Travis Fessler

Mr. Dever

English 112

March 3 2016

A Hidden Agenda: Is Narnia Encouraging Christianity In Children?

We seldom realize, for example that our most private thoughts and emotions are not actually our

own. For we think in terms of languages and images which we did not invent, but which were

given to us by our society. - Alan Watts

As renowned philosopher Alan Watts explains, humans are often significantly affected by the

ideas introduced to them by peers and society as a whole. Most would agree that this fact

remains true today, as modern influences like the news, television, and social media now play a

huge role in the average citizens day-to-day life. While the majority of people have recognized

the power that these sources have, few choose to truly acknowledge the power of writing.

Perhaps the best example of the extreme influence that writing can have would be the Bible,

which has been estimated to have sold over 5 million copies throughout the world. (Best Selling

Book of Nonfiction 1) This one book changed the lifestyle of millions of people throughout the

course of its existence, and has spread a religion that has impacted our world's history. Highly

respected British author and christian apologetic C.S Lewis also used writing as a tool to endorse

his religious ideology. C.S Lewis, also known as Clive Staples Lewis, was born in Belfast,

Ireland on November 29th, 1898 and would grow up to be one of the most influential writers of

the 20th century. Lewis began his career as a boarding school student who abandoned his

Christian faith after having to to leave college due to respiratory problems and having his mother

pass away at a young age. He was later granted scholarships for the University College of
Oxford but enlisted in the British Army. After being discharged because of an injury, he was

appointed English Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford where he tutored English literature. It

was here that Lewis met his friend and colleague, J.R.R Tolkien, and converted to theism, which

lasted for two years before he converted back to Christianity. In the next few years, Lewis

published multiple Christian works including: The Problem of Pain, Mere Christianity, and The

Screwtape Letters. It was not until almost a decade later that Lewis would publish the The Lion,

The Witch, and The Wardrobe, the first book in The Chronicles of Narnia- a story about a

fictional world with talking beasts ruled by a white witch. The series would go on to sell millions

of copies worldwide and be transformed into major motion pictures. While many would argue

that Narnia, Lewiss most successful work of literature, is just another classical description of the

battle between the forces of good and evil, it is actually an introduction to the story of the bible,

masterfully crafted to be understood and accepted by children.

C.S Lewis purposefully introduced Christian stories, symbols, and themes into the Chronicles

of Narnia in an effort to make children more likely to accept Christianity. In The Magician's

Nephew, the first book of the series (had they been published in chronological order), two

children, Digory and Polly, are brought to a wood between the worlds by a magic ring they

obtained from Digorys Uncle Andrew. They enter a world by jumping into one of many pools

that appear in the forest and are brought to a place full of statue people. The kids also find a bell

and hammer with an inscription encouraging the finder to strike the bell. This theme of

temptation is also present in many parts of the Bible. Despite Pollys protests, Digory strikes the

bell and awakens a witch queen who calls herself Jadis. Sensing her evil nature, the children try

to escape with the magic rings but realize that they have brought the witch to england with them.

As the witch wreaks havoc in their city, the children confront her and are able to teleport her out
of the city; unfortunately they also bring their Uncle Andrew, a cab driver, and the drivers horse.

After they jump into the same pool, they are teleported once again, but not to the witchs world

as they anticipated. As the new world they are in is ------, Jadis concludes that the group is in a

universe not yet created, but they soon witness a world being created by a lion named Aslan, who

is singing plants, animals, and life into existence. Any Christian should quickly realize that this

description of Narnias creation is shockingly similar to the Bibles story of Genesis, where God

is said to have created all material objects by saying phrases like, Let there be light (Genesis 1:

The Creation 1). Jadis tries to hurt the lion with a iron rod but escapes after it bounces off

harmlessly, a confrontation incorporated to symbolize evil entering the world. While at first these

similarities appear to be arguably coincidental, the idea is dismissed quickly after the events that

follow. Aslan the lion approaches Digory and confronts him for bringing evil into his young

world, telling him that in order to atone for his mistake, he must travel to a garden in the

mountains and retrieve an apple to plant in Narnia that will protect the land from the witchs evil.

When Digory arrives to the garden, he sees a sign warning everyone not to steal from the garden.

He picks an apple for his mission but is overwhelmed by its tempting smell. He then stumbles

across Jadis, who has eaten one of the apples to become immortal and convinces Digory to do

the same. This is clearly supposed to be a representation of the Bibles Garden of Eden, where

Adam and Eve were forbidden to eat the fruit, but were tempted by the evil serpent.

The second and most well known book, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (the first one

to be published), is set several hundred years after The Magician's Nephew, telling the story of

four english siblings, Peter, Edmund, Susan and Lucy, who enter the world of Narnia through a

wardrobe that belonged to professor Digory, the children's uncle and the same character from the

previous book. Lewiss retelling of the bible story continues in this part of the series, particularly
focusing on the crucification of Jesus. After Edmund follows his younger sister Lucy in Narnia,

where she claims to have met a talking faun named Tumnus, he is confronted by Jadis, now

commonly known as the White Witch, who has maintained an evil rule over Narnia. The theme

of temptation returns when Jadis tells Edmund that she will make him heir to throne if he brings

her his siblings and says that he-----. Later on in the story, when all the siblings have made their

way into Narnia, they meet up with a talking beaver who proves to be a friend and make their

way to his home for safety. Literary critics often note Lewis technique of using small children

and animals to further appeal to children and make his overall religious message more innocent.

When they arrive to the beavers house (a large beaver dam), the children are informed of a

prophecy that states that the arrival of two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve will

cause Jadiss power to fail. The Beavers also tell them of rumors of Aslan being on the move in

Narnia. As they listen to the story, Edmund sneaks out of the house and runs to the White Witchs

castle. The siblings realize Edmund has betrayed them and they go off to seek Aslan in a perilous

race against Jadis, for she seeks to capture the siblings before they reach him. The children safely

arrive to Aslans camp and a rescue party is arranged for Edmund. The rescue is successful but

the witch arrives to the camp under truce and declares that under deep magic from the dawn of

time she has the right to execute Edmund for being a traitor. Aslan speaks with her privately and

she leaves peacefully but the girls (Susan and Lucy) see Aslan sneak off later that night and

decide to follow him. They watch as Aslan is publicly shamed as he walks through a crowd of

the witchs underling until they eventually tie him to a stone table, shave and muzzle him, and

the witch precedes to kill him. The girls learn that Aslan has sacrificed himself for Edmund,

freeing him of his punishment. This is clearly an allegory for Jesus sacrificing himself for the

sins of man. While some may argue that an honorable sacrifice is present in many stories and
that not every one of them is symbolical for the death of Jesus, the evidence only becomes more

concrete. After the Witchs army leaves to kill any of Aslans followers, the girls approach

Aslans body and weep. As they go to walk away, the stone table breaks and Aslan appears, alive

and well, explaining to the girls of a deeper magic from before the dawn of time that will

resurrect an innocent killed in place of a traitor. This is parallel to the Bibles story of Jesuss

resurrection, which depicts Mary Magdalene and other women (represented by Susan and Lucy)

arriving to Jesuss tomb to find the door moved and an angel that announces Jesus revival.

The final book of the series, The Last Battle, also continues the trend of telling the story of

the Bible- the coming of the antichrist and the revelation in particular. The story presents an ape

named shift who persuaded a donkey to dress in a lions skin and campaign as the Great Lion

Aslan. In an essay on a similar topic, write Dominique Wilson notes that, In Christian art and

literature, the ape is usually viewed negatively. Often represented with a mirror in its hand, it

symbolizes... humankind sunk to the animal level because of vices, particularly the mortal sins of

greed, lust and vanity (all characteristics of Lewiss Antichrist figure, Shift) (Wilson 176). This

explains Lewiss use of an ape as its symbolism soon comes into play. After Shift uses his

artificial Aslans influence to lead everyone against the current king of Narnia and the whole land

goes into chaos. Shift is consumed by an evil god and Aslan, along with Peter, Edmund, and

Lucy all appear to bear witness to the end of the narnian world. All the inhabitants appear to be

judged by Aslan at a barn in which the last battle was fought near, with its stable being the

location of the evil god who consumed shift. Peter banishes the god, Tash, back to his realm and

the stable is used as a portal to the new Narnia for those who were faithful to Aslan. Wilson also

acknowledges that Lewiss intentions in using the stable door as the entry to the New Narnia

(heaven) come to light when Lucy comments on the fact that In our world too, a stable once had
something inside it that was bigger than our whole world (Wilson 176). This conclusion to the

series is obviously comparable to Christian theories of being judged by God before entering

Heaven, further evidence of this is presented in The Last Battle when Aslan tells a curious Lucy,

Have you not guessed? There was a real railway accident, Aslan said softly. Your father

and mother and all of you are as you used to call it in the Shadowlands dead. The term is

over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning. And as He spoke He no

longer looked to them like a lion (Lewis 183).

Scholars and critics often take a formalist approach and believe Narnia stands on its own as a

story and was not intentionally religious. While the idea seems enthralling, it is usually dismissed

by those who are knowledgeable about C.S Lewis and his works. Lewis was heavily impacted by

literature as well, One volume, Phantastes, powerfully challenged his atheism. What it actually

did to me, wrote Lewis, was to convert, even to baptize ... my imagination (Olsen 1). Lewis,

whether it was a goal he was conscious of or not, aimed to match this sort of influence. C.S

Lewiss books like Mere Christianity, Miracles, and The Screwtape Letters obviously show his

eagerness to spread his Christian ideals, so why would it be strange for him to continue to spread

Christianity in The Chronicles of Narnia, only to a much younger audience? Suppositional

retellings of the significant events told in the Bible like Jesuss sacrifice, resurrection, and the

judgement of God after death, all found throughout the Narnia series, are unarguable examples of

Lewis introducing children to Christianity. Once people begin to realize the influential power

that works like Narnia or the Bible have over people, will they give gravitas to the truth that the

pen is mightier than the sword -Edward Bulwer-Lytton (Gee 1).

OLSEN, TED. "C.S. Lewis." Christian History 19.1 (2000): 26. Academic OneFile. Web. 10
Mar.
2016.

http://cslewis.drzeus.net/papers/lion-witch-allegory/

http://www.churchesofgod.info/article-chronicles-of-narnia-c-s-lewis

https://sydney.academia.edu/DominiqueBethWilson - downlaoded paper - awesome info

http://www.enotes.com/topics/chronicles-narnia

"Best Selling Book of Non-fiction." N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2016

Quotes About Power Of Words. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2016.

"Genesis 1: The Creation." Genesis 1: The Creation. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2016.

"Into the Wardrobe." - a C. S. Lewis Website. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2016.

Wilson, Dominique. "Christianity in Narnia." N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2016.

Gee, Alison. "Who First Said "The Pen Is Mightier than the Sword"" BBC, n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2016.