You know the drill. After you finish The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, answer the questions in the comments section below. Or, if you'd rather just share your general thoughts, that's cool too.
1) In Lewis Agonistes, author Louis Markos devotes the better part of a chapter on why the Narnia series is so effective: it works on different levels. Do you agree with this? If so, what different levels do you see going on here?
2) What was the difference between the "magic" used by the Witch versus the "magic" used by Aslan?
3) Which character did you identify with the most?
4) I'll be honest - I was a little surprised by the ending and didn't really like it the first time I read it. What did you think about the ending?
5) Anything else I failed to mention? (I get this often in interviews and roll my eyes. Feel free to roll yours if needed...)
Thanks to Sarah for keeping me on my toes and reminding me about this!
Whew these are a bit late. But better late than never!
1. I do agree with that. As a child, first reading the book, I recognized the spiritual aspect, but more than that, I saw it as a fairytale. Lucy and Susan became queens! I would pretend I was like Lucy, heading off into Narnia, seeing the battle and helping heal people, and then ruling as a queen with a name like "Sarah the Graceful" like Lucy was "Lucy the Valiant". As I got older and God became a bigger part of my life, I truly appreciated the subtle and simple complexities of the book. If you read it as an adventure you don't have to feel like there's something deeper going on. Some books it's like you know there's a thematic purpose beyond the story and as a result you don't fall in love with the story itself. It is a true testament to Lewis' genius that he could make you fall in love with the story then discover that there was more to it than you thought. Going back and reading it is like finding a purse you used to love and enjoying re-discovering the purse, then finding out that there's 20 dollars in there. With all the adventure, the spiritual allegories, and the study in people's characters (we all identify with one of the kids), Lewis truly showed his mastery and understanding of writing.
2. The White Witch didn't just call upon her dark magic to make Turkish Delight and change people into stone, she also spoke about the "Deep Magic from the Dawn of Time". She knew that traitors deserved death. But what she didn't know was "Deep Magic from Before the Dawn of Time". Her knowledge was limited, and her magic was limited. Once her wand was broken she didn't have any power. She needed something bigger than herself to do her magic. Aslan, on the other hand, didn't need anything to do his Magic. He simply breathed and her magic was broken, as in the courtyard.
3. That's a hard question. Part of me wants to say I'm like Lucy, trusting and gentle, valiant and truthful. But then another part of me wants to say I am most like Edmund, greedy and fearful, needy and lost. More practically I am very much like Mrs. Beaver, which isn't really a deep or insightful thing at all. I think I can find myself in all of the characters, which seems like a cop-out but is true. I can't say I am really like any of the characters in this particular book. As far as Narnia as a whole, I am dreadfully like Jill Pole. She is probably the character in the entirety of the series that I identify with most. Scared and disobedient and yet somehow trying to make it all right again. The scene with Aslan at the beginning of "The Silver Chair" just might be one of my favorite parts of the whole series, because I've been there.
4. I think part of me wants to close the book before I get to the very end and just have the last line read "So they lived in great joy and if ever they remembered their life in this world it was only as one remembers a dream". But the other part of me knows that I must get to the end when they come back to the world. First of all it is necessary to explore their other trips to Narnia. The ending, at least for me, brings a bit of closure. It brings you back to reality. The Pevensies had to learn, after experiencing Narnia, what it meant in this world. As a reader, Lewis takes you into Narnia and drops you off there. You feel like you are experiencing what the Pevensies are experiencing. If the book ended with them still in Narnia, I know I would almost be a little bit lost. Ok, there's this other world that's really neat. But what does that have to do with my current reality? I learned these great things about myself in this book, but they are stuck in Narnia. In taking the children out of Narnia and placing them in this world, Lewis told us it's ok to take those things we learned in Narnia and apply them to our lives in this world. He doesn't just take them out of Narnia, he takes us out of the book. While it may not be what we want, it really is a brilliant thing to do.
5. C.S. Lewis is my favorite author, and The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is one of my favorite books. I cry every time I read it, and I think it was a superb book selection.
Posted by: Sarah | December 05, 2005 at 10:26 AM