C.S. Lewis: The Chronicles of Narnia
The Chronicles of Narnia The Lion Witch and Wardrobe, a powerful and moving story a novel full of relations from the bible. A group of children, Peter, Susan, Lucy, and Edmund travel to a magical place. Where a war is taking place against light and dark, good vs evil. In the real world there is also a war going on as well. The kids must save the world of Narnia by conjuring the white witch. With allusions to Jesus and the devil the book draws close relations to the bible and the Christian faith. A man of faith, C.S. Lewis shows readers a new way to take a deeper look into the Christian faith and the war against good and evil by using The Chronicles of Narnia.
C.S. Lewis was born into a bookish family of
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Protestants in Belfast, Ireland (“C.S. Lewis”). Lewis grew up very close to books and writing. As a kid Lewis would write and illustrate with his brother. Lewis’s lived a pretty normal childhood. His dad was a successful lawyer and his grandfather would tell lewis stories. Lewis normal life took an unexpected turn. In 1908 Lewis’s mother died of cancer. When the children are sent away from their mother because of the war is a reflection on when Lewis lost his mom. This is what started Lewis’s downfall from christianity.”This story is about something that happened to them when they were sent away from London during the war because of the air-raids.”(C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe 1). The allusion to the book from lewis life is when edmund becomes friends with the white witch and tells Aslan that Edmund is a traitor.”You know, Aslan, I'm a little disappointed in you. Did you honestly think by all this that you could save the human traitor? You are giving me your life and saving no one. So much for love. Tonight, the Deep Magic will be appeased, but tomorrow, we will take Narnia forever! In that knowledge, despair... and die!”(C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe 118). Lewis’s long journey away from, and back to faith began with his mother’s death from cancer when he was a boy. Disillusioned that God had not healed his mother, Lewis set out on a path toward full-bodied rationalism and atheism.(“C.S. lewis”). Lewis would be in and out of boarding schools. With the start of World War 1 Lewis would enlist. In the book the kids are set in the time period of ww2 where they are sent to live with a professor. “We’ve fallen on our feet and no mistakes, this is going to be perfect splendid. That old chap will let us do anything we like”(Edmund 1). A year later Lewis was injured in the war and soon returned to school. Lewis earned a scholarship from Oxford University. While at school Lewis became friends with people just like him. His friends encouraged him to write. His friends included J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, Neville Coghill, and Owen Barfeild. Which he called the “Lnklings”, (“C.S. Lewis”). Nevill Coghill, a brilliant fellow student and lifelong friend who lewis’s amazement, was “a Christian and a thoroughgoing supernaturalist” (“C.S. Lewis”). All of lewis’s friends influenced him to add faith back into his life. At age 32 C.S. Lewis surrendered, admitting “God, was God, and knelt and prayed.” Within two years the reluctant convert also moved from theism to Christianity and joined the Church of England.(“C.S. Lewis”). Aslan gives his life to save Edmunds just as Jesus gave his life to save us from our sins. The similarities are what bring the allusion to the bible. As Lewis Learned the way of God so did the children. “If the Witch knew the true meaning of sacrifice, she might have interpreted the deep magic differently. That when a willing victim who has committed no treachery, is killed in a traitor's stead, the stone table will crack, and even death itself would turn backwards.”(C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, 2005 film). There are many meanings within the book. Taking messages from the bible and real life. Lewis creates a world for kids easy to grasp by portraying Jesus as a lion and God as the sea. With each character a different meaning is portrayed. The White Witch the antagonistic towards Aslan. She brings evil into Narnia the war between good and evil “The world is not five hours old an evil has already entered it”(C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe 111). In relations to the Bible Adam and Eve were the first humans on earth in which They brought sin into the world by eating the apple from The Tree of Knowledge. The same as how the white witch taunts Edmund with the turkish delight. To be forgiven of our sins Jesus died on the cross for us. The same in witch Aslan dies to save Edmunds sins. The way Aslan is Portrayed is a simple way off grabbing the reader's attention with a powerful lion. The powerful leader of Narnia with a deeper meaning to his name. The son of the sea “Aslan sets all wrongs to rights, including removing the White Witch from her terrible reign over Narnia. Aslan is awe-inspiring and a little frightening, but unquestionably benevolent and kind. Aslan's power is unmatched and his goodness unlimited.” (C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe 24). "Aslan a man!" said Mr. Beaver sternly. "Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the wood and the son of the great Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea. Don't you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion – the Lion, the great Lion." (C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe 24). A symbol for the king of darkness himself.
The white witch cast a array of allusions to evil. She cast a spell over Narnia so that it is winter all the time and no christmas will come so everyone in Narnia loses hope. The divided land of good and evil bring on the illusion of light vs dark heaven vs hell.” she has the right to kill any Narnian caught in an act of treachery. The Witch's role is parallel to the role of Satan, to whom the souls of damned sinners are forfeited.”(C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe). Just as how Satan takes sinners to hell. "You know that every traitor belongs to me as my lawful prey and that for every treachery I have a right to a kill." (C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the …show more content…
Wardrobe). The Sea the father to Aslan, not many references in the book but are important for more of the background of Aslan.
Emperor-over-the-sea is God himself. “The sea becomes a boundary between Narnia, the earth, and “Aslan’s country,” or heaven”.(C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe). God sent his son down to bring knowledge and wisdom to the earth. Also dying for our sins on the cross as did Aslan when he died on the stone table."It means," said Aslan, "that though the Witch knew the Deep Magic, there is a magic deeper still which she did not know. Her knowledge goes back only to the dawn of time. But if she could have looked a little further back, into the stillness and the darkness before Time dawned, she would have read there a different incantation. She would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor's stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backward."(C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
50). With such a magical word Narnia will be a place the kids will travel too often to help Aslan fight battles. Each kid becomes a part of Narnia in a different way. Given a crown and a title king and queen. “Long Live King Peter! Long Live Queen Susan! Long Live King Edmund! Long Live Queen Lucy!”The rulers of Narnia are more than kids but a piece of it. “Once a king or queen in Narnia, always a king or queen. Bear it well, Sons of Adam! Bear it well, Daughters of Eve!” (C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe 56). Aslan will always find the kids and the kids will always find their way back. With the war over and Narnia saved the kids go back through the wardrobe and tell about their adventures in Narnia. Lewis showed us through the story that you always find the light in the darkness that the teaching in the bible relate to real life. A man of Faith, C.S. Lewis shows readers a new way to take a deeper look into the Christian faith and the war against good and evil by using The Chronicles of Narnia.
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
... getting punished for what she has done. Effectively, after the battle, good prevails. At the end of the story, Aslan fight and defeat the White Witch. Consequently, this is really a classic children book that covers good against evil.
She turns people to stone, she uses temptation to get her ways, and even cursed the land with a magical winter, but never Christmas causing everybody in Narnia to start losing hope. One occurrence that she tempts somebody was when she tempted Edmund with Turkish Delight multiple times, which lead him to desire nothing else. The Witch does not take over Narnia peacefully, but with brute force. “The witch is merciless, cruel, power-hungry, and sadistic” (Source A). Just as Satan is, merciless and cruel so is the witch. She is only weakened by Aslan when he returns to the kingdom, just as Satan is nothing in the presence of Jesus
Through the use of Christian symbolism, conflicts, and imagery, C. S. Lewis implements his religious background into his literary works.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien, is the first book in the fantasy-based trilogy of the Lord of the Rings. The book begins with Bilbo Baggins celebrating his one hundred and eleventh birthday. After his party, he then decides to leave everything behind and join a Fellowship, which has a task of destroying the ruling ring, which will give supreme power to whoever has possession of it.
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.
Two of the best things in the world, “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” and “Harry Potter,” have a good deal in common. Other than the vast amount of space reserved in my brain for storing quotes and random facts from these two stories, both tales share many similar objects, plot devices, character attributes, and themes. Even though Python's “Holy Grail” is an exact historical representation of the Arthurian Grail legend, some might argue that the “Harry Potter” story is more reflective of the actual ancient texts than the 1974 film.
The story starts with the 33rd birthday-party for Frodo Baggans, and the 111th birthday party for Bilbo Baggans, Hobbits who live in a mythical land called the Shire. Frodo’s best friend is his gardner Sam. Frodo owns a magic Ring which makes him invisible when he wears it, a gift from his cousin Bilbo who stole it from Gollum years ago.
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.
It is likely for one to assume that a classic piece of literature set in a fantasy oriented stage will have no merits to the youths of today. The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, however, with its crafty of usage symbolism, displays its relevance to issues that often trouble teens. As the story progresses from a children’s tale to an epic, the main character Bilbo undergoes a series of development, his experiences often overlapping with ordinary people. Reading the Hobbit will provide teens with opportunities of exploring the importance of several common but serious topics. People may encounter many of the themes presented in the book elsewhere repeatedly, but it’s possible that they never appreciated the applications it might have on themselves. When teens read the Hobbit, they perceive it as a simple fiction of adventure. Under proper guiding, they will be able to recognize and utilize the lessons of the Hobbit, and improve their attitudes and ideas about life.
J.R.R. Tolkien's concept of too much power is summed up by Lord Acton when he once said, "Power corrupts, but absolute power corrupts absolutely." In Tolkien's first book of his fantasy based trilogy, Lord of the Rings, the Fellowship of the Rings tells a story of a quest to destroy a powerful ring throughout Tolkien's created "Middle Earth". This quest was headed by a "Hobbit" named Frodo Baggins who, in the end, becomes corrupted by power himself. This corruption begins when Frodo uses his ring to become invisible over and over again to escape certain situations. The quest to destroy the powerful "Ruling Ring" forms the basis for this story.
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.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was written by J. K. Rowling and is the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series. The book is about a seventeen-year-old wizard, named Harry Potter, who has to travel all over England to find things that will help him defeat the evil wizard, Lord Voldomort. The main theme/moral of the entire series is good will always triumphs over evil. In every book, even when it looks like evil is going to win, good always triumphs in the end.
Harry Potter starts off slow, but gets very interesting near the end. In the beginning, you meet the Dursleys, Harry’s aunt, uncle, and their son Dudley. Then you learn that Harry’s parents were witches, and that they were destroyed by a evil wizard. A good witch, Albus Dumbeldoor, sends Harry to the Dursleys, because they’re his only remaining family. The Dursleys however, hated Harry and his family, so Harry was mistreated for years. He was forced to live in a cuborrod under the stairs. He had to watch as the fat, stuck up Dudley got whatever he wanted, and then usually broke whatever it was he got. Then one day Harry got a letter.