Thesis on "C. S. Lewis Narnia Series"

Thesis 8 pages (2683 words) Sources: 4 Style: MLA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Lewis Narnia Series

Having been sold in millions of copies around the world, Clive Staples Lewis's series of novels The Chronicles of Narnia can certainly be acknowledged as being a hallmark for children literature. The series contains seven novels addressing various subjects, ranging from Christian themes to tales from different parts of the world. The main characters present in most of the novels are children and the story revolves around them visiting the mythological place of Narnia, where unexplained things happen. The novels generally present the classical battle between right and wrong, and, how evil forces are eventually defeated by good ones.

Lewis wrote the books between 1949 and 1954, virtually creating intriguing storylines for the whole world to enjoy. The readers are being presented with the complex world of Narnia, as the writer relates to the land's history. Apparently, the magical world has had several rulers from the moment of its creation and until its destruction. Lewis describes all of the leaders and episodes from the time of each reign. The story is not presented in a standard chronological order, not an abnormal phenomenon for children stories.

In spite of the fact that the series is obviously intended for children, it can also be read and enjoyed by adults. Moreover, while children can appreciate the books for the storyline and the captivating action, adults can enjoy them for the hidden messages which are scattered all across the series. People are most probably surprised as a consequence of rereading the book in their adulthoods. Even with the obvious fictional character of the series, Lewis manages to give his stories an air of reality. The worlds present in Narnia are apparently more real than the real world, in which Lewis's characters actually live in.

Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia is clearly one of the most famous series in children's literature. However, the seven books are not intended for the masses, with a great number of individuals regarding the series as being hollow, with it being just a gathering of meaningless happenings. John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, a well-known British writer, and, one of Lewis's best friends, hated The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Moreover, he did not support Lewis's desire to continue writing the book, not to mention publishing it.

Lewis proved to be inspired when choosing to continue writing the book, considering the fact that it had later become a best-seller, and, one of the writer's most praised publications. Similar to Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe presently is one of society's most admired manuscripts. In order to have the public shift its attention from the Christian character of the book, its supporters have attempted to marginalize and even to refute the concept that the author had intended The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to send a religious message to those reading it.

It is not certain whether or not Tolkien had solid arguments to support his conviction that the book would have success. What is certain is that facts had proved him wrong, with readers becoming passionate about the story. A reasonable motive for Tolkien lack of appreciation towards his friend's writing had been that the relationship between the two writers has been defective at the time. Another reason for Tolkien disapproval for the manuscript is that the writer did not support the thought of having religion involved into his writings. Moreover, it appears that Tolkien went to great efforts to avoid having his work involving the slightest touch of religion.

When observing that Tolkien did not agree to his writing style, Lewis did not give up and searched for other opinions concerning his work. Roger Lancelyn Green had played a vital factor in Lewis writing the book, as the former considered the story to be excellent and encouraged the writer in finishing The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Nevertheless, the religious character of the book seemed to be too much, even for Green, who believed that the presence of Father Christmas into the plot had been an exaggeration.

It would appear that Tolkien's disapproval for the book had its roots in the fact that Lewis had discriminated certain groups in his writings. Considering that Lewis had been an Anglican and Tolkien had been a Roman Catholic, the latter believed that The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe indirectly attacked certain Roman Catholic principles. It seems that the book does not only go against Roman Catholic theories, as it is supportive towards discrimination on several bases. One could reach the conclusion that Lewis's first book is nothing else than religious propaganda intended to confuse the public.

While some of Lewis's supporters strong-mindedly contest the idea, it is certainly easy for the readers to observe several correspondences between the lion Aslan and Jesus Christ. However, it is curious that Lewis has chosen to represent the religious character differently than how he is usually portrayed by other writers. While others are normally inclined to represent heroes and heroines through small and powerless creatures, Lewis did the exact opposite with the character of Aslan. The writer has decided to incorporate the concept of muscular Christianity into his book, by presenting the equivalent of Christ as a muscular and athletic lion that had been determined to impose his power.

Even with that, the matter is controversial, with people both supporting and being against the concept. All in all, considering that Lewis had actually intended Aslan to be a reference to Jesus Christ, it would have been more parable-like for the book to have been called The Lamb, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The writer seems to have considered this concept, as The Voyage of the Dawn Treader has Alsan appearing in front of Lucy and Eustace as a lamb. Also, the fierce lion changes into a cat, in The Horse and his Boy. However, it does not last long before Aslan regains his physical appearance in both books.

It is difficult for one not to understand (with all of the obvious clues) that the writer had intended Aslan to be an allusion to Jesus Christ. At one point, Lucy is scared that she would never see Aslan again, but, the lion comforts her by claiming that he is also present in her world.

Most Christian readers of the book are surely influenced in making the connection between Aslan and Jesus Christ.

However, critics can also fight the concept by claiming that people from other religions can have a totally different understanding of The Chronicles of Narnia series.

Another obvious reference to Christianity is when Aslan declares that his father is an emperor over the sea. However, even with his claim, the emperor is never present in any of the books.

Lewis has made good use of metaphors when having read the series, with certain aspects becoming visible only after intense analysis. A reason for Tolkien's disapproval of the books might be that they portray various imperfect features that society has. While religious people might consider the books to be a praise brought to Christianity, those that are not religious might feel that their children (that are the intended public for the publications) are being intoxicated with matters that confuse them.

Not only has Lewis been accused of involving religion in his books, but also of having included several other factors which might influence children in perceiving life wrongly. Racism is present in several episodes from the series with the help of the Calormenes. The people living in Calormene are described as being dark-skinned and as having a leaning to perform violence. The Calormene community is disorganized, with its rulers behaving badly to their subjects and almost all women being illiterate.

Consequent to reading the series, certain people might be inclined to believe that differentiation is good, and that people should be categorized depending on their characteristics.

A well-known British writer, Phillip Pullman, has been reported of being determined to put an end to the selling of The Chronicles of Narnia. He motivates his behavior by claiming that the books send malicious messages to the public, with the series coming in disagreement with a great number of important concepts that mankind stands for. In addition to The Chronicles of Narnia sending religious and racist messages to its readers, Pullman has also claimed that Lewis has included sexist messages in his writings.

Surprisingly, he is partly right in his statement, considering the fact that boys always appear to be superior to girls in the books. Not only do the girls take part in a smaller amount of adventures, but they also are deprived from having any of the books named after them. The battle in the end of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe has the main female characters playing small roles, with both Lucy and Susan staying behind the frontline. Lewis did not introduce a good supernatural female role in the series, and, moreover, while the forces of good are constantly represented by a… READ MORE

How to Reference "C. S. Lewis Narnia Series" Thesis in a Bibliography

Related Thesis Papers:

C. S. Lewis Reading Mere Christianity Term Paper

Lewis Christianity

Creation, Evil and Science in Christian Faith

Christianity is based on certain principles of unbending faith. Within these principles are a wide variance of interpretations and approaches to… read more

Term Paper 8 pages (2889 words) Sources: 4 Style: APA Topic: Religion / God / Theology

---

C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity Term Paper

Christianity

A resurgence of interest in the C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia series has led to several new movies, TV specials and reprinting of the authors' works. Enjoyed by all… read more

Term Paper 2 pages (710 words) Sources: 1 Style: MLA Topic: Religion / God / Theology

---

Children's Literature Author Study Term Paper

Children's Literature: Author Study

Most children are well acquainted today with the series the Narnia Chronicles, written by CS Lewis. Born on November 29, 1898, in Belfast Ireland, Clive Staples… read more

Term Paper 5 pages (2120 words) Sources: 3 Topic: Literature / Poetry

---

Good Versus Evil Essay

Good vs. Evil

Although C.S. Lewis' the "Chronicles of Narnia" might be considered by some surface readers to be little more than child's literature intended to do little more than… read more

Essay 2 pages (665 words) Sources: 0 Topic: Religion / God / Theology

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>