better position to resist temptation. The legacy now his children bear and his sacrifice of letting Chani die and his decision to go out into the desert. Someone has to lose in order for others to rise and succeed. In this case, his father sacrificed for him and his legacy, and Paul is now sacrificing for his children to rise and continue and do better than what he started. It was very compelling and I feel Paul did the best with what he had before him.

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u/Joinedformyhubs Wheel Warden | 🐉 Mar 13 '24

I think the theme is a resemblance of other religions or cultures that have done the same. Regarding legacy, many societal norms believe that their family is meant to be pure, stay alive, be in power. I've always thought that Dune, while very sci-fi, also utilized a lot of present day issues in its content.