I recently finished rereading the How to Train Your Dragon book series by Cressida Cowell, and it still holds up so well. Even though books 1-6 are definitely aimed for a younger audience, 7-12 are absolutely brilliant and acknowledge that the earlier books matter to the plot as well.

I know the movie franchise is great, but the books also have a lot of charm. If I had to pick a favorite, maybe I’d pick the books, but both versions of HTTYD are good in different ways and that’s hard to say for a lot of book-adapted franchises.

From friendship to foreshadowing, there are so many things I can analyze from the book series. But today, I am going to focus on one of my favorite aspects — the character arcs.

(Warning: there will be spoilers.)

 

 

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third

 

“I wish I could offer you a King who is greater than I am. I can’t turn into someone else; I can only be me. But I have discovered that I am stronger than I thought I was.” — How to Fight a Dragon’s Fury, pg. 223

 

We’ll start with Hiccup, the main character and unlikely star of the show. As a runt, Hiccup starts off the book picked on by practically every boy in the tribe apart from Fishlegs. Being the chief’s son, he’s given a certain amount of privilege, but it’s made clear that he’s, well, not like other Vikings.

Hiccup’s character arc across the series is a slow but steady one. With each book and accidental finding of one or more of the King’s Lost Things, he learns a lesson or realizes something about the way the world works. And this is absolutely intentional — by the time Hiccup gets to Tomorrow in the last book, he is ready to be a King. Hiccup from book one is not the same as Hiccup from book twelve.

 

How strange it was that all these Quests, which had seemed so unconnected at the time… How strange it was that when they were all added up together, you could suddenly see them for what they were. The education of a King. — How to Fight a Dragon’s Fury, pg.190

 

Hiccup’s arc is a quiet kind of growth. Aside from swordfighting, Hiccup doesn’t really advance in any physical skills. He is a “gangly, skinny, ordinary-looking boy” (How to Steal a Dragon’s Sword, pg. 1) who is usually underestimated.

Over the course of his various Quests and trials, Hiccup matures as a character. He is incessantly loyal, able to stand up for what he feels is right, and unbelievably willing to see the good in others. While he does not look like a king on the outside, he does become a king on the inside — something that the Vikings don’t realize until much later in the series. As Cressida Cowell often emphasizes, he learns to become a Hero the hard way.

 

“And perhaps,” said Snotlout, “perhaps Fate does know her business after all. You aren’t the King we wanted, but maybe you are the King we need.” — How to Betray a Dragon’s Hero, pg. 275

 

 

Alvin the Treacherous

 

You see how sometimes it is not clear what story we are telling from the outset? For the story we have been part of, it turns out, has not just been about the making of a Hero, but also the making of a villain. — How to Steal a Dragon’s Sword, pg.293

 

Alvin the Treacherous, Hiccup’s archenemy, gets increasingly more fascinating when it becomes clear that he is a foil for Hiccup. While Hiccup grows as a person, gains allies, and gathers the King’s Lost Things, Alvin only loses and loses and loses.

According to the witch Excellinor — Alvin’s mother — there are only two players in the race to collect the King’s Things and be crowned King of the Wilderwest. These players are, of course, Hiccup and Alvin — bound by blood and bound by destiny.

 

“Fate knows her business, and she has always only picked two players as possible Kings: Alvin or Hiccup.” — How to Betray a Dragon’s Hero, pg. 170

 

It’s symbolic that Hiccup’s growth is visually shown through the accumulation of the Lost Things, while Alvin’s negative character arc is shown through the gradual loss of body parts throughout the series, “losing along the way his eye, his arm, his leg, his hair, his nose and… oh dear — his soul” (How to Fight a Dragon’s Fury, pg.173).

(I actually think it’s a little funny that Hiccup’s main enemies are conceptually a thirty-to-forty-year-old man who keeps losing body parts and said thirty-to-forty-year-old man’s mother).

Alvin succumbs to greed, hatred, and selfishness. To be fair, when Hiccup first meets Alvin, he isn’t a “good” character like one would describe Fishlegs or Camicazi, but it is clear that he goes from bad to worse. His hunger for power and desire to benefit only himself comes at a high cost, and each clash with Hiccup only serves to further strengthen his hatred for the young hero.

 

“…Alvin did get worse, didn’t he, over the years?” said Fishlegs. “He didn’t start out quite so bad as he ended up. Maybe we could have saved him if we had gotten there in time.”

“That’s true,” said Hiccup. “He wasn’t so bad when he was just Alvin the Poor-but-Honest-Farmer. But I have to admit, Fishlegs… that even back then, it was already too late for Alvin.”

— How to Fight a Dragon’s Fury, pg. 437

 

 

 

Snotface Snotlout

 

“I SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE HERO! IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ME!” — How to Betray a Dragon’s Hero, pg. 264

 

Snotface Snotlout, the boy who looked every bit a hero but could never reach the heights that Hiccup reached.

That is, until book eleven.

They’re quite interesting, this family of Hooligans. Hiccup, Alvin, and Snotlout — three people who can all be traced back to Grimbeard the Ghastly, the king who enslaved dragons in the first place. Three people with the power to change the world.

Snotlout certainly has a large impact on Hiccup and his journey. All his life, he has bullied and belittled Hiccup, even wishing that Hiccup would die on his adventures so he could be Chief instead. His jealousy of Hiccup, whose birth made him “the spare and not the Heir” (How to Betray a Dragon’s Hero, pg. 265), causes Snotlout to hate him, because while Hiccup is seen to be inept at most things, Snotlout is skilled at everything a Viking should be.

Snotlout’s arc is a redemption arc. It doesn’t come into place until the later books in the series, but that is because he, like Hiccup, has to learn the hard way. After understanding what being loyal to Alvin and the witch means, and being scorned by his own tribe, Snotlout learns what it means to be a backstabber; unloved, unwanted, and alone.

And interestingly, just as he will later impact Hiccup, Hiccup affects Snotlout by continuously forgiving him, even after everything that Snotlout has put him through. Both cousins are key to each other’s growth. This is what leads Snotlout to eventually sacrifice himself for Hiccup and give him the final push to become King instead of Alvin.

(It’s interesting, that so many redemption arcs end in death.)

One of the main themes in the HTTYD book series is that history repeats itself. And Snotlout’s arc is one of the many ways this theme is shown. Like Grimbeard the Ghastly, who eventually regretted his actions, Snotlout sees that he has been in the wrong and chooses to change. He goes from being one of Hiccup’s worst enemies to one of his best allies.

 

“Adieu, Snotlout. I could not have done this without you.“ — How to Betray a Dragon’s Hero, pg. 366

 

 

 

That’s all for now!

As you can probably tell, I have a great appreciation for this series. I hoped you enjoyed this dive into some of my favorite character arcs from the HTTYD books : )

All the best,