Example research essay topic: C S Lewis Childrens Literature - 1,805 words

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The God Question in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe C. S. Lewis Narnia tales rank alongside Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings as epic stories where good and evil battle to the end in a setting where magical events occur. Unlike Tolkien, however, Lewis was a committed Christian who firmly believed that Christianity provided many of the answers to the problems of the world. This paper seeks to examine the relevance of Lewis ideas in a world that is largely atheistic. Can Christianity provide explanations for things science cannot?

Also, what is the relevance of the role that literature can play in the process of creating belief systems? In an essay comparing Lewis belief system with that of Freud, Harvard professor Armand Nichols theorizes that the two famous thinkers each represent an alternative system of thought, and that these thoughts are often at odds against each other: Lewis and Freud also talked about the existence of an intelligence beyond the universe; Freud said "No, " Lewis said "Yes. " Their viewpoints led them to discuss the problem of miracles in an age of science. Freud claimed miracles contradict everything we have learned through empirical observation; they do not really occur. However, Lewis would ask, "How do we know they don't occur?

If there is any evidence, the philosophy that you bring to that evidence determines how you interpret it. " So, according to Lewis, we need to understand whether our philosophy excludes miracles and colors our interpretation of the evidence (Section 2, paragraph 8). According to the above passage, which is an excerpt from Nicholas article, both Lewis and Freud considered the possibility of the existence of a higher supernatural power, but came to differing conclusions about it. While Freud was convinced that such a power did not exist, Lewis was not so dismissive of the idea. Arguably, literature provides the perfect forum for the discussion of such ideas. The genre of fiction is such that it can examine both what is true and not true, in such a manner that one does not immediately have to decide whether something is true or not. First and foremost comes the enjoyment of the work itself, followed by the examination of concepts in the work.

For example, Walter Scott in his novel The Antiquary describes the sun rising over the Scottish coast. This is impossible, since the coast faces west. However, for the purposes of the story, it does not matter; we are only interested in the graphic description of a sunrise, and not in whether the event in question is possible in reality or not. While the above may be true for realistic fiction, fantasy has often suffered charges of fraudulence and escapism. When Tolkien describes elves or Lewis tells us about talking lions, such stories are immediately branded unrealistic fantasies, or worse, relegated to the non-intellectual realm of childrens literature. Childrens literature and fantasy both share the fact that neither is taken to be serious literature worthy of debating serious issues.

This paper, however, argues that perhaps it is this very lack of academic interest in its musings that such literature is liberated from having to follow intellectual agendas, and is able to freely examine through metaphor and fiction those questions that concern us most deeply as human beings. At first glance, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is a classic childrens magical story, with plenty of enchantments and battles of good versus evil thrown in for good measure. Significantly, the story was written within the context of World War II. While conservative academicians use this fact as proof that Lewis was writing an escapist fantasy to cater to the emotions of a volatile public that sought to escape the horrors of war with some light, pleasant reading, this paper seeks to prove that not only was the author deeply concerned about the events of his contemporary world, but also that he sought to examine those events and reflect on them through the forum of his fictional reality. Critics have theorized that fantasy creates a world that is alternative or parallel to the real world as we know it, and that the questions that concern us all are worked out in the context of this parallel world, as a means of solving our own problems by enabling ourselves to gain some objectivity on these issues through the lens of fantasy, which allows us to see things clearer, almost as if we were holding a mirror up to the realities of our world: The Chronicles of Narnia, a seven-volume saga for children by C. S.

Lewis, reveals a world that exists parallel to our own, populated by men and women, dwarves and talking animals, giants and mer people, centaurs and fauns, and ruled by a kind but awesomely ferocious and gigantic lion named Aslan. Lewis [] combined the three passions of his life classical mythology, medieval lore, and Christian-based philosophy to create in Narnia a microcosm of the moral struggles our own world faces. (Singleton, Section 1, paragraph 1) Describing Narnia as a microcosm of human affairs indicates that the fantasy created by Lewis is not so much fantastic, as an attempt to create a fictional space in which questions important to the writer and to the world may be examined. Of the three referents in the title of the book, perhaps the wardrobe is the most significant metaphor. It signifies something ordinary that is part of everyday reality. Most of the big questions that concern us such as the question of whether or not there is a god are usually issues that strike us the most vividly when we are confronting not obscure philosophical issues, but the everyday concerns that make us human. If a family member is ill in hospital, for example, we are tempted to pray, even if we are not otherwise religious.

It is at such moments that the validity of religious issues hits us the hardest, rather than when we are debating them in a classroom or in a scholarly or intellectual space. The wardrobe is the perfect metaphor for the manner in which theological issues play a role in our lives, also because of the manner in which Lewis describes it as a gateway to Narnia. The wardrobe is not an ordinary one. Our first glimpse of Narnia is when Lucy, when burrowing into the back of the wardrobe during a game of hide-and-seek, discovers that there are trees and a lamppost at the back of the wardrobe. Surely, this suggests that Lewis wanted to create a metaphor that implied that the gateway to deeper understanding is through ordinary, simple concerns, rather than through profound intellectual debates. Simplicity, not complexity, is the key to the truths that we seek so desperately.

We seek them in what we think are serious and aristocratic approaches to these questions, whereas the truth is all along something simple and easily understandable, able to be glimpsed by the gentlest and simplest of beings; it is not a complex web, but a simple thread of belief that will guide us towards what we seek for our peace of mind. The Narnia chronicles are almost undoubtedly a Christian allegory. We know that Lewis was interested in allegories because he wrote Pilgrims Regress in reference to what is probably the most famous allegory of all time, Bunyan's The Pilgrims Progress. Unlike Tolkien, who disliked hearing his epic work described as an allegory, Lewis seemed to encourage such a reading of the Narnia books.

Critics are agreed that many allegorical interpretations of the book can be found. For those who know to watch for it, Lewis has filled Narnia, not only with interesting characters, majestic scenery, and exciting action, but also with Christian allegory. Aslan himself represents Jesus Christ, "the lion of the tribe of Judah" (Revelation 7: 14). (Singleton, Section 2, paragraph 1) If Aslan represents Christ, as has been suggested many a time, then the White Witch represents the manner in which something that is seemingly good can actually direct us away from the path that we are seeking to follow. The kingdom of Narnia represents the kingdom of God, in which those who believe will be saved, but only after undergoing many hardships and temptations for the sake of what they believe in. Aslan is the savior of his people, just as Christ is purportedly the savior of all humankind, and the children represent his most faithful followers. Lewis also seemed to suggest that, like Gods kingdom, Narnia was the true home of the children: The Pevensie children eventually become so much at home in Narnia that they see it as their native land and this world as the place where they are visitors.

Lewis, in his books on Christian apologetics, describes the spiritual world as existing parallel to the physical one, having the quality of being, not shadowy and insubstantial as compared to physicality, but more real, more colorful, and much, much more alive. (Singleton, Section 2, paragraph 1) The world that Lewis creates is therefore an alternative to the existing world of strife. This, however, is not to suggest that the author was intending to create a world in which everything is calm and peaceful, and where things boringly stay the same. It is not heaven that Lewis is interested in, but the manner in which we harness the resources of religion to better the world for ourselves and for other people. This facet of Lewis theology is what remains the most appealing in todays atheistic world.

Ironically, even though we claim sociologically that religion is failing as an institution, most of the unrest in the world today is caused by religion; the so-called war on terror is a prime example of the manner in which religious extremism drives the politics of the world. Since this is the case, might we not surmise that the answers to the problems also lie in religious understanding? This is the theory that Lewis seems to be propagating. Steve Singleton points out that Lucy may allegorically be seen to be a disciple whose faith is built on her testimony the fact that she is a witness to impossible events, just as the disciples in the bible were witnesses to acts of miraculous distinction performed by Jesus Christ: The professor helps Peter and Susan to sort through how to receive Lucy's testimony about Narnia: if she's not a liar and she's not crazy, then logically, she must be telling the truth. This corresponds to the testimony Jesus gave about His own identify, and the testimony His follows gave about Him what Lewis elsewhere describes as the trilemma about Jesus: is He Lord, Liar, or Lunatic? (Singleton, Section 3, paragraph 3) Lucy is a good disciple she meets an innocent fawn, and something in Turns corresponds to...

Research essay sample on C S Lewis Childrens Literature