I have been looking into it, and I was wondering...do (bonded) dragons have a choice to be good or evil, or do their riders pull them either way?
I think they have no choice. Look at the evidence:

1. There is no record of a dragon choosing an evil rider
2. There is no record of a dragon being able to leave it's rider if the rider turns
3. There is no record of a dragon being evil first.


So, there is sufficient evidence that dragons have no choice. If their rider turns evil, they have to come along. Any ideas??

i think that because dragons are so closely bonded to their riders that in one started to become evil so would the other. like how because eragons loves arya so much saphira has no choice but to like her as well.

the evil dragons might be twisted with magic against their will. but most likely the bond pushes them into the same direction of their rider.

ps: awesome user name argetbrisingr! silverfire! who would have thought?

i agree. since dragon and rider are so closely bonded with each other, then one would probably start to influence the other. in this case, the rider would start to influence the dragon.

well yeah dragonrider1223 because Saphira explainedtjat if eragon fals in love with a woman that her emotions would folow likewise

so we can only imigane that if Eragon turned evil then saphira would be forced to also by their bond that is stronger than anything in the world

ya that definitely makes sense, but i dont think that eragon will turn to evil. lol

i agree, a dragon doesn't have a very choice in this case, if the rider turns bad willing, then the dragon will too. he/she might not like it at first, but i'm sure that eventually they will enjoy bringing chaos and destruction.
In the case of Galb's dragon, i think because his original rider was killed and Galb control's him with black magic, i don't think there is that much of an influence between the 2.

ya. probably.

oromis said that galby put so many spels on them to duplicate the natural bonds but it isnt the same

so i thjink that schrukien has a choice

i think he does but he cant do anything about it becuase of galby.

yeah and then if galby knows his true name then he has to do what galby wants

Just antoher one of galbys crimes he should be stabed in the face and
throught for

im mean lol

i can tell. lol

i believe dragons do choose to be evil because they are the ones that pick their rider. but they may just become evil such as when riders do.

I believe dragons, just like their riders, have a choice to be good or evil. if a dragon is good, their rider will be persuaded to be good too. Same thing with a rider.

I remember reading in the books (can't remember which one specifically) where Saphira and Eragon are talking and Saphira said that he had two choices - join the Varden, or ally with Galbatorix - and she said that she would refuse to do that

Perhaps the rider and dragon can influence each other to a certain degree, but I don't think that it would be to the extent that if one turned evil, the other would too.

The only reason that Thorn and Shruikan are doing Galbatorix's bidding is due to the fact that he knows their true name (Thorn) or has placed numerous spells upon them (Shruikan)

So in answer to the question, I would say "Yes" they DO have a choice, however it's not likely that they would side against their rider

i dont think they do

Affornee i agree with your theory.

There is a theory that most people are born with capability too go on evil/bad side so at rider choosing moment when dragon sees his potential rider he also sees if rider is capable of becoming evil and how easilly he can become evil.