Collection of Ranger's Apprentice Theories

Why Halt Hates Music

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I don't think I've done this theory before, might have mentioned it, but it was something I'm pretty sure I thought of and then forgot. If this is one of your ideas tell me because I don't trust the originality of my memory. Recently something triggered this chain of thought again, and here I am, hoping I didn't just steal someone's idea. I'm am 99% sure I was going to make this theory at one point in time and gave up when Google didn't give me a medical condition so if anything I should just be plagiarizing my past self.

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Halt's dislike of music is well known. He doesn't like Will's playing much (he's kinda neutral about it) and he absolutely detests Crowley's whistling.

I now believe this goes beyond some tone-deaf-except-it's-with-hearing condition. It's part of the mental scars left from his childhood and Ferris's attempts on his life.

See, in The Kings of Clonmel Halt has to go back and face his homeland in order to save it. I haven't read that book in a while, but basically I remember him saying something along the lines of "Oh man, look at this place! There used to be music and dancing!" when he was taking on how Tennyson ruined his old Kingdom.

There's no record of how happy Halt was as a kid, but he had a fairly rough childhood. In any case, he probably wasn't a completely grumpy person. Once he reaches Araluen, he's this closed off and "emotionless" being, though.

Halt becomes his own person and puts his family behind him, pretty much pretending they don't exist. But part of his past was the music of Clonmel.

I doubt he actually hears a shrieking noise when Crowley whistles unless the Commandant is terrible and doesn't realize it. What he does hear is a reminder of what he doesn't want to think about, happy days gone by, so to try to stop the feels he attempts to get Crowley to shut up, insulting him in the progress.

And that is why Halt hates music.

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