The Pop Pirate

Looking back on The Chronicles

*Warning: book spoilers ahead*

I just finished reading The Chronicles of Narnia for the first time. It certainly lives up to it's success, and I might say exceeds my expectations.

I was first taken aback at Lewis's charming and non-consecending tone. It is very expressive, yet very easy and fast to read. The conversational turns of phrase make the prose accessable while grounding the reader by reminding that this is a story.

The individual books are a bit hit and miss. The Magicians Nephew, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Last Battle were my favorites. A Horse and His Boy, and Voyage of the Dawn Treader were tedious at points, and didn't do much to further the plot of the overall story- especially Horse, being the only book in the series that didn't involve anyone from our world.

The allegory aspect is amazing. As you no doubt know, Aslan is the "Christ" of Narnia. He sacrifices himself to save Narnia, and shows up at the opportune moment to show the main characters the path. Strictly speaking, he's not a symbol of Christ, as he is actually the very same entity as our Jesus, and Aslan is the form and name he is known by in Narnia. This is an interesting approach, and could easily lead one to use the books as Sunday School lessons (if one were inclined to do such a thing).

I was especially enthralled with the allegory/satire of The Last Battle. The ape Shift, along with his fake Aslan, enslave the people and talking beasts of Narnia, in a shocking parallel to the 19th century Philosophers that linked slave mentality with the workings of the Church. Shift convinces Narnia that they have been bad, and that Aslan is making them work for punishment. He trots out his fake Aslan (a donkey in costume) by the cover of night, and convinces the populace that they are unworthy of talking to him directly, and that he must be the intermediary.

This is a scathing attack on any member of the clergy who believes that they are necessary for a relationship with the divine. It is clear to the reader that the real Aslan is not aloof, but very personal, and this parallel Lewis makes clear. And the attitude of the Dwarfs (that if Shift's Aslan is fake, how can I believe in yours) is a beautiful comment on skepicism.

Anyway, I think I've waxed literary for long enought. The point is: I am now really looking forward to the movie this fall.

posted by Jeff @ 6:59 PM