How to Train Your Dragon

The Hooligan Tribe’s culture values size above all else: Gobber the Belch advises the boys to find the largest dragon possible; Hiccup is disappointed by the tiny appearance of his dragon; and Stoick is embarrassed when the chief of the Meatheads remarks on Hiccup’s scrawny appearance. For a warrior culture like the Vikings, size and strength are two incredibly powerful advantages in battle, and many nonfictional cultures have longstanding beliefs about size as well.

Size influences the outcome of fights, and the size of an army often dictates the outcome of battles. In the novel, Gobber frightens away pursuing dragons by killing the largest one, Toothless confesses that dragons only obey humans because of the size difference, and Snotlout believes he can bully Hiccup and Fishlegs because he’s bigger. However, the sheer size and power of the Green Death show the limitations of the philosophy; people can’t always control their size, and even the largest men can easily find something bigger than they are that poses a threat. Old Wrinkly implies this in suggesting that “size is all relative” (29). Cowell punctuates this fact when the Purple Death washes ashore, appearing even larger than the Green Death.