Character Analysis
Yarr, Me Hearties, I Be the Bad Guy
Seriously, it took a lot of restraint not to write this whole character analysis in pirate-talk. It's surprisingly addictive. Guess we'll have to wait until September 19th like everyone else. (It's International Talk Like a Pirate Day… don't you celebrate it too?)
Regardless, we are talking about Captain Szpirglas, the leader of the pirate gang that plagues Matt and his precious Aurora. On the surface Szpirglas is the typical bad guy: he exists to rob, pillage, and plunder airships until he grows so rich that he can do a Scrooge McDuck swan dive into a pile of gold. He just wants to land on an airship, steal all of the gold and valuables he can get his hands on, and leave. He doesn't love violence or anything like that—but he will use it if he finds that he needs to assert his power more eloquently:
"You must understand, all I have in the world is my good name. People know me. They know that I might come aboard their ships and take their goodies. They know that I am a pirate. To be an effective pirate, one must be respected and feared. So what would become of me if people started to think they could put one over on old Szpirglas? Try to trick me, try to catch me. No, that wouldn't do at all. I must protect my good name at all costs." (6.139)
In this case, protecting his name includes shooting poor Mr. Featherstone for trying to send a distress signal. Bummer. But this principle—maintaining his reputation as a fearsome pirate—is the motivating factor in almost everything Szpirglas does.
Later on, when Matt and Kate have discovered his secret village, Szpirglas knows that he must kill them in order to protect his ultimate secret: that he's a loving, doting father. If word got out that Vikram Szpirglas loves nothing more than sitting down to a nice dinner and telling fantastic stories to his young, motherless son then his power as a fearsome pirate would be lost, and his method of providing for his loved ones would be forfeit. It's not an easy way of life, but it is the only one he knows, and he'll fight to the death to protect what he loves.
By making him have more human motivations, Oppel makes Szpirglas a more realistic—and therefore relatable—character. If he were a totally two-dimensional villain (i.e.: he's bad because that's his nature) then the story would have far less depth, don't you think? We sure do.