History Literature / TheHorseAndHisBoy

* StealthInsult: One that could also be considered an inversion, depending on who it was aimed at; after the climatic battle, Prince Corin taunts Rabadash for getting himself caught on a hook while attempting a dive from the battlements. King Lune rebukes Corin by saying "Never taunt a man save when he is stronger than you: then, as you please." So in other words, the King believes that his pre-teenage son is a stronger person than the adult prince of the Calormen.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Lewis was fond of this trope, and thus there's quite a few times where the characters try to do something "just like in stories" and get shot down by more realistic writing.

* ThemeTwinNaming: This is a tradition in Archenland - Cor and Corin, Dar and Darrin, and Cole and Colin are the examples we meet. It even functions as foreshadowing: we get introduced to Corin as the prince of Archenland, letting us know that he has a dead twin brother named Cor. [[spoiler:Or rather, long-lost, since Shasta is really Cor.]]

* TooDumbToLive: Yeesh, Rabadash! First, his whole plan relies on speed: step one is take the royal castle in Archenland by surprise, then step two is quickly rush to Cair Paravel before Susan's ship arrives. [[spoiler: Shasta successfully warns King Lune in time, so the Archenland castle is sealed. Rabadash ought to know full well that he doesn't have time to lay siege to the castle.]] He should've called it quits and turned around right then and there, but whether from pride or lust, he doesn't. [[spoiler: He wastes critical time trying to take the Archenland castle, and now, instead of him being at Cair Paravel in time to catch Susan, [[RussianReversal King Edmund (who was on Susan's ship, no less!) rides out with an army from Cair Paravel]] to rescue his Archenland allies at the besieged castle.]] [[EpicFail Basically what happens is the polar opposite of Rabadash's plan.]] Next, [[spoiler: Rabadash gets captured in battle by the Narnians and Archenlanders and, even though they treat him quite nicely as a royal prisoner of war, he continues to throw fits and refuse to negotiate with them and threatens them all, even though they could just as easily have his head for it.]] This despite the fact that his father had told him in so many words that Calormen would not rescue or even avenge Rabadash if he failed. Then [[spoiler: he continues to act like this while [[CrystalDragonJesus Aslan]] is in the room, even when he's ''told'' to shut up or something bad will happen to him.]]

* TwinSwitch: Inadvertently done by Shasta - he's found by the Narnian contingent in Tashbaan and they mistake him for Archenland's Prince Corin, who had earlier run off. Corin seems to be considering continuing the switch for a bit for fun when he finds Shasta in his place, but Shasta, who's used to Calormene attitudes and thinks the Narnians will kill him if they realise he's not Corin, refuses. [[spoiler: To Corin and Shasta's later surprise, they really are twins.]]

* WrongGenreSavvy: Ahoshta Tarkaan suggests that Rabadash might succeed in abducting Queen Susan, even on her siblings' doorstep, because Narnians are raised on stories and it will look like [[GrandRomanticGesture an act of passion]]. It would never work in Calomen, of course, because all of their poetry is practical and instructive. As it turns out, the Narnians are furious and view it as very dishonorable that Rabadash would commit what was essentially an act of war with no declaration.

* OldManMarryingAChild: Aravis is somewhere in her early teens when betrothed to Ahosta Tarkaan. Bree explains that all Calormene noblewomen marry young, though her WickedStepmother is implied to be rushing her out of the house earlier than usual.

* ReluctantRuler: Corin. He is delighted when he finds out [[spoiler: Shasta is actually his older twin Cor]], as that frees Corin from the responsibility of being king someday (assuming [[spoiler: Shasta/Cor]] outlives him, which in fact happens).

* TheSavageSouth: Calormen. Deconstructed, as Calormenes (at least those in power) consider Calormen more civilized than the North, and, indeed, their empire is well-organized and of a high cultural standard, if engaging in practices like slavery and abuse of power that the Northern nations do not.

* GodEmperor: The Tisroc is said to be descended from the Calormene national god Tash and is treated with downright religious veneration, much like a Chinese emperor or pharaoh. When his name is spoken, a good Calorman always appends "may he live forever." He does not literally have supernatural powers, but his people treat him as sacred all the same.

* ChekhovsGunman: This book details the society of the Calormenes (introduced briefly in ''Literature/TheVoyageOfTheDawnTreader''), their god Tash and their tense relationship with the Narnians - in short, setting up ''Literature/TheLastBattle''.

* ExpansionPackWorld: In role-playing terms, this is the world-book for Calormene; Lewis does an excellent job of detailing its culture, down to the food, in a short novel. Often overlooked is the job Lewis did of foreshadowing it.
** The first Calormene characters appear in ''Literature/TheVoyageOfTheDawnTreader;" the unregenerate Eustace says that Calormen [[ArsonMurderAndAdmiration "sounds the least phony of these countries."]]
** The entire story is referenced in ''Literature/TheSilverChair,'' as the entertainment after a banquet at Cairn's parallel: "the grand old tale... which is called ''The Horse and His Boy''.... (I haven't time to tell it now, though it is well worth hearing.)"
** And, the very first reference to Calormen comes in ''Literature/PrinceCaspian,'' as the Pevensies are realizing not only where, but ''when'' they are: "...it was the very day before the ambassadors came from the King of Calormen...." It's not certain that Lewis intended this, but by implication this throwaway line recalls the start of Queen Susan's ill-fated romance with Rabadash!

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Aslan finds amusement in Bree's attempts to de-mythologize him when he doesn't realize the great lion standing right behind him.

* ActionSurvivor: Shasta. At the beginning, he's just an escaped teenaged slave who has mostly done minor physical labor. While his attempts at being conventionally heroic generally leave him looking ridiculous, he grows into being competent and self-sufficient, and he ends up saving the day one way of another. The postscript describing his fate reveals that he graduates into being a full-fledged badass as an adult.

** Tash, the god of a [[FantasyCounterpartCulture coded Middle Eastern country]] is wrongfully believed to be just another name for Aslan. This reflects the common belief that Muslims and Christians worship the same God. Lewis, a devout Christian, probably wouldn't agree.

* IHaveYouNowMyPretty: Rabadash's plans for Queen Susan.

* LetsMeetTheMeat: When Hwin meets Aslan, she's so impressed she offers herself to him as food. Aslan refuses, of course.

** Bree risks talking for the first time in years -- knowing that the fate of exposed Talking Horses in Calormen is very bad -- to warn a fellow slave that he's about to be sold to a cruel master, and offer him a chance of escape.

* AltarDiplomacy: One of Rabadash's arguments for abducting Queen Susan is that High King Peter will come around when he sees the advantages of having his nephew as the ruler of Calormene. His father doesn't particularly like that line of argument.

** Also, Rabadash in a way: since he couldn't go to war due to Aslan's curse, he did wonderful things for Calormene's education system and became a fine diplomat. Of course, the Calormenes didn't respect a Tisroc who wouldn't make war -- plus everyone had seen him change back from being a donkey -- so he went down in history as Rabadash the Ridiculous.

* MightyWhitey: The free Narnians and Archenlanders immediately catch Calormene-raised Shasta's attention as being a cut above, while even Calormen who aren't sympathetic to the "barbarian" Northerners also call them "beautiful." Though Shasta's reaction, at least, has much to do with wonderment at how they all carry themselves like free men around their own monarch, rather than with the fearful servility that Calormen's tyrannical regime imposes even on noblemen in the presence of royalty.

* ReflexiveRemarkOfReverence: The Calormen always say "may he live forever" after mentioning the Tisroc. Even Shasta and his friends are in the habit, though they slowly drop it along with their respect for Calormene customs.

* LibertyOverProsperity: Aravis is running away from a life of wealth and comfort in Calormene to live a free life in Narnia. [[spoiler: At the end, though, after Shasta turns out to be Prince Cor, he and his father invite Aravis to live at the court of Archenland.]]

* KickTheSonOfABitch:
** After Ahoshta and the Tisroc (may he live forever) give Rabadash permission to invade Narnia, Ahoshta helps the Tisroc justify his decision to send his own son into a situation that will probably get him killed. It's meant to show Ahoshta as an amoral YesMan -- and the Tisroc not much better -- but then it's not like anyone would really miss Rabadash.
** Rabadash also gives the Grand Vizier a LiteralAssKicking during the interview, but it doesn't make us feel all that sorry for Ahoshta.

* AesopEnforcer: Aslan plays this role, delivering some painful lessons to those who hurt others and needed to understand what it felt like.

** He later tries to intimidate the Archenland court by making faces, since it frightens his own people in Calormen. Unfortunately, it only works because he's the crown prince and could have them killed horribly at whim. When he's the prisoner, King Lune and company are just confused and wonder if he's going to be sick.

* PlatonicLifePartners: After the story is over, Bree and Hwin remain close friends for the rest of their lives, and eventually get married "but not to each other." Which makes sense, since they earlier discovered they were cousins when comparing family trees. (C.S. Lewis was British, where being cousins is no impediment to marriage.)

* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: King Lune and all the Narnian royalty are active in battle as a matter of course, with the possible exception of Queen Susan. Prince Corin sneaks into the Battle of Anvard, dragging Shasta with him, and the only reason he's not officially in the fighting is because of his age. And, in fairness, even Rabadash leads his cavalry across the desert, leads the charge against Anvard, and winds up fighting King Edmund himself.

* SiblingsShareTheThrone: We get to see three of the four Pevensie siblings in action as the rulers of Narnia.

** Slavery and freedom are a main theme of the book, and some variety of unfreedom drives the actions of all the main characters: Shasta is practically a slave and his father puts him up for sale; Bree, a Talking Horse, is treated as property like a dumb animal; Hwin is much the same; Aravis, though a noblewoman, is still subject to an ArrangedMarriage if her parents give consent. They all flee to the North seeking control over their lives. At the same time, they learn that there are rules to which even free persons must submit.

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Aslan finds amusement in Bree's attempts to de-mythologize him when he thinks the great lion isn't even there.

** Slavery and freedom are a main theme of the book, and some variety of unfreedom drives the actions of all the main characters: Shasta is a slave ''de jure'' and wants to escape that; Bree is a horse, thus also treated as property, and wants to escape that; and Aravis, though a noblewoman who is otherwise privileged, fears an arranged marriage to a man she hates, and wants to escape ''that''. At the same time, they also all learn that there are rules to which even free persons must submit.

** A soldier, who is isn't even named, is accidentally set adrift on a tiny rowboat with a baby. There's barely any supplies onboard and no chance of directing the boat to shore, so who gets to eat and who starves? [[HeroicSacrifice The baby lives; the man starves.]]