...C. S. Lewis, or "Jack", as he was known to friends and family, was born Clive Staples Lewis on November 29, 1898, in Belfast, Ireland. His father, Albert Lewis, was a successful lawyer. Albert and Flora Lewis brought up their two sons in a Protestant household. Warren was Lewis's older brother, and the two were very close. The family home was affectionately nicknamed "Little Lea", and was a treasure trove of books in which Lewis' imagination blossomed. The stability and happiness of Lewis's childhood, however, was shattered by his mother's death in 1908 from abdominal cancer. Lewis was nine years old at the time. The death of Lewis's mother proved incredibly influential on the development of the writer's commitment to Christianity. Just prior to her death, Flora gave each of her sons a parting gift: a Bible, inscribed with a message of her love. Lewis, however, reacted to the gift with anger and grief, and became an atheist. In 1914, at the age of 16, he moved to southern England and came under the tutelage of William T. Kirkpatrick. Kirkpatrick was a former headmaster, a rationalist, and a humanist; in Kirkpatrick, Lewis found a tutor and role model, and learned to discipline himself in writing and reason. Lewis was admitted to University College at Oxford, and in 1917 he volunteered for active combat in France. He returned to his studies in 1919. Lewis ultimately graduated with top honors in literature, philosophy, and history. He was subsequently elected to the prestigious...
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...Robin Hobb’s Assassin’s Apprentice and The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien clearly conform to the conventions of the fantasy genre in a number of ways. The main elements of fantasy are discussed in relation to the two texts, with examples provided. This essay will discuss several of the core characteristics of fantasy literature, including the concepts of magic, otherworlds, good vs. evil, heroism, special character types and talking animals. These characteristics of literature are all identified in the two texts, Assassin’s Apprentice by Hobb and The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. Fantasy, as a genre of literature, is a story or series of stories, which exhibits certain definable elements that make the plot unreal and challenge the reader to suspend disbelief. There are many of these unreal elements, which feature in the fantasy genre. These unreal elements vary from mythical beasts roaming an imagined world to Earth-like natural settings in which animals take on human characteristics. There are also clearly recognizable conventions of fantasy, such as toys coming to life, miniature humans, magical powers, and time-warp stories. A fantasy novel would usually encompass more than one of these unreal elements. However, a fantasy story needs to possess only one of these unreal features in order to be classified as a part of the fantasy genre. Put simply, a fantasy story is one with at least one element that cannot be found in the human world. Magic is the most basic element of fantasy;...
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...Humans to Suffer? 2 Pain is Inevitable 2 Humans Seek Personal Pleasure 3 Why Does God Allow Bad Things to Happen? 4 Free Will 4 God’s Authentic Love 5 The Purpose for Suffering 6 Draws Man to God 6 Repentance 7 Conclusion 9 Bibliography 10 Pain and Suffering in the Christian Experience There are numerous schools of thought in regards to why humans suffer. Christians question why a loving God allows bad things happen to His people. They wonder how sufferings in the life of a Christian can possibly build faith. These ideas will be explored through the life and works of theologian and scholar, C. S. Lewis. Answers will be sought through the examination of Lewis’s personal experiences, his theological studies and his fictional writings. This paper will prove that human pain and suffering is essential in the Christian experience by examining the reasons human suffer, why God does not intervene to prevent suffering, and how pain and suffering might build faith and draw people closer to God. The reality that Christians, who devote their lives to God suffer, is a source of angst for many. As humans develop, they assimilate every experience and thought they have had into the way they view and interpret the world around them. Every person in this world experiences pain and suffering at different levels including physical, emotional and spiritual...
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...Sonia Del Hierro Ethics 10/29/2012 The Screwtape Letters C.S. Lewis’s novel is about a man who finds happiness and meaning in life through Christianity, and, in the end, gains salvation and the presence of God upon his soul. And yet, Lewis tells this story as if it ends terribly and only gets worse from the beginning. Screwtape, a wise, elder demon corresponds, in thirty-one letters, with his young apprentice nephew, Wormwood; he gives him advice about how to go about stealing the soul of a British man from his first conversion to his redemption. Lewis raises major ethical points by fleshing out the mistakes and every day succumbing to sin of Christians. Lewis gives more than a few examples of this ordinary everyday Christian man giving into the temptation of sin, without even knowing it; thus, giving an extremely real insight to the reader’s own life and the decisions they, themselves, make. From judging people based off looks in his second letter to praying in his third letter to worrying about the future in his fifteenth letter, Screwtape endorses the very things the reader recognizes in his or her own actions in a scary, ‘is-there-a-demon-behind-me’ kind of way. Lewis points out major flaws in the Church on several different occasions, but one in which the “Church of England might have become a positive hotbed of charity and humility” (85) had it not been for the demons’ relentless labor to oppose such outcomes. Screwtape tells Wormwood that if he cannot keep his...
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...The Time Of Narnia Sam Duncan . C.S. Lewis had a very happy and carefree childhood. Thankfully, his only little problem was people persistantly called him C.S. Lewis but he really wanted to be called Jack. He lived in a huge house in the town of Belfast, which is in Ireland. Jack and his older brother Warren spent their time romping around in their beautiful garden outside the house. When they were not out, Jack was in the library happily reading. This might not have been as happy and carefree to most people, but Jack loved it. Even though Jack had a happy childhood, his happiness came to an end. Tragiclly, his mother sadly passed away after being very ill in 1908. As if that was not bad enough, Jack and Warren had to go away to boarding school in England only a month after their mother's death. Jack hated this school because all of...
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...“I have one good reason why you should you walk away from temptation right now. One reason: God.Is.Better”- Francis Chan. The Screwtape Letters written by C.S.Lewis is a book about a devil named Screwtape and his nephew Wormwood. Screwtape writes letters to Wormwood to help him tempt his patient into doubting God. Lewis demonstrates that Satan introduces humans to distraction and doubt using devious but subtle tactics so that people fall farther from God. Satan diverts humankind from the Holy Spirit making humans seek the world instead of God. “It is funny how mortals always picture us as putting things into their minds:in reality our best work is done by keeping things out.”(p.16) Screwtape encouraged Wormwood to mislead the patient...
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...The Screwtape Letters Approach Paper I. The Screwtape Letters by C.S Lewis is filled Lewis’ classic satirist style of writing. Lewis uses The Screwtape Letters to contrast his Christian views with a Non-Christian outlook, thus requires those who read the marvelous book to dig deep into our inner most thoughts and realize the true power of the Devil. The two main characters in the book are Uncle Screwtape and Wormwood, Screwtape’s nephew. Throughout the book Screwtape tries to twist Wormwood thinking with the demonic thoughts; such as if one was to win an award instead of being happy about yourself, one will become prideful and boastful. II. Uncle Screwtape: Manipulative, Twisted, Persistent Wormwood: Naïve, Mute, Student III. 1. Why does Screwtape see a relationship with God so “unfathomable?” 2. What are Screwtape’s views on war and why does he appreciate war and fear it at the same time? 3. How does the relationship of Wormwood and Screwtape change throughout the book? IV. “Humour is for them the all-consoling and (mark this) the all-excusing, grace of life. Hence, it is invaluable as a means of destroying shame. If a man simply lets others pay for him, he is 'mean,' but if he boasts of it in a jocular manner and twits his fellows with having been scored off, he is no longer 'mean' but a comical fellow. Mere cowardice is shameful; cowardice boasted of with humourous exaggerations and grotesque gestures can be passed off as funny. Cruelty is shameful --...
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...Joseph Bell. * He tried his own hand as a detective most notably in the cases of George Edalji and Oscar Slater. “Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.” Emily Brontë * On December 19, 1848, Emily Brontë died of tuberculosis * She was the only one of the Brontë children to be given a middle name. * Emily worked as a governess and a schoolteacher. * Emily went to a school for clergymen’s kids when she was six with her three older sisters. However the two oldest died due to the harsh conditions at the “school”. “If he loved you with all the power of his soul for a whole time, he couldn’t love you as much I do in a single day.” C.S Lewis * Between 1931 and 1962 he published 34 books. * He developed an interest in modern languages, mastering French, German, and Italian. * His first major work, The Pilgrim's Regress (1933), was about his own spiritual journey to Christian faith. * His death, which occurred on November 22, 1963—the same day President Kennedy was assassinated. “You...
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...The story is written by the famous C.S Lewis, who is a well-known British novelist, born in Belfast in 1898 and he passed away in Oxford 1963. C.S. Lewis is not just known for his novels but also for his Christian essayistic, which was a literary theory. One of the main themes in the story, in my opinion, is courage because I believe Lucy is a symbol for that. Even though she is the smallest of the kids she is the one that chooses to go through the wardrobe for the first time. I’m quite sure that I wouldn’t have the guts to try walking through the wardrobe if I ever had the chance. And that kind of courage is also something that characterizes Aslan – he is Narnia’s savior and if he is supposed to be that, he also needs to be courageous. I guess that Lucy is about 7-10 years old, because of how she acts. We also know that she is the youngest of the siblings, whom we see on page 24 line 22: “Who was the youngest”. On page 27 line 33, it says: “He was only a little taller than Lucy herself”, and I interpret that to mean that Lucy isn’t very tall. As told before I think that Lucy is very courageous, but she also has a kid’s innocence. Lucy is a bit afraid of the professor in the start, because of his odd look, and I guess that it’s not just the professors look that frightens her, but also the fact that she has been sent away from her beloved mother because of the war. Lucy also seems to be a bit of a conflict-averse which we see on page 24 line 38: “Hadn’t we all better go to...
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...The Value of Literature Literature can be used to place value on a wide span of topics. From books that may break our hearts to one’s that make us laugh uncontrollably. Even though literature is only written in words, it is our imagination that makes those words come to reality, by the way we see the words in our imaginations. Whatever literature that is read, it is in the perspective of the author and you are reading through the lens of the writer. Philip Marchand said “Not to understand the disposition of things is the fate of children or slaves. Imaginative literature is the race's best tool for acquiring such understanding. This is the childishness and slavishness in the soul of someone who cannot respond to great literature.” Marchand talks about how our imagination is one of the most important tools that an individual can have. Ultimately, with the way literature uses up the creativity side of the brain, it truly helps expand our imagination. From a very young age, many of us were introduced to books with big pictures and little words. These simple little books were meant to teach us the names of colours, the alphabet and what noise animals made. While continuing to grow older, individuals starts to explore more genres of literature to find what they enjoy. For example, in the last couple years of high school, I have really gotten into the horror/mystery genres of book which is the reason I chose The Shining as my ISU novel. The fact that I had read The Shining before...
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...System Analysis Design for a Library System CS200 Fundamentals of Information Technology Module 1 Assignment 2 System Analysis Design for a Library System Suppose you are helping to develop a library system for your community. Here is a brief description of various scenarios using this library system. • Bob wanted to become a member at his local library. He went in and filled out an application form with his name, address, phone number, and driver's license number and gave it to the librarian, Alice. Alice logged into the system with her id and created a new membership for Bob. She then provided Bob with his new library card, and a login and password to his account. • Bob wanted to borrow two novels by C.S. Lewis, but he couldn’t remember their names. He used one of the computers at the library to search for the books by using the author's name. He found the titles he wanted, which were “The Chronicles of Narnia” and "The Space Trilogy". The first book was shown as available, and the second book was shown as out on loan. • Using his new login and password, Bob logged into his account and requested the book "The Space Trilogy" in order to recall it, so that when the book was returned it would be held for him at the library. • Bob then went to the stacks and found the book "The Chronicles of Narnia" on the shelf, and waited in line at the desk to check it out. He presented his ID card, and checked out the book with the librarian. • Before leaving the library...
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...VISITING NARNIA Narnia is the magical land C.S. Lewis conjured up for millions to visit and enjoy imagination filled adventures. The reason Narnia is popular is because it’s relatable. There are many similarities between our world and the world of Narnia. Both contain a God who is good and loving and cares for His people. Both worlds were created, evil and suffering exist amongst them, and each records historical and important events. Perhaps the most obvious likeness these worlds possess is having a God. What is the God of Narnia like? In Narnia God is represented by a powerful lion named Aslan. Aslan, much like the true God, is a creator; he creates Narnia and deems it good....
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...Looking at “The Great Divorce” C.S. Lewis is a wonderful writer who manages to place the supernatural with the spiritual in a single book. In his book, The Great Divorce, Lewis again puts the divine in a setting that would be more appropriate to a fantasy or other work of extreme fiction. This paper shall provide a summary of this book, followed by a personal response to it. The reader will come away from this paper with the knowledge of both The Great Divorce as well as my personal feelings towards this book. The Great Divorce is at its most basic level the quest of a single person through both heaven and hell. The reader could easily make a comparison between this theme and the works of Dante, but in Lewis’ book the reader sees more humor and more realistic occurrences. For example, the narrator enters into the gate to heaven and hell when he steps aboard an ordinary city bus. The book begins with a sad person – the narrator – who is walking in a very evil city. The narrator looks around and sees that everyone in this city is suffering in some way. He then gets on the bus and finds that all the passengers are ghosts. However, as the bus comes close to heaven, these ghosts once more become people and the land becomes less evil. When the narrator steps from the bus he finds that the landscape is very real and because of this he is physically hurt. Yet the ghosts are allowed to pass through this land in order to reach a city that is apparently Heaven. When...
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...a magic wardrobe (Tolson 4). Though only rudimentary concepts at their formation, the ideas that these two men had at the time would eventually morph into some of the most popular stories of our age and shape the way people think about life. C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, two of the most brilliant authors to ever impact the world of fantasy literature, share several defining qualities in their early lives, careers, ideas, and lasting impacts. J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis lived fairly similar yet individual childhoods. The two young authors started out in comparatively alike situations. On January 3rd, 1892, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa (Collins 10), and six years later on November 29th Clive Staples Lewis was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland (Davenport 21). Both boys’ families included British parents and brothers; John's brother Arthur was two years younger (Collins 12) while Clive's brother Warren was three years older (Davenport 21). However, Tolkien seemed to live in a more affectionate household. While the Tolkiens showed obvious joy in the arrival of their son John, or Ronald as they called him, and raised him around loving relatives in their home in Birmingham, England (Collins 12), Clive, or "Jack" as he coined as a child (Davenport 25), grew up in a rather unaffectionate household with parents quite cold and distant towards each other...
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...Analytical Essay – “Why Are Americans Afraid Of Dragons?” This essay is about Ursula Le Guin’s text: “Why are Americans afraid of dragons?”. The theme is about the phenomenon fantasy, and the importance of being allowed to use ones imagination as a child, as well as an adult. Throughout the text, she uses poor argumentation as to why reading fantasy is important. But still her argumentations makes sense, are trustworthy and entertaining. The reason why I categorize it as poor but entertaining and trustworthy is that she doesn’t use a variety of argumentation types. She uses pathos throughout the whole text with some experiences of her own to back up some of her points. Her overall claim in her text is that reading fantasy feeds the imagination, and therefore one doesn’t crave poor TV series and porn as examples, as an adult. Also that proper feeding of one’s imagination in an early age through fantasy books has a positive impact in one’s adult life. But why aren’t there more adults reading fantasy then? That question gives birth to Le Guin’s question and title of her text “Why Are Americans Afraid Of Dragons?”. Le Guin’s text appeal to the adult readers, as to why they should read fantasy or fiction for that matter, and that immersing in a good fantasy or novel shouldn’t be something taboo in the American society. She states that many Americans are not only antifantasy, but antifictional altogether. She also claims that men in modern society aren’t allowed to read fantasy...
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