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Allegory in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
If you’ve read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, have you ever wondered how wildly popular it is? It is so popular it “has sold over 100 million copies and has been published in 47 languages…” (101books.net). The book is about a group of children who get too curious and end up in a whole new world filled with allegories to the bible, both good and evil. When Clive Staples Lewis wrote the book, he didn’t intend to make it an allegory, according to his biography. He was so religious that it flowed into his work, as it did with most of his other books. In the novel, Lewis uses Edmund eating the Turkish Delight to show gluttony, Aslan dying for the sinner like Jesus, and Aslan’s resurrection
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to reference the resurrection of Jesus to symbolize Christianity in the novel. Lewis makes heavy use of allegories in his novels, and in every book in the Chronicles of Narnia, he has something to symbolize one of the seven deadly sins, developed by Gregory the Great. In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Edmund eating the Turkish Delight and selling out his brothers and sisters to get more shows an extreme form of gluttony. In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the character, Edmund Pevensie, personifies gluttony, the sin of excessively using things in themselves legitimate, normally associated with the appetite, and, in effect, making one’s belly the god he serves (Phil 3:19 qtd. King). Jadis, the White Witch, exploits Edmund’s weakness when she meets him in a snowy woods, offering him a warm drink and Turkish Delight, his favorite candy. From the first bite, he is hooked, for each ‘piece was sweet and light to the very centre and Edmund had never tasted anything more delicious.’ As she pumps him for information regarding his brothers and sisters, he readily replies, driven by an insatiable hunger for more and more Turkish Delight: ‘At first Edmund tried to remember that it is rude to speak with one’s mouth full, but soon he forgot about this and thought only of trying to shovel down as much Turkish Delight as he could, and the more he ate, the more he wanted to eat, and he never asked himself why the Queen should be so inquisitive’ (32, Collier edition, 1970 qtd. King). Edmund is tricked by the White Witch into eating magical Turkish Delight, and becomes gluttonous without consciously realizing it. This relates back to Christianity because gluttony is listed as one of the seven deadly sins on the most widely known and accepted list, made by Gregory the Great in the sixth century. Lewis uses the death of Aslan to protect the sinner to reference how Jesus gave his life for the sinner.
In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,
Aslan comes and saves the world from the White Witch, just as Jesus comes and saves this world from sin. Both die for the sinner: Aslan for Edmund and Jesus for mankind. In both stories, the Law had been written from before the Dawn of Time that any traitors or sinners had to die for their sins. In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the White Witch makes a bargain with Aslan, his life in exchange for Edmund’s life, just as in the gospel story Jesus takes the place of fallen humanity. (Higgens)
Aslan gives his life to protect Edmund, the sinner, just as Jesus gave his life to protect humanity. Christianity is a very big influence on the death of Aslan, especially the way he dies. In addition, the White Witch believed if she killed Aslan, she would rule the world, just as Satan believed if he killed Jesus, the world would be his. It is directly stated after Aslan dies by the White Witch: “Understand that you have given me Narnia forever, you have lost your own life and you have not saved his” (Lewis 236). She states that Aslan has failed to save Edmund or Narnia, just as Satan believed that Jesus failed to save mankind with his
death. Aslan’s death leads to his resurrection, which is another reference to Christianity. After Jesus died for humanity, he was resurrected, just as after Aslan died for Edmund, he was resurrected the morning after. In the Gospel of Luke, the women who had followed Jesus went to his tomb: ‘Very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.’ (Luke 24:1-3 qtd. Brennan) in the same way, after Lucy and Susan take off Aslan’s muzzle, they leave the Stone Table where he was executed. In the early morning they return to find the Stone Table broken in two and the resurrected Aslan standing before them (Lewis, 142-147 qtd. Brennan). This allegory may be less direct than the rest, but it still bears a strong resemblance to the way Jesus was resurrected. In conclusion, Lewis used many different allegories to the bible to symbolize Christianity. From the use of Edmund to show gluttony, to the death of Aslan to save the sinner, to the resurrection of Aslan similar to the way Jesus was resurrected, there are many allegories he has used, and many that were not discussed in this paper. Because of all of these allegories, it may not be as surprising to know so many copies of the book sold worldwide, since almost everything in the book has a secondary meaning. His book took on the guise of a children’s book, but still heavily references Christianity in a way that you have to think about to realize. He didn’t make it transparently obvious that he was referencing Christianity; instead, one must think about Christianity and compare The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to stories in the bible to see the many allusions to the bible that he makes.
Throughout The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe many symbolisms are expressed. It shows many times through the expression of the battle between good and evil as well as the sacrificial notion of Aslan when he died to save the life of Edmund.
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
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.
...itch was evil, because the Witch asked him to. He also goes on to tell her that the Beavers said Aslan will soon return (Lewis, 107). Thus, Edmond is named a traitor by the White Witch. "You have a traitor there, Aslan… Have you forgotten the Deep Magic?" (Lewis, 155). The White Witch asks Aslan if he remembers that the Deep Magic engraved on the Great Stone Table by the Emperor-beyond-the-Sea, Aslan's father, says that "every traitor belongs to me (Jadis) as my lawful prey and for every treachery I have a right to a kill (Lewis, 155). Aslan asks the Witch to take a walk with him and they go off to have a private conversation. This is where the next Christian symbol comes in. Aslan sacrifices himself on the Stone Table to save Edmund from his treachery. The parallel in the Bible is that Jesus Christ sacrificed himself on the cross to save humanity from their sins.
C.S. Lewis was the 20th century’s most popular proponent of faith based on reason. As a child, he created an imaginary world where personified animals came to life, and later, he wrote the book, Chronicles of Narnia. How did he transform from a boy fascinated with anthropomorphic animals into a man of immense faith? His transformation to the Christian religion happened as his fame began to flourish. People wrote him, asking him about his claims about the truth of Christianity (Belmonte, Kevin). As I attended the drama of Freud’s Last Session, I was engrossed into the plot of the play and was constantly thinking about how it pertained to the objectives of the World Literature class. I not only connected the content of the play to its context, but I also reached out to apply the context to a discussion on a broader scale. I then discovered why the context of literature is imperative for true understanding of the w...
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.
Fiction has always been used as a way to relay different types of messages throughout time. In many cases authors use fiction to make political commentary, use stories to bring out the major flaws that society has, as well as a way to spread different types of beliefs or ideals. C.S. Lewis’s used his work, “The Chronicles of Narnia”, to reiterate the messages of the Bible to those who might have gotten lost during their lifetime. Though his whole series was full of connections the book that have the most prevalent connections are The Magician’s Nephew and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. In both there are places that are very similar to and very different books in the Bible. Taking into context when Lewis wrote this series is extremely important to see what some of his motivations might have been. These stories were started soon after World War II had ended. These stories were a way to teach the next generation some of the morals that the Bible was teaching. By creating these fantastical stories Lewis was able to make connections to help bridge the learning gap between the two generations. Also by using children as a target audience Lewis was able to remind adults as well, instead of being ignored because of the recent war. Lewis was able to address these lessons and morals in a way that both taught the children the way of the Bible, as well as to put a new spin on old tales so that adults were able to come back to religion, after losing some faith during the brutal war.
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.
To what extent can C.S. Lewis’ ‘The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe’ be considered religious allegory?
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.
In the book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe Aslan’s actions towards Edmund are clear, they are actions of forgiveness. However, through this forgiveness the lion Aslan suffers, while the boy does not. The presence of justice is also within these concepts of grace and forgiveness. In the book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe justice is definitely an issue for Aslan, even though for everyone else, including Edmund divine justice is a mystery (163). Nonetheless in this particular book the idea of how substitution can bring forth redemption is not explained (163).
In Shakespeare’s tragic play Macbeth, Shakespeare creates the ruthless character Macbeth, who is willing to go beyond any measure in order to attain the power of being king, including murder, deceit, betrayal and overpowering the chain of being. Macbeth was first tempted by the idea of kingship when three witches presented him with their portent of Macbeth becoming the next King of Scotland. Ebullient, Macbeth, immediately informed his wife of the news and they both pondered the thought of having the power to rule all of Scotland. Lady Macbeth, a power seeker herself, promptly schemed a plan to kill King Duncan in order for her and her husband to rule, displaying her ready ambition for power. Macbeth’s thirst for power ate away at his conscience
C.S. Lewis uses a secondary world, Narnia, to convey complex, thought-provoking messages to readers of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. This paper examines the way a selection of Narnia's key characteristics prompt debates over logic and faith, comment on the nature of spiritual and metaphysical journeys, allow readers to broaden their conception of their own capabilities, encourage new reflection on the story of Christ and help to clarify conceptions of good and evil.
Overflowing with Christian symbolism, The Chronicles of Narnia has enriched the lives of children of all ages for over half a century. C. S. Lewis revealed the origination of his "Masterpiece of Christian Allegory.” "The whole Narnian story is about Christ. That is to say, I asked myself ‘Supposing that there really was a world like Narnia and supposing it had (like our world) gone wrong and supposing Christ wanted to go into that world and save it (as He did ours), what might have happened?’ The stories are my answers. Since Narnia is a world of Talking Beasts, I thought He would become a Talking Beast there, as He became a man here. I pictured Him becoming a lion there because (a) the lion is supposed to be the king of beasts; (b) Christ
Many people believe that Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe’s storyline and plot are based off of a Christian-based allegory; however, it is not. With the early childhood and teenage years of C.S. Lewis, the author of Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the story could be a reflection of his life. Lewis also had a fascination with mythology, which plays a key role in the making of the characters. Many think that Lewis’s Christian conversion is what inspired him to write Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Without the Christian conversion of C.S. Lewis, Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe’s content would not change but the focus on the meaning would change from a Christian allegory to a children’s fantasy novel. The first fact that would support this theory is Lewis’s childhood.