The feature film, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, directed by Andrew Adamson is a fantasy film which relates the adventures of the four Pevensie children in a mystical land. The film explores the Christian theme of sacrifice and the ideals of family love, loyalty and the triumph of good over evil. Aslan, Peter and Edmund Pevensie function to develop these themes. Through the filmic language used to construct the characters Adamson reveals the importance of being brave, unselfish and loving.
Edmund is characterised as a selfish and disloyal boy who must learn how to be a better person. Adamson shows the viewers exactly how disloyal Edmund is in the scene where he is first confronted by the White Witch. He is tempted by the Turkish delights and the fact that he may become the prince of Narnia. However, in return, he had to bring his siblings to the Ice Castle. Around the White Witch, Edmund is seen as weak, vulnerable and easily manipulated as he is easily tempted by the ‘sweeties’ (Turkish Delights). Adamson showed Edmund’s flaws by shooting him from a high camera angle and closing in on him. This assists in making him look weak and vulnerable while he is eating the ‘sweeties’. In the scene where Edmund and Mr Tumnus are held prisoners by the White Witch in the dungeon, only then does Edmund realise what he is doing. Adamson uses close-ups to help indentify the character’s emotions through facial expressions. He uses this to show the sadness and disappointment in Mr Tumnus’s faces when hears that it was Edmund (the lovely Lucy’s brother) who betrayed him and lead him to his death (Mr Tumnus didn’t die, he was turned to stone and returned to normal by Aslan). It is after this that Edmund changes to...
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...the other hand, Aslan’s army is filled with mythological heroes like centaurs. Peter’s shield has the St. George dragon imprinted on it which shows Christian faith. Peter also rides a unicorn which is seen as a graceful and mystical creature which symbolises purity, magic and awe. When Aslan appears on the mountain overlooking the battle scene, he is backlit by the bright sky. This reveals him as a bright and noble creature. Viewers can identify Aslan’s army with good, and Jadis’ army with evil in this way.
Narnia, directed by Andrew Adamson explores the Christian theme of sacrifice as well the motifs of loyalty, family love and the triumph of good over evil. Aslan, Peter and Edmund act a part in developing these themes. Adamson used filmic language to construct the characters and themes in the film, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.
Religious education and children's literature have enjoyed a long parallel history. The earliest children's books were little more than religious devotionals or bible stories rewritten with the express enjoyment of children in mind. As children's literature progressed, however, it began to move away from religious instruction and into works that focused more on story. This doesn't mean that the two became mutually exclusive as to this day many works that are still enormously popular with children are rife with religious allegory without sacrificing story. Two such children's works are George MacDonald's The Princess and the Goblin and C. S. Lewis' The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. Both considered classics, they have been read for generations by children enthralled by their fantastical plots, yet a deeper look reveals that the works contain some very noticeable religious imagery that serves merely to enhance the work and never takes away from the enjoyment of the plot.
Since the beginning of man’s first ability to articulate his thoughts into words, he began traditions that exceeded all written text. These traditions included passing on stories from one generation to the next with the hopes of conveying some hidden moral principle to our children in a memorable and entertaining fashion. As society has progressed and developed over the years, and as thoughts became words, words turned into stories, and stories in some cases. became novels. In modern life, novels can be transformed using symbolism and archetypes through the art of film making. In the film, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, just before Lucy’s first discovery of the magical land of Narnia, she is seen opening the door of a beautiful wardrobe. As the door opens three white marbles roll out, symbolizing the path of good, the free will of mankind, and evil. Through the use of symbolism, most predominately the three white marbles, the film portrays the choice of all humans regarding whether to follow the path of the free will of mankind by choosing to become more Christ-like, or to follow the wicked and be shrouded in darkness.
C.S Lewis is the author of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Warrdrobe. Lewis was born on November 29, 1898, in Belfast, Ireland. He was born Clive Staples Lewis to Flora August Hamilton Lewis and Albert J. Lewis. Lewis’s mother passed away when he was on ten years old. After his mother died he went on to get his pre-college education at boarding schools and he also received help from a tutor. Lewis served in World War I with the English Army, but unfortunately was sent home when he was wounded. Lewis was a graduate of Oxford University with a focus on classic philosophy and literature. As a child, he was disappointed with the Christian faith, but when he became older he found himself embracing Christianity. During World War II, he gave popular radio broadcasts on Christianity and they won many converts. Lewis’ speeches were collected in Mere Christianity. In the year of 1954, C.S. Lewis joined the staff of Cambridge University as a literature professor. He met an English teacher by the name of Joy Gresham and in 1956 they married each other and became a happily married family. The two were joyful during their marriage; unfortunately in 1960, the wife became ill with cancer died. Lewis began publishing his works in the mid- 1920s. Lewis started to publish The Chronicles of Narnia during the 1950s. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was the first in the seven book series to be released. This was the story of four siblings who discovered a wardrobe with a magical land in the back of it (“Clives…”). In The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Lewis describes Aslan, Edmund, and Lucy.
C.S. Lewis created a story of a fictional world called Narnia that was inside of a wardrobe. There were four siblings who found this world, once inside they saw numerous creatures like witches and centaurs that were symbols for something bigger. C. S. Lewis uses Christian symbolism in The Lion Witch and the Wardrobe through the characters of Aslan, Edmund, and the White Witch.
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
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.
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.
Kaufmann, U. M. (2008). The Wardrobe, the Witch, and the Lion: CS Lewis and Three Mysteries of the Christian Faith. The Dulia et Latria Journal, 1, 47-62.
J.R.R Tolkien’s work of fiction The Lord of the Rings, have with the advent of Peter Jackson’s film adaptation brought the series to newfound heights of fame. As with many works of it’s kind, The Lord of the Rings depicts a battle between good and evil, with the main characters in the books striving to thwart evil’s plan. In many other works, the author’s personal belief system or worldview drives the narrative, with the message being paramount and the characters the vehicles of conveyance for the point of the story. C.S Lewis, a friend and contemporary of Tolkien’s, is a prime example of this. Lewis’ popular series The Chronicles of Narnia is an allegorical work, teaching Christian principles through the use of fiction. While raised as a Catholic himself, Tolkien does not explicitly promote his religious background, nor does he engage in allegory. However, Tolkien’s views of morality can be found throughout the work, specifically in the way in which evil is portrayed, the use of power and moral freedom of choice. Randel Helms writes in his book, Tolkien’s World, “Tolkien’s particular myth parallels his Christianity, … positioning a malevolent and corrupting outside influence, spiritual and probably eternal, against which man is doomed to fight, but which he has no hope of conquering” (67).
The Chronicles of Narnia are wonderful to read whether one be six or thirty-six; they relate to childhood as well as life in a general sense. While the Chronicles tell the story of an imaginary land full of talking animals and heroic princes/princesses, I tend to look further into it in order to grasp the symbolism and relation to life. Symbolism plays an important role in the chronicles by being the background and foundation of a character. I get the impression that in some ways the characters were constructed around their symbolic purpose, and not the opposite way.
Narnia: the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, based off of the novel written by C.S. Lewis, Edmund
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.
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.
The youngest Pevensie brother, Edmund, is the mischievous child among his siblings in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. He is a representation of the possibility of what can go wrong when a child is not properly taught and does not follow set boundaries. Edmund’s subversion of set standards is the cause of a great deal of the troubles the Pevensies face in Narnia. For example, when he goes to the White Witch’s castle instead of listening to the others when they say Aslan is the true leader. In order to redeem himself, he must first be renewed and return to an earlier state. He is not allowed to stay indignant, but is reformed when he learns that Aslan is really the true ruler, and Jadis is not. He is allowed to do so because of his status as a child who is still developing. Edmund’s corruption and later redemption show that he is not really wicked, but has an innate goodness.
Through the use of Christian symbolism, conflicts, and imagery, C. S. Lewis implements his religious background into his literary works.