Contrasting The Styles of CS Lewis and William Gibson Using Neuromancer and That Hideous Strength
The styles of C.S Lewis and William Gibson occupy opposite poles in the Science fiction realm; chronologically, sub-genre-wise, and most importantly, in terms of style. They differ significantly, in terms of use of language, tone and personal philosophy. Yet both are brilliant examples of great science fiction.
Style is one of the most important elements in any written work, perhaps as much so as content. The old saw "It's not what you say, it's how you say it" seems to directly apply. Many novels have told us a story we've heard before- many stories seem universal to human experiences, locked in our collective racial memory. These stories are told over and over, in every age and every language. But that is another paper entirely. What matters is that these stories can be written in ways that make them fascinating and beautiful to read; whereas a story written badly, without style, will not hold a reader's attention even though the story may be new and original. Style is what makes a story readable.
Style: Webster's dictionary defines style as "Style (1 syl.) is from the Latin stylus (an iron pencil for writing on waxen tablets, etc.). The characteristic of a person's writing is called his style. Metaphorically it is applied to composition and speech. Good writing is stylish, and, metaphorically, smartness of dress and deportment is so called."
Style involves such factors as use of language, cadence, evocation of mood, diction, and even sonic patterns- the way the words on page sound.
Lewis, best known for his fantasy opus The Narnia chronicles, wrote THS in 1943, while the Second World War was still going on. This almost certainly influenced his storyline, as we see echoes of the war throughout THS, in the Fairy Hardcastles's interrogation methods, in the ominous, "secret society" feeling that surrounds N.I.C.E. and in the riots and disappearances throughout the countryside, caused by N.I.C.E.'s coup in the University.
Lewis's style of writing is very British; not easygoing but stilted and oddly formal for a writer of one the best known children's series of all time. His writing is polished and invokes images of Morality plays: "There is a Faustian element in [THS], but I would be hard put to link it any one century
(Lobdell, 111)" He is the generator of what is called "Arcadian science fiction", what he often referred to as "scientifiction".
The next element that is important to literary fiction is tone. With tone, you want to ask yourself, are you writing the story and want the reader to feel a certain way. Remember to use intentional tone, don’t worry about being ambitious. Remember to rely on dialogue, not dialogue tags. Be sure to indent so you can control the reader’s focus. Dialogue gets around the narrator; it is a more direct way of showing other characters. The scene will capture the tone you are going for.
Wood, Karen and Charles. “The Vonnegut Effect: Science Fiction and Beyond.” The Vonnegut Statement. Vol. 5. 1937. 133-57. The GaleGroup. Web. 10 March. 2014.
It could be the near future or the distant future. It could be in the biggest companies or in your den. It could be traditional science fiction or it could be cyberpunk. Technology is pervasive. There is nothing in our lives that technology does not touch; it doesn’t matter if you use it directly, chances are that something (if not everything) in your life relies on technology to function or even exist. "Traditional" science fiction, if there even is such a thing, uses extrapolation as a foundation for its stories. Extrapolation, predicting or tracing a path of continuation for an idea or event, is also used in cyberpunk. Cyberpunk is known for its use of extrapolation in the fabric of daily life. (Sterling 348) It takes common science fiction themes, such as body and mind manipulation, and events of daily life and describes them with intensely dizzying detail. Neuromancer by William Gibson is a perfect example of cyberpunk writing because it uses this dense, rapid-fire description and language in combination with the themes of body/mind manipulation.
An authors style defines itself as the way in which the author expresses themselves throughout the piece of literature. They express themselves through their word choice, word order, rhythm, imagery, sentence structure, figurative language, and literary devices. Sandra Cisneros’, “The House on Mango Street”, is a short story encompassing the events and thoughts of an un-named child narrator as they describe their family’s living arrangement. Sandra uses a distinct type of style throughout her writing which fits the short story well. On the other hand, William Carlos Williams’, “The Use of Force”, is a short story about a doctor’s visit to an unusual patients home. The stories have their own distinctive style which is unique to each but, there
Suvin, Darko. Metamorphoses of Science Fiction: On the Poetics and History of a Literary Genre . New Haven : Yale University Press, 1979.
Author’s style is defined as the distinct literary manner that makes his or her expression of content unique from other authors; Katherine Anne Porter and Emily Dickinson have different styles that contribute to a better understanding of the themes of their work. In “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” Porter uses the strea...
“Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means at the point of highest reality.” Clive Staples Lewis, known as C.S. Lewis, was a popular Irish author, famous for his Christian works, especially “The Chronicles of Narnia.” Throughout his novels, Lewis enlightened his readers with his views about faith. Although his novels were revolved around Christianity, Lewis was not always a believer. There were many things that influenced Lewis as a writer, but the most significant were his love of fantasy, his fascination with mythology, and his Christian beliefs.
Stemming from World War II, a period full of death and uncertainty, post-modernist literature sought to deviate from the past and create something new. David Foster Wallace exemplified these ideas through his unique style. His writing contained jumbled ideas with copious footnotes and acronyms that he invented. The use of dark irony in his work parallels his psychological troubles, which are also echoed in this image. A dark eerie background surrounds Wallace with his only company being the singular light source to his left. Looking away from the viewer, he appears in a solitary state and disconnected from the rest of the world. By creating this mysterious façade, Wallace personifies his writing style, being unusual and different. His audience
C.S. Lewis was one of the greatest know fictional writers; he created a wonderful series of books called The Chronicles of Narnia. His real name was Clive Staples Lewis but also his friends called him “Jack”. He was born on November 29, 1898 in Belfast, Ireland. C.S. Lewis was married to Joy Davidman, his father was Albert James Lewis and his mother was Florence Augusta Lewis. He is best known for his fictional work and for his non-fictional Christian apologetics. When Lewis was a little boy him and his brother created the world of Boxen, also he had a fascination with anthropomorphic animals falling in love with Beatrix Potter’s and often writing and illustrating his own animal stories. When C.S. Lewis was a teenager most of his writings moved away from the tales of Boxen, and he began using different art forms to try to capture his new-found interest in Norse mythology and the natural world. In 1916 he was awarded a scholarship at University of Oxford.
To start with the language of a novel can be a crucial it its determination of whether or not it is a classic. As obvious as it may seem, effective language is the foundation of good writing. Effective writing is in word choice, sentence structure, phrasing, etc. It is also the experience in which the reader engages the text. No matter who reads it they can understand because the language is able to change to suit its audience. Many parts make up a good piece of lite...
This article outlines the life of C.S. Lewis and his writings on Christianity and Chronicles of Narnia. The piece describes the effect Lewis had on his religious readers and highlights his life story, including his inspiration for his novels. Jardin wanted to draw attention to the positive effect Lewis had on the world.
What is writing style? I started out thinking that writing style is a personal thing and that all writers have their own style. But, this way of thinking is really just a simple way to answer the question. After more careful thought, I realized that style is actually quite the opposite of personal and original. Style is a form of standardization. As writers, we all follow certain rules and guidelines to make our point. Style is these rules and guidelines.
Few authors have been able to demonstrate the incredible scope of different genres that Clive Staples Lewis, better known as C.S. Lewis, wrote in his career. Perhaps the first thing that comes to mind upon hearing his name is the mythical land of Narnia. Narnia is the fictional world that the widely popular series “The Chronicles of Narnia” takes place in. This series, enjoyed by adults and children alike, hosts talking animals, a God-like lion, an ice queen bearing many similarities to the Devil, and many other things. This series, like most of Lewis’ other works, is essentially a metaphor for the story of the Gospel as well as lessons for living a Christian life. In much of his writing, Lewis made an excellent and relatable argument for Christianity by his ability to write captivating stories relating to many aspects of Christian life.
William Gibson, one of the five writers associated with the cyberpunk genre, is credited by critics and peers for typifying the cyberpunk writing form in his popular novel Neuromancer. Bruce Sterling, Rudy Rucker, John Shirley and Lewis Shiner, the other four writers who helped launch the movement, agree that Gibson's Neuromancer influenced the categorization of the new science fiction as cyberpunk. Therefore, Gibson's novel can be used as a reliable source for defining the cyberpunk genre.
The Narnia Chronicles have already established themselves as timeless works of literature. They appeal to both the atheists and the God-fearing, to both the uneducated and to scholars; to children and adults. An understanding of the Biblical allegory in these books is not essential to their appreciation. A critical analysis of these works, however, does allow the reader to more fully appreciate Lewis' unique gift to simplify complex narratives and craft beautiful children's fantasies. This, in turn, allows the reader to gain both a deeper understanding of Lewis as a skilled creative writer, and a deeper satisfaction of his art. To be able to appreciate C.S. Lewis as such an artisan can only add to one's enjoyment of his works.