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Katherine Loveday

Westwood

Starting Points

January 15, 2013=

The Narnian Worldview

This is the land of Narnia,' said the Faun, 'where we are now; all that lies between the lamp-post and the great castle of Cair Paravel on the eastern sea. - C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

One of the greatest fictional worlds ever created is portrayed in C.S Lewis series, The Chronicles of Narnia. The purpose of this essay is to bring to light the similarities between our world and Narnia, while revealing some of C.S. Lewis own personal worldview. The points described will be supported by events that occurred in C.S. Lewis renowned childrens novels.

What is Aslan like? The description throughout the series, beautiful and terrible, truly is the perfect way to reflect His overall nature. He is the Creator of

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Narnia, the Mediator, the Savior, and the Leader. But, He is also the Judge, the Just Punisher, and the Intolerant One. Aslan is the representation of everything that is infallibly right. This is revealed when the Pevensies were at the beavers dam: They ask if He is safe. The animals laugh out loud. Safe? No, He is not safe. He is not a tame lion. Seeing the children go pale with fear, they quickly add, But He is good.

What is the world of Narnia like? Narnia is a beautiful land with the potential to always prosper, if the people are wise and have good hearts. However, when temptation is placed before the weak heart, chaos ensues.

Narnia is a redundant place, so to speak. It has periods of prosperity, with nothing but delight, until someones own selfish desires cause them to make unwise decisions, resulting in a time of poverty and fear. But, already having known these events would occur, Aslan creates an escape, choosing willing people to fulfill His promises. The prophecy from the second book illustrates this: Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight, At the sound of His roar, sorrows will be no more. When He bares his teeth, winter meets its death. And when He shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.

What is the cause of evil and suffering in the land of Narnia? Sin and selfishness cast the land into darkness countless times over during C.S. Lewis tales. Everything that had gone wrong was the result of an ignorant, stupid or evil action by a person or

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animal. In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, C.S. Lewis describes ignorance using the magician talking about the Duffers: "A few months ago they were all for washing up the plates and knives before dinner: they said it saved time afterwards. I've caught them planting boiled potatoes to save cooking them when they were dug up. One day the cat got into the dairy and twenty of them were at work moving all the milk out; no one thought of moving the cat."

History takes an extremely apparent role in The Chronicles of Narnia. It appears in the great tales of the conquests of Narnian nobles and heroes, and also in the form of prophecy. Many of the events that took place in Narnia seemed to have been predetermined from the dawn of time. Aslan had already experienced history; only people had to wait to find out what it meant.

Finally, the parallels in Narnia and todays society are not to be taken lightly. We should be able to apply them to our daily lives, to learn from the Narnians mistakes instead of making them. C.S. Lewis world is not only enjoyable, it is also an allegorical look at the daily choices we as humans face. Good or evil is determined by what we choose each day. Of course God gave us the right choice in Deuteronomy 30:19: This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live. If we follow this advice we will rewarded with goodness and life!

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Works Cited

Lewis, C.S. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Geoffrey Bles, 1950. Print.

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Lewis, C.S. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Geoffrey Bles, 1952. Print.