Hidden Inside High Fantasy Fiction

1453 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: a literary analysis of chronicles of Narnia by c.s Lewis

Religion has spread throughout the world playing many important roles in people’s lives. Christianity is about of one of the dominant religions that has influence ideas, traditions, morals and values. However, the spread of Christianity has also become an influence in sports, television, news, movies, music, art, books and other aspects of popular culture. The popularity and importance of this religion have even inspired the world of fantasy fiction. Three of the New York Times Best Sellers are influence by Christianity. The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter are successful book series classified as high fantasy fiction. Inside these high fantasy fiction series are hidden Christian themes and symbols.
Fantasy fiction is one form of literature that has made an impact on popular culture. Fantasy is a genre of fiction that involves supernatural or magic within the story. A majority of fantasy fiction stories takes place in an imaginary world with imaginary characters or creatures. There are two subgenres of fantasy fiction, low and high. Low fantasy fiction is where stories take place in the real or rational world while high fantasy completely takes place in an imaginary world. Writers such as C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and J.K. Rowling have made high fantasy fiction a success in popular culture. They have opened doors for high fantasy fiction as now we see more high fantasy fiction stories in print and film.
Nevertheless, hidden inside these popular fantasy fiction stories are religious themes and symbols. C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia is one of three popular fantasy fiction stories that has hidden religious themes and symbols. C.S. Lewis is known as one of the foremost Christian thinkers a...

... middle of paper ...

... "Mining 'the Lord of the Rings' for Faith Themes." Bismarck Tribune: 1. Jan 09
2004. ProQuest. Web. 9 May 2014
Jones, Amanda Rogers. "The Narnian Schism: Reading the Christian Subtext as Other in the
Children's Stories of C. S. Lewis." Children's Literature Association Quarterly, 29.1
(2004): 45-61. Web. 06 May 2014.
Mattingly, Terry. "POTTER BOOKS FILLED with CHRISTIAN SYMBOLISM: ALL Edition."

The Augusta Chronicle, 21 June 2003. LexisNexis Academic. Web. 6 May 2014.

McVeigh, Dan. "Is Harry Potter Christian?." Renascence 54.3, (2002): 197. Academic Search

Premier. Web. 7 May 2014.

Slevin, Colleen. "'Narnia' Promoted to Churches." Deseret News Publishing Company,

10 Dec. 2005. ProQuest. Web. 6 May 2014.

Williams, Stan. “The Lord of the Rings is both Christian and Catholic.” Catholic New Times, 9

Feb. 2003: 18. General OneFile. Web. 7 May 2014.

Show More
Related

  • One Hundred Lavish Months Of Bushwhack Analysis

    567 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fantasy has always been a theme that enthusiasms me so that is why I've decided to uncover its true meaning and use in the artistic world.For me fantasy is a way of expression.It's a way to escape the realities that we experience everyday.With fantasy you are able to imagine new realms and items that we desire for in a world with short possibilism.

    Read More

  • Biblical Allusions In Snow White

    1056 Words  | 3 Pages

    Snow-White is arguably one of the most well-known and revered fairy tales of all time. Versions of it permeate almost every culture, or at least can be recognized by most cultures throughout the world. It has been adopted into film, with later spin-offs and adaptations occurring in recent years. There is certainly some deeper appeal to it, hence its popularity throughout time. Some may find it hard to accept that a portion of its appeal could be due, in part, to the tale’s Christian roots.

    Read More

  • Comparing Good and Evil in Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings

    2386 Words  | 5 Pages

    · Wood, Ralph C. "Traveling the one road: The Lord of the Rings as a "pre-Christian" classic." The Christian Century Feb. 93: 208(4).

    Read More

  • The Character of Sméagol in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings

    2434 Words  | 5 Pages

    - - - . The Lord of the Rings. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1993. 68, 643, 659, 979.

    Read More

  • Comparing Uncle Tom's Cabin and The Mill on the Floss

    2449 Words  | 5 Pages

    Reynolds, David S. Faith in Fiction: The Emergence of Religious Literature in America. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1981.

    Read More

  • The Background, Hobbits, and Wizards in Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings

    1401 Words  | 3 Pages

    Krivak, Andrew. "Author of 'The Rings': Tolkien's Catholic Journey." Commonweal 130.22 (19 Dec. 2003): 10-13. Rpt. in Children's Literature Review. Ed. Dana Ferguson. Vol. 152. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 14 Jan. 2014.

    Read More

  • C. S. Lewis: Narnia and Christianity

    923 Words  | 2 Pages

    Have you ever wanted to free yourself from the terrors and troublesome times of modern society and escape to a magical place? Clive Staples Lewis, or C.S. Lewis as he is better known, created such a place, in his extremely popular children’s series The Chronicles of Narnia. In these books, Lewis has an underlying message about Christianity. He represents four key aspects of Christianity in this series: Christ and God, evil in the world, and faith.

    Read More

  • Religion In Beowulf And The Canterbury Tales

    865 Words  | 2 Pages

    For years, religion has played a role in the lives of many, after all, there are hundreds of religions being practiced around the world. From the celebrations of special birthdays by the Jewish or Hispanic cultures or the celebration of holidays by Christians and many other religions. There is a great amount of differences when it comes to religion, whether it be beliefs or religious traditions, but contemporary society has become more aware the impact that religion can have on numerous different things. Additionally, religion has been a vast role when it comes to literature. In countless stories, readers will find the topic of religion being influential aspect. For example, in Beowulf and The Canterbury Tales there were influences from the

    Read More

  • Historical Significance of Lord of the Rings Movies: The Frodo Experience by Kristin Thompson

    1030 Words  | 3 Pages

    Thompson, Kristin. The Frodo franchise: The Lord of the rings and modern Hollywood. Berkeley: University of California P, 2007.

    Read More

  • Mere Christianity and The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

    984 Words  | 2 Pages

    After his conversion, C.S. Lewis' writings became less modernistic. Many of his most famous writings, such as Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, and The Chronicles of Narnia series contain his Christian worldview (Stewart 1), which was completely opposite of the mode...

    Read More

  • Analysis Essay On C.S. Lewis's Narnia

    1589 Words  | 4 Pages

    In conclusion, the secondary world of Narnia in C.S Lewis' epic tale offers much by way of literary significance. It provokes debate over abstract, complex ideas such as truth and faith. It allows reflection on our role in the ‘real' world. It inspires hope that we all serve a purpose; that we are capable of affecting change. It provokes new reflections on the story of Jesus and the meaning of sacrifice. Finally, it presents us with a vision of clear values; stripping good and evil down to their cores so that we may return to the real world more certain of our own convictions.

    Read More

  • The Middle Ages: Bible and Western Literature

    936 Words  | 2 Pages

    "Open Book Newsletter No. 1: The Bible and Western Literature by Peter J. Leithart January, 1991." Biblical Horizons » No. 1: The Bible and Western Literature. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2014.

    Read More

  • Symbolism Between C.S. Lewis´ The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and The New Testament in the Bible

    1616 Words  | 4 Pages

    The symbolism between C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, the fourth book in The Chronicles of Narnia, and the New Testament in the Bible, particularly the account of Jesus’ death is not merely coincidental because The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is, in fact, an allegory. An allegory is a story with morals in which characters, plots and settings are used as symbols. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis is rich with Christian symbolism even though the allegorical nature of it is the subject of much controversy. Nonetheless, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is an allegory. In this tale, four ordinary children find a wardrobe that leads them into Narnia, an extraordinary land parallel to our universe with talking animal and fantasy creatures. An evil witch has cast a spell of eternal winter over the land and has lured one of the children into betraying the others for enchanted Turkish Delights. Meanwhile, a magical lion, the nemesis of the witch, has arrived after a 100-year absence because of the betrayal of Edmund and ancient prophecies. Soon the children find themselves as involved in the battle as the other creatures and the lion must free Narnia from the clutches of the evil witch and atones for Edmund’s betrayal. The symbolism in the characters, plots, setting, miscellaneous things and themes prove Narnia is, indeed, allegorical

    Read More

  • The Literary Value of The Lord of the Rings

    1051 Words  | 3 Pages

    The most famous work in the epic fantasy genre is The Lord of the Rings, written by J. R. R. Tolkien over the course of ten years and published in 1954. Over the last few decades, there has been a lot of controversy over whether or not a story in this genre could be considered a valuable literary work. It was suggested that fantasy was clichéd and too unrealistic to be in touch with the daily life. However, when one reads between the lines, one can find a different interpretation within the same story; an interpretation that might not be as clichéd and farfetched as one might think. While it is often claimed that literary works in the genre fantasy cannot have any literary value, the The Lord of the Rings-trilogy contains the beautiful, the true and the good (Flood) and therefore is original, is historical or ethical relevant and has human truth value, which are necessary qualities for a literary work to be valuable.

    Read More

  • An Analysis of the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

    1088 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Chronicles of Narnia are veritably the most popular writings of C.S. Lewis. They are known as children’s fantasy literature, and have found favor in older students and adults alike, even many Christian theologians enjoy these stories from Lewis; for there are many spiritual truths that one can gleam from them, if familiar with the Bible. However, having said this, it is noteworthy to say that Lewis did not scribe these Chronicles for allegorical didactics of the Christian faith, but wrote them in such a well-knit fashion that young readers might understand Christian doctrine through captivating fantasy and thus gain an appreciation for it. With this in mind, and in the interest of this assignment, the purpose of this paper is an attempt to analyze one of the many doctrines of the Christian faith from The Lion, The Witch, And, The Wardrobe (LWW), namely, temptation and how Lewis illustrates it through an individual character, Edmund.

    Read More

More about Hidden Inside High Fantasy Fiction

Open Document