Inheritance

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains descriptions of enslavement, emotional abuse, graphic violence, torture, mutilation, and bodily injury.

Eragon is the protagonist of Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance Cycle. He is a human teenager who was raised on his uncle’s farm with his cousin Roran. After becoming bonded to Saphira, a Dragon, Eragon became a Dragon Rider and came to represent a new hope for the rebellion against the tyrannical King Galbatorix. Over the course of the series, Eragon and Saphira encounter challenges, train, and grow together until they finally defeat Galbatorix at the end of Inheritance.

At the beginning of the novel, Eragon struggles to live up to the Varden’s expectations of him. Although he has become a powerful magician and warrior, Eragon is still young and inexperienced and finds himself overwhelmed by the responsibilities of being a leader. He also dreads confronting his enemy, Galbatorix, who is much older and more powerful. Eragon is characterized as smart, kind, and thoughtful, and he is driven by a deep sense of justice and morality. Despite his self-doubts, he eventually learns to embrace his strengths and accept his shortcomings through introspection, which is symbolized by his acceptance of his true name.