Test 1 for C.S. Lewis

When was C.S. Lewis Born and when did he die?

• Born November 29, 1898

• Died November 22, 1963, the same day as JFKs assassination

What does C.S. stand for and why does he rename himself

• Clive Staples

• He renamed himself Jacksie or jack because he didn’t like his name and due to the death of his family dog named jackie

Where did he grow up? Name city, country

• Belfast, Ireland - the emerald isle - Europe

The influence of his family upon his upbringing

• being born into a bookish family

• after his mother’s death his father didn’t comport him, so he had to engage with books

• His relationship with Warren was really close and they co-created imaginary worlds like boxen and supported each other when their mother died

What is Joy? Define and give examples from the life of Lewis

• a profound and complex experience that is not merely pleasure

• often accompanied by a sense of longing for that is out of reach

  • when we are not fixated on ourselves but are fully present in the moment

• he felt the sense of joy when he was flowing a currant bush in full bloom

• his journey from atheism to Christianity

• being able to study the subjects he loved without the fear of torment 

The effect of his mother’s death on his life; on his faith

• When the happy days in the new house ended

• he prayed for God to perform a miracle to heal her, but she died

  • after she died, he then prayed for her to come back to life

• when he wrote the magicians nephew it took him years to finish, and he made Digory’s mom heal and be better

• His faith took a big hit and he began doubting his belief in god

School life: early years at boarding school with Oldie

• Oldie was a cruel man that treated students horribly by beating them with his cane

• Groups of boys would walk around his rough up smaller boys

• rarely Lewis

What is “Belsen”?

• a term C.S. Lewis uses to describe how terrible his experience with oldies school was

• Comparing his time at that school to the Belsen concentration camp

What is “fagging”?

• when younger students act like servants to older boys and was forced to trivial or menial jobs

• was also associated with the older boys sexually assaulting the younger boys

The Great Knock (Kirk/Kirkpatrick) 

• nickname for Kirkpatrick when he was C.S. Lewis tutors

  • teaching him how to think critically and express himself logically

• the great knock symbolized his significant impact on Lewis’s intellectual development

• represented by the professor in the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe

WWI; Paddy Moore; Jane Moore

• meets Paddy in Oxford

• Paddy was killed in WW1 and Lewis takes care on his mom and sister for the rest of his life

what was his first real job at Magdalen college, Oxford where he remained most of his career.

• in 1924 he takes a low paying job as a philosophy major tutor

• Then in 1925 he is elected as a fellow of magdalen 

  • he tutors and does lectures

what is myths appeal to Lewis

• (Balder the beautiful, is dead, is dead) to his shared love of mythology with Arthur Greeves

• the ability to convey universal truths and enchantment 

Looking at/along the beam for Enjoyment

• Internal:

  • Observer participates inside the phenomenon, participating in it

• Experience along a Beam:

  • moving into the sunbeam, one sees the tree outside, the leaves, the sky,

    • experience the world through the beam

Meditation in a Toolshed

• Explores the distinction between experimental knowledge and observational knowledge

  • Lewis personal experience in a dark toolshed where a beam of sunlight enters a crack in the door.

  • serves as a metaphor of two different ways of perceiving reality

    • looking at something

    • looking along something

Joy Davidman Gresham Lewis: her background, courtship with Lewis, death

• previously married with two children

• worked with C.S. Lewis as a secretary at Cambridge

• had a civil marriage with C.S. Lewis due to her dying of cancer and Lewis wanting to take care of her kids

• She miraculously recovers from her cancer, and they go on trips until going to Greece and dying shortly after returning

What is allegory?

• The use of symbols in a story, picture, etc., to convey a hidden or ulterior meaning, typically a moral or political one; symbolic representation.

Ptolemaic cosmology

• The belief that the earth is stationary and is at the center of the universe

  • all rest of the planets revolve around the earth

Copernican cosmology

• a model that the sun is stationary and the earth and the other planets orbit around it

• it was radical and challenged the long-held belief that the Ptolemaic cosmology system had on science and religion

significance of influence

• Literary and Narrative Influence

  • Integration of myth and folklore: Greek, Norse, Roman, Christianity

  • Influence of prior authors

  • Story telling as a transformative medium

• Philosophical and Theological Influence

  • Christian allegory

  • moral and ethical framework

  • Universal themes beyond religion

significance of tingle

• deeply rooted in themes of faith, redemption, and the power of love

• the voice of Alsan bringing life into Narnia making the blood of the children bodies tingle

  • a metaphor of awakening faith and the recognition of the divine

significance of disaster

• its role as a catalyst for transformation and revelation for these characters to deepen their understanding of faith and actions

• Highlights the consequences of the choices these characters make and the importance of loyalty

  • example: the final battle because of its themes of loyalty, and resolution as Narnia comes to an end

the meanings of “liberal in Narnia

• Theological/Literary

  • being generous or open-hearted, highlighting grace and moral inclusivity.

  • Narnia’s moral universe rewards courage, faith, and repentance rather than social status or rigid orthodoxy

• Moral and Ethical

  • self-determined action and moral choice

  • individual conscience and personal virtue matter

• Political/Cultural

  • utopia within a political sense, where hierarchical or authoritarian structures (like the White Witch’s tyranny) are challenged by inclusive coalitions of humans and magical beings.

• Intellectual/Interpretative

  • allowing multiple simultaneous readings

• Christian allegory (Aslan as Christ, Edmund as repentance)

  • Astrological/cosmological symbolism (Seven Heavens theory)

Boethius and his wheel

• The wheel of fortune is an allegorical device that represents the ever-changing nature of fate

  • fortune is inherently just or unjust, a tool in a larger divine order

• Represented in the voyage of the dawn treader with Reepicheep talking to dragon Eustace about the wheel of fortune

  • Reepicheep reminds Eustance that kings, knights have fallen from prosperity and those who have recovered and lived happily

Feuerbach and his theories of religion

• The belief that religion is a human-made and is redundant since it does not reflect the true relationship between thought and being

• True religion is the relationship between oneself or his true nature

  • god is manifested inward nature of man

Docetism

• The Greek word to seem

• Christians that said that Jesus only seems to have a human body

• Relates to the boy and his horse when Aslan is doubted to be a real lion

apophatic theology

• Prayer without words is best

• Not trying to put god into words

theosis

• It is the process of a worshiper becoming united with God, beginning in this life and culminating in bodily resurrection.

• Connected with east orthodoxy

• Theo = God

rightly ordered love

• Represents a hierarchical and morally organized Ordering of affections where the proper direction and intensity of love determine virtue and moral flourishing

  • Primary orientation toward God

  • Love for neighbor and self

  • integration with virtue and moral life

  • connection to moral knowledge and will

Are the Chronicles allegory? Why or why not?

• The Chronicles are not an allegory!!

• C.S. Lewis was very adamant that his stories were not allegories

the importance of books in his life

• His childhood home was filled with books

• His parents greatly pushed a love of books in him

• exposure to classical and mythological literature that instilled his passion for imaginative exploration 

• his academic pursuits in Oxford that improved his critical thinking and philosophical ideas 

the significance of consider

• Faith and spiritual growth 

  • encourages the reader to consider their faith and the transformative power it holds

• Good vs Evil

  • Consider the implications of their choices in this moral landscape

What is the planet, God, metal and characteristics of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe?

• Jupiter

• Jesus Christ / Father Christmas

• Tin

• Themes

  • good vs evil: Alsan and the white witch

  • Sacrifice and redemption: Aslan’s sacrifice for Edmund highlights forgiveness and the importance of selflessness

  • courage and friendship: The siblings learn about bravery, loyalty and the strength of their bond to face challenges

  • power of belief: the importance of faith and belief like with Lucys unwavering faith in Aslan

What is the planet, God, metal and characteristics of Prince Caspian

• Mars

• mars Silvanus - God of war

• iron

• Themes

  • nobility and bravery - Caspian’s sense of justice and fairness

  • idealism and imagination - Caspians imagination and idealistic nature

What is the planet, God, metal and characteristics of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

• The sun or sol

• Apollo

• gold

• Themes

  • Spiritual growth and redemption - Eustace for Aslan

  • courage and honor - reepicheep and Caspian leadership

  • Temptation and moral choices: Goldwater Island and dark island testing greed, vanity and morality

  • fate and divine guidance: divine intervention from Aslan’s influence

What is the planet, God, metal and characteristics of The Silver Chair

• Moon

• luna or Selene

• Silver

• Themes

  • Faith and Morality: exploring the importance of faith and moral choices

  • Courage and friendship: facing challenges that test their bravery to save Prince Rillain

  • Good vs evil: The struggle between the characters and the wicked witch

What is the planet, God, metal and characteristics of The Horse and His Boy

• Mercury

• Hermes

• quicksilver or mercury

• themes

  • exploration of identity, freedom, and cultural differences

  • Identity and destiny with Shasta who is actually prince Cor

  • courage and personal growth

What is the planet, God, metal and characteristics of The Magician’s Nephew

• Venus

• Hesperus

• Copper

  • themes

    • Bravery and loyalty:

      • Digory following Polly into the unknown when she was tricked by Uncle Andrew

    • Impulsive and stubborn:

      • When Digory acts on impulse and rings the bell awakening Jadis (white Witch)

    • Growth and Maturity

      • Digory changes from a self-centered boy into a boy that’s thoughtful and responsible even when confronting the consequences of his actions

What is the planet, God, metal and characteristics of The Last Battle

• Saturn

• Father time

• lead

• Themes

  • Faith and belief - trusting in Aslan and discerning truth from deception

  • Redemption and judgement: the consequences for evil actions and reward for heaven for faith

  • illusion vs reality: the false Aslan and the apparition of tash

myth became fact

• the story of Jesus Christ represents myth becomes fact

  • Lewis's conversion and realization from atheism to Christianity

  • Myth is a reflection of truth and serve as a bridge between abstract truth and concrete realities

    • Even though myths may not be truth themselves

  • Myths are essential for understanding the human experience across cultures and time periods

Addison’s walk talk with Tolkien

• A discussion between C.S. Lewis, J.R.R Tolkien, and Hugo Dyson discussed myth, metaphor, and the intersection of storytelling and truth

  • Tolkien argued that myths reflect fragments of the ultimate truth and that the natural world was not enough to express ultimate truth about humanity, morality and the cosmos

Plato

• Plato's allegory of the cave like in the underground city in the silver chair

• Plato proposed that the material world is a shadow or copy of a higher reality

• Digory remarks “It’s all in Plato, all in Plato,” signifying that the progression from our world → Narnia → New Narnia reflects Plato’s distinction between appearances and true reality

Looking at/along the beam for Contemplation

• External:

  • the observer is outside the phenomenon examining it from a distance

• Experience along a beam:

  • standing aside, one sees the beam itself, the dust, how the light enters but does not experience what the light illuminates

    • The beam becomes an object of observation