Criticism Essay on the Narnia Series
Essay title: Criticism Essay on the Narnia Series
In this story, it’s the adventures of three young children that find a wardrobe to a new land. This land, however, is under the evil spell of a witch and she leaves the land in internal winter. Accompanied by friends they make and the lion (the king of the forest), they will vanquish the witch forever.
There are many allegories in this story and many representations of Christianity. I have enjoyed reading the books and I have been enlightened reading the critic books. However, the critic books influenced me in thinking some of my own and so I have added on to what I think Lewis was trying to refer just for the purpose of the situation.
Critics have said that each of the seven novels in “The Chronicles of Narnia” addresses one of the seven deadly sins. It is certainly the case that “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,” I realized has the sin of gluttony. Edmund is in the Witchs spell and gets manipulated with Turkish Delights. Since this is enchanted Turkish Delight, Edmund cannot be responsible for his gluttony. The real sin occurs when Edmund allows himself to be dependent
on the Turkish Delight long after he leaves the Witch. Edmunds gluttony of the Turkish Delight may also be a referred to the sin of Adam and Eve, when they ate from the Tree of Knowledge. Adam and Eve also committed a sin of gluttony, and God punishes them as well. The Turkish delight, I see them as the apple on the tree of knowledge, both looking so good, but terribly evil on the inside. I also see a second sin, one that the critics have not, I see manipulation. The Witch manipulates Edmund to get what she wants, knowing he will ask for more candy. She is using him to get to his brother and sisters.
Edmund is a traitor and his life is forfeit to the White Witch, just like any sinners life is forfeit to Satan after death. The White Witch is not an exact representation of Satan. However she may be a servant of Satan. The Witch claims the lives of all Narnians who sin against
her rules referring to Satans claim of the souls of sinners. Not everything in Narnia directly parallels the story of Jesus, but the similarities are quite obvious to me. Aslan sacrifices his life to save Edmund, just like Christ gave his life to save mankind. Through Aslans death, Edmunds sin is erased, and Edmund is allowed to live, just like mankind is allowed to live now that Jesus sacrificed himself to save us. In the critic, they say Aslan is representing Christ and I see he makes a deal with the Witch. Now, I don’t know if Lewis is trying to say that Christ made a deal with the devil to save us from him steeling our souls, but that is what I see, since Edmund, to me, represents mankind. He is imperfect and makes mistakes.
The Witch puts an enchantment in the land of Narnia, an eternal winter, symbolizing a dead, stagnant time. Nothing grows, animals hibernate, and people crouch around fires rather than enjoying the outdoors. We can imagine how quickly an eternal winter would become intolerable. The Witchs winter destroys the beauty and the life in Narnia. The woods are blanketed in snow and the waterfalls are frozen. The season of winter represents that Narnia has fallen under an evil regime. As snow falls, so does the land of Narnia. The Witchs snow hides all traces of Aslan or the Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea. Well critics really see winter as a harmful, awful season, when I see it like a season of rest. Where everything and everyone is building up energy for next summer, where they’re going to be working hard. I see it as a time of year where everything has time to hibernate. Well then I see the white Witch probly did this, in this fashion because she didn’t want all the animals to rebel, they can’t rebel when they’re sleeping. In brief, she made it easier for her to take control. If winter is eternal, then the people that rest can’t go back to work, so they go under her power, hoping for Aslan to come back.
In the allegory of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, we know that Aslan represents Christ. Aslans death to save Edmunds life is an obvious passage of Christ’s life. However Lewis made sure not only to put in the death of Jesus but also his resurrection. Aslan comes back to life in this story making it clear to the reader that it refers to Christ’s life. Lewiss novel makes changes to the figure of Aslan that makes him more accessible to children than the Christ they learn about in church. The very shift from a man to a lion is quite significant. Christ is a human being, which is confusing, particularly for a child. The beauty of the figure of