The Chronicles of Narnia and The Bible

1849 Words4 Pages

“A myth is a way of making sense in a senseless world. Myths are narrative patterns that give significance to our existence.” ― Rollo May

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.

Starting off, the series first book was The Magician’s Nephew, and it was a creation story. Much like how the Bible...

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...re imaginative and child friendly. These stories had many of the same dilemmas and faced many of the same challenges. They both had to do with innocence, betrayal, and temptation. C.S. Lewis’s work was defiantly reflective of the Bible, but it fit better with the times, and the people. This trend of using fiction as a device to spread messages, like religion, has been used, is being used, and will continue to be used in the future. In the end the stories are different, but the messages are all the same.

Works Cited

"Genisis, Matthew, and John." Holy Bible: NIrV, New International Reader's Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Pub. House, 1998. N. pag. Web.

Lewis, C. S., and Pauline Baynes. "The Magician's Nephew and The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe." The Chronicles of Narnia. New York: HarperCollinsPublishers, 2001. N. pag. Print.

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