...The Masters of Fantasy Fiction Long ago, in a little house on Northmoor Road, there lived a jolly Englishman. With a pipe in his mouth and ungraded papers at his desk, he nonchalantly scribed the sentence "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit" (Collins 76). A little longer after that during a time tensioned by the exposition of World War II there lived another Englishman. Housing a family of young refugees during the blitz, he crafted a story about four young children and 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...
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...223 Other-world Fantasy Dr. Shortsleeve Call of the Wild: C.S. Lewis’s Use of Anthropomorphism In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe In C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950) Lewis introduces us to a magical new world called Narnia found on the other side of a mystical wardrobe in which time stands still. Peter, Edmund, Lucy, and Susan Pevensie, the main protagonist of the story, are children who have become caught in a unnamed war in London (presumed to be WWII), are moved far away from harms way and are forced to live with a old professor (Lewis, 7). In the old professors house they discover a magical wardrobe that leads to Narnia. The wardrobe’s supernatural characteristics were discovered early on by the youngest Pevensie Lucy (Lewis, 10). This initiation of surreal events by Lucy plays into the creative fantasy that is the world of Narnia. This sudden acceptance of fantastic events by Lucy can be compared to C.S. Lewis’s Of other Worlds: Essays and Stories (1975) in which he suggests this phenomenon to be “a special type of longing” (Of other Worlds, 30). The world of Narnia is described as a snow-covered land surrounded by immense pine forests and fragmented by streams. The geographical layout of Narnia plays an important role in the creation of the...
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...a very young age. By looking at The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe each of the readers can see that C.S. Lewis included the themes of the redemption of mankind and acceptance because it was a struggle for him to return to his faith after dealing with many difficulties in his life. “The Narnia series is said to be Lewis’s most famous work of his lifetime,”Clive Staples Lewis was born in Belfast, Ireland, on November 29, 1898. He lived with his mother Florence Augusta Lewis, father Albert James Lewis, and older brother Warren on the outskirts of Belfast. When Lewis was a toddler he would say that his name was Jack, but the only people who called him this were close friends and family (Bio.com). He got his nickname from his first dog Jacksie that died...
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...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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...the process. Despite being written during patriarchal Jacobean society, Lady Macbeth is a female protagonist. Throughout the play, through Lady Macbeth's actions we are forced to believe that she is evil. In contrast, in the novel John Steinbeck tells a story of dreams, hopes and loneliness. We are introduced to a majorly significant and complex character, named Curley’s wife. Steinbeck shows us that Curley’s wife is flirtatious, mischievous (despite the patriarchal society of the 1930’s) but most of all she is an isolated character. Her hasty marriage to Curley proves to be failed attempt to escape her own spiral of disappointment of not fulfilling her ambition of becoming an actress. This ironically is a main theme in both texts. This essay will analyse and compare the presentation of Lady Macbeth and Curley's wife through structure, themes, what is said about them, their actions and what they themselves say. Established within both texts is a portrayal of each woman’s relationship and the ambition that accompanies is. Act 1 Scene 5 illustrates the affection discernibly apparent in their relationship. ‘My dearest partner of greatness’ serves as an opportunity for us the audience to witness the vast magnitude of fondness Macbeth has towards Lady Macbeth. ‘My dearest’ the way in which he...
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...In any movie episode, people can learn new ideas; differentiate between what is good and what is not right in society. Indeed, movies provide a platform for relaxation and learning. To some extent, this is also true for the Bible. Hollywood movies are geared at captivating the eyes of the audience with little focus on how the message sinks in ones mind. Indeed, the movie industry will stimulate the mind of the person by what they see happening. However, the audience will most likely lose sight of the true meaning of what is being relayed. This is the genesis of how wicked forces combine to influence human behavior in the subconscious. Without a good questioning mind, people might be lured to accept as gospel truth what they see in movies. Thematic focuses in movies distort the original message as presented by the Bible. The Bible was not written to give a description of the people who lived before or to show what live was in the early days. However, God wanted people to know who He is and how people can relate and enjoy life in Him forevermore. The Ten Commandments is a good example of how Biblical stories and events can be misrepresented. A good example is the Biblical account as found in the book of Exodus. In the Bible, there is little information that is provided concerning Moses. For instance, it does not explain whether Moses knew he was a Hebrew child while he was growing in the palace. However, the movie takes the position that Moses did not know his mother and grew...
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...Becoming the Dragon written by Alex Sapegin This is the first book in a fantasy adventure series revolving around a teenage boy named Andy. Andy is accidentally transported to an alternate world by a machine that is being developed by his father. He finds himself in a world far away from home, featuring a second celestial body rising after dark that looks like earth. The world is filled with bizarre animals starting with ants that are double the size of normal earth ants, progressing to a type of Griffin and a strange family of large cats as well as magical beings, orcs, elves, and even dragons. Andy has to fight to survive from the moment he lands on this new world named Ilanta. He goes through many harrowing adventures as he tries to survive this strange new world, using nothing more than his wits, before he is finally sold into captivity and given over to an evil elf that torments, humiliates, and then finally puts a magical spell on him that could lead to his untimely and painfully tortuous death. Andy meets and befriends a dragon who is also in captivity, the dragon may be able to save Andy but they have to escape the clutches of the evil elf and Andy will have to decide to undergo a strange ritual that could put his very humanity at risk. The book was a little slow to grab my interest but after the first few chapters I was totally engaged and turning pages to find out what happens. I was sad to come to the end and definitely want to read the next book in the series...
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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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...Secular Study for Christians Discussion Board Forum 1 ENGL 102-D14 The presentations presented in this week’s module have a lot of truth as to why secular literature is used in modern day Christianity. I do agree that electronic media is not a tool that is valuable in learning literature. Lesson 2 clearly talks about how the thinking is done for you and may not even have the plot or main points in order and only access the emotional side of your thinking. As human beings, we are constantly growing and stretching ourselves as each individual person. Life is constantly moving forward and secular materials help each person mature. Non-secular literature also helps a person grow with faith and help each individual find their own truth in this world. I don’t agree with the early church’s view on fiction. I do, however, believe that fiction in some forms can be bad. Fiction that represents evil, such as murder, is the kind of fiction that should not be read. This can inhibit the way a Christian grows and put Satan ideas in a person’s head. There is one book in particular I want to comment about. It is a book by C. S. Lewis, The Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe. This novel has been around for a long time. I read this growing up and loved what it represents. A group of children enter into another realm becoming the kings and queens of this realm and fight evil with a lion who sacrifices himself against evil and betrayal of one of these kings. He is resurrected due to the fact that he...
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...PREWRITING DRAFT. The Chronicles of Narnia books written by author C.S. Lewis it’s a story full of magic, adventures and a magnificent story about children who travel to a world called Narnia. Written on 1950 this series is still popular as of today. On this article we will discuss the world on witch this adventure takes place, it’s a place filled with talking creatures and magic and evil. Narnia itself is described as populated by a wide variety of creatures, most of which would be recognizable to those familiar with European mythologies and British fairy tales. On this world created by the great lion named Aslan, is where all the adventures takes place. It’s a special world that no one can get to, unless you are invited or summoned by the lion himself. Thru out the years the author has released a total of 7 books, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950), Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia (1951), The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952), The Silver Chair (1953), The Horse and His Boy (1954), The Magician's Nephew (1955), The Last Battle (1956). Although there is no more future books to be released on this series the 6 books state a great story, around the world of Narnia, every character plays an important role and on the book called The Magician’s Nephew you find out how was this place created and in the last book of the series you find out how it ends. The author had a great imagination when creating these books, he created them from a single picture he saw, a picture...
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...coronation 11 8. Conclusion 12 9. List of References 13 Abstract The purpose of this study is to analyze the medieval influences and aspects in the movie The Chronicles of Narnia; The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. The movie emphasizes important elements of the Middle age. It is about the four Pevensie children, Peter, Suzy, Edmund and Lucy who entered the magic land of Narnia and with the help of Aslan, the Lion, fought the Wicked White Witch Judas. Thus they gave freedom to the other animals and restored peace and harmony in Cair Paravel and Narnia. The film captures brilliantly these moments and transmits them to the public. One of the main focuses of the film was the religious belief ‘Christianity’. The movie responds to the quasi- spiritual Christian beliefs and truths of good versus bad, highlighting the defeat of the Witch and her death. Secondly, it shows how the younger brother Edmund fell in the trap of the White Witch due to his “gluttony” of the Turkish delights and betrayed his brother and sisters. Last but not the least; the movie stresses another important aspect of medieval age “knighthood”. Peter fought with the Witch and the latter’s army, overcoming his fears and was crowned as the King of Narnia, The Magnificent. Introduction The term “Medieval” comes from the Latin meaning “middle age.” The dominant religious, political and cultural force at that time was the Christian...
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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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...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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...The Magician’s Nephew The Magician’s Nephew is a fiction novel written by C.S. Lewis as part of his Chronicle of Narnia series. The setting for this story nineteenth century London and the world beyond the wardrobe Narnia. The story’s main characters are Polly and Digory. Polly is adventurous, and her character appears good; while Digory’s character appears questionable throughout the story. The events in the story are like many events in the Bible, Digory has bad ideas sometimes and his actions are selfish, but he also shows kindness and unselfishness in his character as well. Tricked by Digory’s evil magician uncle, Polly was sent into another dimension, Digory followed Polly into the other world to save her. This action was unselfish and heroic and shows a good side to his character. At another time Digory takes an apple against the rules, his intent was to bring the apple to his mother to save her, but he was also tempted to eat it himself. Instead of keeping the apple for his mother and himself he brought it to Aslan without eating it. These decisions show Digory’s character to unselfish and respectful. While other actions taken by Digory make him seem like a foolish and even bad person....
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...Academic essay on Annie Proulx's "Job Story" Choices are something we all make. Not necessarily important choices, but there will always be a time to make them. It's not always good choices, but they have to be made. There will always be consequences, whether it's bad or good. Throughout the story, Leeland Lee has to make a lot of choices. Where to live, where to work and when to work. All the different choices he made, put him in the position he is now. Leeland Lee is an awkward-looking young boy. His face is heavily boned, which he has gotten from his mom, his neck is quite thick and he has red-gold hair. His eyes are as pouchy as a middle-aged alcoholic. His nose is broad and lays close to his face. Lori Bovee is Leeland Lee's wife. She has an undistinguished oval face, and hair of medium length. Leeland Lee is the protagonist of the story, because he is the main character. I would say Leeland is a flat and static character as he is an endless optimist. He doesn't give up when it comes to finding a new job, and despite his wife dying he still gets a job at Unique Eats. The reason he is a static character is because he doesn't change at all. After getting several different jobs he doesn't change anything, after his mom and wife dies he doesn't change one single thing except the fact he isn't listening to the radio anymore, but since that have been an important factor of the story all along, it can also show a lot about how he has changed. The story starts November...
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