In C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Lewis emphasizes the three points of philosophy, themes, and symbolism throughout his writing. Lewis was a strong Christian man, and wanted to make children see and understand all the stories of the Bible. Therefore, he put Christian elements through his books, but with fantasy characters as well. Especially in this story, Lewis conveys the differences between good and evil. Aslan is represented as Christ just as the White Witch represents the sense of evil. Lewis wrote several books in this Narnia series, but The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe became the most famous and recognized of his novels.
C.S. Lewis became one of the most prominent Christian writers in contemporary British society, not only because of his devotion to Christ, but also because his stories were so outstanding (Hitchens). Lewis wrote both fantasy and Christian books, which were both connected to each other in their own way. He used Christian elements to write fantasy stories, and vice versa (Langford). When he began to write The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, he placed the story with four children that had to move out of their own house during the air raids (Hannay). In chapter one, the book tells us: “This story is about something that happened to them when they were sent away from London during the war because of air-raids. They were sent to the house of an old Professor who lived in the heart of the country, ten miles from the nearest post office. He had no wife and he lived in a very large house with a housekeeper called Mrs. Macready and three servants” (Lewis 1). When the actual adventure begins, one of the four children entered the wardrobe’s doors while playing hide and seek with her sibl...
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Patterson, Nancy-Lou. "Always Winter and Never Christmas: Symbols of Time in Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia." Mythlore 18.1 (Autumn 1991): 10-14. Rpt. in Children's Literature Review. Ed. Tom Burns. Vol. 109. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 12 Jan. 2012.
Pietrusz, Jim. "Rites of Passage: The Chronicles of Narnia and the Seven Sacraments." Mythlore 14.4 (Summer 1988): 61-63. Rpt. in Children's Literature Review. Ed. Tom Burns. Vol. 109. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 12 Jan. 2012.
Walsh, Chad. "The Parallel World of Narnia." The Literary Legacy of C. S. Lewis. New York, N.Y.: Harcourt Brace Jonavich, 1979. 123-157. Rpt. in Children's Literature Review. Ed. Tom Burns. Vol. 109. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 12 Jan. 2012.
...as created controversy where his books are studied and dissected by academics. He is outspoken and interacts with critics about the themes in his book, which are the antithesis of C.S Lewis Narnia series. Controversy and debate are forms of creating interest in a book that send sales soaring. Everyone wants to read the book that is creating such a furore.
C.S. Lewis left more in this world than his writings. He inspired and will inspire many people with his demonstration of God’s forgiving love. His ‘Chronicles of Narnia’ have been made into a major motion picture today and the books have sold more than 100 million copies (Imbornoni). Even though it’s been almost forty-seven years since his death, people continue to enjoy C.S. Lewis’ works.
In conclusion, C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is not only a children’s story filled with creatures that are only of imagination, but an allegorical representation of biblical history and a quest to find one’s strength. Although authors like J.R.R. Tolkien once criticized his Narnia books, they remain among the most beloved books of classic Children’s Literature, selling over 100 million copies. WORKS CITED Imboroni, Ann Marie. “ C. S. Lewis: The Creator of Narnia Biography.” FactMonster.com.
... Rpt. in Children's Literature Review. Ed. Tom Burns.
2nd ed. of the book. New York: St. James Press, 1995. Literature Resource Center -. Web.
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis The main characters in this story are Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. During a war in London they were sent to a professor's house outside London. Lucy, while exploring with her brothers and sister, found a secret passage through the wardrobe to Naria,a secret world. In Naria there are other characters. One of them is the White Witch,also known as the Queen of Naria, who was like a tyrant.
The land of Narnia is a place where something as simple as a wardrobe is the key to something as magical as Narnia. In C.S Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, four children go on an adventure of a lifetime. The main characters are Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, are siblings that travel to Narnia as the Sons of Adam and the Daughters of Eve. There is controversy whether or not the book is well-suited for children. Lewis uses different literary techniques including character development, animal personification, and censorship to help make the book more appropriate for children.
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
There are some critics that argue that Lewis Carroll wasn’t highly religious if religious at all. A popular topic relating to Lewis Carroll’s religious practices is whether or not he expressed any of his beliefs in his widely known story Alice in Wonderland. Hidden deep in the contexts of Alice in Wonderland, it’s clear that Alice in Wonderland is an allegory to the Christian Bible and contains multiple references to some biblical themes, characters, or events. Whether intentional or not, Lewis Carroll wrote characters, paragraph, and even chapters that mirror some of the most well-known scenes in the Bible.
Lewis, C. S. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. New York: HarperCollins, 1994. Print.
...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.
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.
Adler, Shawn. "'Harry Potter' Author J.K. Rowling Opens Up About Books' Christian Imagery." MTV News. MTV, 17 Oct. 2007. Web. 23 Sept. 2015. This article argues that Christian parallels can be found within Harry Potter, including two Bible
Downing, David C. Into the Wardrobe: C. S. Lewis and the Narnia Chronicles. San Francisco, Jossey-Bass, 2005.
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.