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To what extent can C.S. Lewis’ ‘The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe’ be considered religious allegory?
The Narnia Chronicles are C.S. Lewis’ most recognized work and although they are considered to be a form of children’s literature, they are also widely popular with Christian theologians. C.S. Lewis was not a predominantly religious man. At a young age, he declared himself an atheist. Even though he was raised in a religious community, C.S. Lewis argued that ecclesiastical sermons were tedious and dull. However, influenced by writers such as J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis converted to Christianity in 1931. In this sense, although C.S. may have resented religious dogma, he recognized the literary qualities of scripture and how it could benefit his work. Therefore, writers such as C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien were described as “devout Christians” . Although many secondary sources would argue that the Narnia Chronicles are an example of religious allegory, C.S. Lewis is hesitant to say so.
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Lewis’ literary history, he is renowned for religious works such as Reflections on the Psalms (1958) and Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer (1964). Most predominantly, C.S. Lewis is recognized for his novel The Screwtape Letters, a preface to Paradise Lost in 1942. In The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis established the importance of embracing Christian theology. It is also interesting to consider that C.S. Lewis began creating the Narnia Chronicles from 1950. Therefore, influenced by his religious works, it is possible that C.S. Lewis has incorporated his Christian beliefs into The Lion, the Witch & the
It will be the contention of this paper that much of Tolkien's unique vision was directly shaped by recurring images in the Catholic culture which shaped JRRT, and which are not shared by non-Catholics generally. The expression of these images in Lord of the Rings will then concern us.
The Screwtape Letters are a fictional series of letters compiled into a book and written by the highly acclaimed apologist and author, C.S. Lewis. The Letters discuss topics such as salvation, the Christian lifestyle, depression, love, and many other subjects that are pivotal to the way we live, think, and interact with others and the world around us.
Aslan is the King of Narnia. Lewis tries to resist any recognition that Aslan is Jesus Christ. When readi...
· Wood, Ralph C. "Traveling the one road: The Lord of the Rings as a "pre-Christian" classic." The Christian Century Feb. 93: 208(4).
Clive Staples Lewis, author of The Screwtape Letters, was a famous novelist throughout the 20th century, and a prominent Oxford professor. He grew up hating God as an atheist writing works like “De Profundis” in which he curses God. Lewis fought in the first world war as a second lieutenant, and was pulled out for a million dollar wound. J.R.R. Tolkien and he were very good friends, Tolkien playing an important part of Lewis' conversion in 1931. From this he developed a firm faith which greatly changed his perspective, both in his writing career and his teaching. The Screwtape Letters, was written by Lewis to aid us in dealing with the temptations and mindsets that are prevalent in our day. This book is from the perspective of Screwtape a senior demon, counseling his nephew, Wormwood, through a series of correspondences. Screwtape teaches Wormwood how to deal
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.
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...
...e, is the end; Despite all the odds Lewis highlighted important truths of Christian faith through the story of a demon who is not good at being a demon. Wormwood’s helper shows us those truths in thirty-one irrational letters. A message of light brought forth through darkness.
The analogy breaks down messages that are revealed in the Bible in order for the average person to understand what it being said, similar to how Jesus used parables to explain his teachings to mass audiences. The people listening to Jesus’ sermons weren’t very educated and had little prior knowledge about who Jesus was. He had to make his sermons relatable to the audience, just as C.S. Lewis does with his readers. Within the novel, Lewis also only covers what he considered the “basic teaching of orthodox Christianity.” Many theologists either focused on details that were unimportant to a new believer, or they wrote in ways that were difficult for the average person to understand. Lewis did not see himself as educated enough to provide a detailed theological and historical explanation of the doctrines that he discusses, but because of the lack of simplicity in religious works of literature, he strove to educate people on the basic outline of Christian beliefs (Mueller). Lewis explained his purpose for writing Mere Christianity in an interesting way,
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.
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...
The story of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is one that is told as a simple children’s book and beloved film to people all around the world. While this is true, C.S. Lewis, the author, hid a much deeper meaning to his story in the pages of his book. In short, C.S. Lewis, a renowned Christian in his time, presented a Christian worldview through a mystic tale. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe have many Christian themes, the danger of gluttony, the power of Satan, and humankind’s redemption, as well as many symbols, including the seasons, Aslan, the stone table, and the sea.
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
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.