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Literary analysis for the lion the witch and the wardrobe
Lion witch and wardrobe symbolism
Literary analysis for the lion the witch and the wardrobe
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The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Essay “All shall be done, but it may be harder than you think.” is an inspiring quote from the book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe written by C. S. Lewis. This story takes place during the time period of World War II. When the bombings of London started taking place, four siblings, Lucy, Peter, Susan, and Edmund are sent to a country house for safety. Later on, Lucy discovers a wardrobe that transports her to a magical world called Narnia. Shorty after coming back, she brings her siblings along as well. There they join Aslan, a lion, in the fight against the evil White Witch. In order to fully understand the story it is very important to dive deep into the theme, setting, and the character of the protagonist. …show more content…
First off, one of the main themes throughout this entire story is good vs evil.
We can clearly see this displayed through the character of Aslan and the White Witch. A quote from Mr. Beaver when talking about her house does a great job at explaining the wickedness of the White Witch. It reads, “But there’s not many taken in there that ever come out again. Statues.” (77) By taking even the smallest look into the action of the White Witch, there is not foggyness to the fact that she represents evil. Not much good can come from someone who turns people to stone. Throughout chapter thirteen she even manages to capture Edmund. (134-144) From that point on the fact that good must fight back is more evident than ever. “We must move from this place at once, it will be wanted for other purposes. We shall encamp tonight at the Fords of Beruna.” (145) This quote from Aslan proves his leadership skills in fighting against the evil force of the White Witch while still looking out for what is best for the children. As you can see, the main theme of this story is good vs …show more content…
evil. Secondly, in order to fully understand the theme of most any book, you have to be able connect that with the setting.
Most of this book takes place in Narnia. When Lucy first steps into the wardrobe that leads to the magical land of Narnia she is quoted to realize that “Something cold and soft was falling on her.” (8) This cold weather will be greatly symbolic as the story goes on showing a loss of hope as Narnia is always in a state of winter but never reaches christmas. “She began to walk forward, crunch-crunch over the snow and through the wood toward the other light.” (9) In this case it shows you how there is still a glimpse of hope remaining. Even amongst the dead of night in the winter, light shines through bringing hope. These two naturally connect to the theme being good vs evil. The house that the children found the secret passage way to Narnia in, also plays an important part in the setting. Lucy explains “I got in through the wardrobe in the spare room” (12). Bedrooms inside houses are most often connected with private things or secrets that we hide away. In this case, the children’s secret is Narnia. Clearly we can see the ways in which the setting connects back to the
theme. Finally, the protagonist of the story, Lucy, also helps us to recognize and understand the main conflict and theme of the story. Lucy is the youngest out of the four kids but in some ways, she is the most important character to the story. Lucy has a timid personality at first, as you can see by the first time she met the old Professor whose house they were staying in. His appearance made her slightly afraid of him. (3) “‘Hadn’t we all better go to bed?’ said Lucy. ‘There’s sure to be a row if we’re heard talking here.’” (4) As shown, Lucy is also a pleaser. Always looking out for herself and the people around her. She is alert and quick on her feet. “Lucy crept out onto the open hilltop.” (157) Lucy was not one to sit back and let other people step forward. She knew what had to be done and was not hesitant to do it. Her mindset was strictly on the fact that good must beat evil. The character of Lucy helps us to clearly see the theme and conflict. In conclusion, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe written by C. S. Lewis helps us to understand the importance of always doing the right thing and trusting that in the end, good always wins out through the theme, the setting, and the main character or protagonist of the story, Lucy. The adventure throughout this book makes the life lesson come through in an easy and clear way. As much as we want to give up, in the end, we’ll be thankful that we followed through. As this author once wrote “All shall be done, but it may be harder than you think.”
Since the beginning of time, fairy tales, stories and legends have shared a common theme where good and evil are played against each other. In the story of “Beowulf”, translated by, “Burton Raffel”, there is a hero who plays as a good character, and there is also a demon who rules the dark side. The hero Beowulf, agrees to take a journey to conquer the evil monster Grendel. But when Beowulf is trying to defeat the beast, Grendel fights back, causing integrity and generosity to vanish. The common theme in various tales like in Beowulf is, good vs. evil.
“Besides, this Duncan Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been / So clear in his great office, that his virtues /Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against / The deep damnation of his taking-off; (1.7.16-20)” The powerful values of being a good king in Macbeth, all the king's learn to manage throughout the book. William Shakespeare's ideas towards kingship can be seen throughout the play Macbeth, and shows that a king should be chosen by a divine right. Throughout the play Macbeth the most important topic is kingship. Followed by knowing the difference of kingship and tyranny. Shakespeare closed it out with cruelty and masculinity along with staying true to principles.
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.
There are many fictional elements that are important when it comes to short stories. These elements help the reader understand the story in more depth, and help to gain a better understanding of what the author’s purpose is. One of these elements is setting. Setting is the time and place in which a story takes place, it can help determine the mood, influence how characters’ act, change the dialog in the story and can reflect how the characters interact in society. In the short story, “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves” the setting is a very important element to show the development of the girls and how they changed throughout the story. There are two different places which we consider the setting. There is the church and the cave. With these two different settings we see different lessons being taught in each
As children, we were taught that good and evil were black and white terms. The fairy tales that our parents would read to us have conditioned us to believe that characters such as the princess in distress or the prince in shining armour were nothing but friendly and good, while the troll guarding his own bridge or the fire-breathing dragon were the most frighteningly evil creatures of all. However, as we grew up, we learned that these distinctions are never so easily black and white, but more-so different shades of grey. We learned that the characters that we initially deemed evil had reasons for acting that way, and most of them out of their control. Such is the case with the main character in John Gardner’s Grendel. The character Grendel
Family kills family for power; people abandon their country out of fear and hatred. Loyalty, In the play it is something that is mentioned but never shown. Starting with the original Thane betraying Scotland. Macbeth is full of disloyalty and betrayal towards those seen as family. Lady Macbeth's relationship with Macbeth, Banquo to Macbeth, and Macbeth to the country. STUFF
A lot like Macbeth, the character Banquo was also a highly skilled soldier, and very much trusted by their king, even though Macbeth respects Banquo’s bravery he also fears his wisdom. While Macbeth is quick to action and has little to no time for thought Banquo chooses not to turn his thoughts into action, Banquo is however a lot more cautious as shown when he and Macbeth met the three witches. Banquo actually considers the reasons for what the witches are offering and later realizes they are telling him his future and thinks that the witches are attempting to make him greedy for power. Macbeth however reacts oppositely. Banquo actually considers the reasons for what the witches are offering and rather than thinking about the outcomes of his
What is identity? How are different parts of our identities connected to each other? How much control do humans really have over their identities? Shakespeare’s Macbeth describes identity as a person’s actions, status, knowledge, thoughts, feelings, motivations, fate, how he or she sees himself or herself, and how others see him or her. Set in 16th-century Scotland, the play tells the story of the nobleman Macbeth and his wife Lady Macbeth. Macbeth is first portrayed as a war hero who, upon returning home, receives his prophecy from the witches. He learns that he will be the king of Scotland, but the only way this is possible is if he murders the king who was ruling at the time, Duncan. After Macbeth and Lady Macbeth commit this murder, guilt
Throughout the story of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe you can find different themes. Nature, faith, heroism, and justice are only some that are exhibited in the novel. C.S. Lewis “says he saw pictures, pictures which began to join up into patterns: “a faun carrying an umbrella, a queen on a sledge, a magnificent lion. At first there wasn’t even anything Christian about them, that element pushed itself in on its own accord.”” (Hannay).
The characters in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe are symbolic of other characters featured in the Bible. Peter, the eldest child, became the “rock” everyone clung to. He waged the war against the white witch and he is a representation of the Apostle Peter. Susan, the second eldest child, is seen as the nonbeliever who must always have facts. She is a represe...
In conclusion, C.S Lewis symbolizes good and evil into his characters. The good one would be Aslan and the bad one would be the White Witch. They embody their role with characterization. This can be shown with the description of the two characters. Aslan is pure of heart and powerful and the Witch is cruel and terrifying. Also, their actions are key facts to demonstrate their chosen side. Aslan is always doing beneficial action for others, instead of the Witch that wants more and more power, willing to destroy life to achieve her goals. Through this book, the two opposite characters are really well explained and analysed.
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 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.
Good and evil are different entities, they are opposites and how they are depicted in children fables effect how people react to them.
In Children’s literature, the characters are good or bad. The author attempts to teach the children without confusing them. They are learning right from wrong when doing this. In the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Clive Staples Lewis uses this in his novel with his characters. “He parallels the difference between right and wrong” (“Faith”). In the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Lewis shows good vs. evil and the archetypes hero and villain in his novel.