Aslan: The Savior Archetypal Character in Chronicles of Narnia

An example is when in the three movies and the book series, Aslan is portrayed as a noble and powerful creation of Narnia. In the movies, Aslan is portrayed as king, protective, loving and even noble which is part of his character. In the book series, he is portrayed as a father figure to every character, talking to animals, playful and even having a sense of humor. For instance in the book, the Prince of Caspian, Aslan is shown as humorous when he attempts to make the Trufflehunter have belief in him through the picking of the dwarf with his mouth and giving a big shake. In the Lion, the witch and the Wardrobe, Aslan is portrayed as playful. This is seen immediately he comes back from the dead and begins playing with Lucy and Susan for them to try catching

After reading this chapter I came to the conclusion that Aslan is “Jesus”. He took his life just as Jesus did for the people. He cares more about the people them himself just like Jesus. After Aslan died he came back alive just as Jesus did. This story was more than just a regular story, it was telling the story of god in a different form.

“Creatures, I give you yourselves,” said the strong, happy voice of Aslan. “I give to you forever this land of Narnia. I give you the woods, the fruits, the rivers. I give you the stars and I give you myself. The Dumb Beasts whom I have not chosen are yours also. Treat them gently and cherish them but do not go back to their ways lest you cease to be Talking Beasts. For out of them you were taken and into them you can return. Do not so.”- Aslan

This truth is displayed in C. S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, in which case the character Aslan is not even human. In the story, Aslan is an anthropomorphic, male lion that shares many similarities with the biblical description of Jesus Christ. While Aslan is literally a lion, Jesus is described symbolically as a lion (New King James Version, Rev 5:5). While Aslan is not crucified, he sacrifices his life for his people, and is murdered on a stone table (Lewis 155). Also similarly, Aslan undergoes a resurrection from death and reappears as a stronger and larger version of himself (Lewis

The plots and settings of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe only further prove that Narnia is an allegory. Edmund betraying Aslan is the same as us betraying God, yet Aslan as does God, rescues Edmund and is prepared to give his life for him. Aslan knowing he has to die to give Edmund life makes a treaty with the White Witch to sacrifice his life over Edmund’s and naturally, the White Witch is overjoyed and readily agrees, forgetting the “deep magic”. Christ was who died on the cross in payment for our sins and Aslan died for Edmund. On the way to Calvary, Jesus remained silent, as did Aslan. It is said that Aslan could have killed them all with one swipe of his paws and it was said that Jesus could have killed

Later on, one child’s disloyalty to his siblings becomes a huge problem. Aslan decides to risk his own life for the boy. All in all, good overthrows evil, and the children become kings and queens of Narnia in the end (Langford). Aslan proclaims: “Once a king or queen of Narnia, always a king or queen. Bear it well, Sons of Adam! Bear it well, Daughters of Eve!” (Lewis 182). The point for Lewis to write these books was as an effort to tell children the Christian stories. He makes examples in chronological order starting with the beginning of time, moves to the death and life of Christ, and finally the end of the world. For most people in this time, when they heard about God or Christianity, they did not want to listen. Instead of giving children ordinary Bible stories, he wrote adventures. He wanted them to learn and believe, as he did, that Christianity would always be there. He filled the books with fictional animals, and

Unfortunately due to Edmund’s treason the Witch confronts Aslan and claims her right to Edmund’s blood as described in the laws (Deep Magic) of Narnia. “As a traitor Edmund stands condemned” (Ditchfield 62). This is also the case in the Bible; “All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law” (Romans 2:12). Another Biblical text explains, “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22). The White Witch warns Aslan of the consequences of ignoring the laws of Narnia. “If this is not accomplished, Narnia will be destroyed with fire and water, which immediately reminds biblically literate readers of Noah’s flood and the prophesied final destruction of the Earth by fire” (Hinten 18). Edmunds sin can’t go unpunished and the penalty is

I view Aslan as Jesus in Narnia! They created worlds and inhabitants (Lewis 107 and

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a fiction in which one of the main characters, the sturdy lion Aslan, has the most power and authority. There are tons of images of Aslan from the book and the movie that relate to Jesus in Bible. The most outstanding images are the death of Aslan on top of the stone table which represents the crucifixion of Jesus, Aslan’s rebirth which is similar to the Resurrection of Jesus, and Aslan’s offering the stone statues life just as the figure of God made everything. Shortly, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe includes a number of biblical images that are the details from the Bible which were reflected by the book and the movie.

Aslan was the two lions chasing Shasta and Bree, and he was the cat at the tomb protecting Shasta. He disappeared when he told Shasta’s story. God could make certain things happen, such as he could save you from a lion. God can quickly control anything he would like. Isaiah 40:26 states “Lift your eyes and look to the heavens. Who created all of these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.” “God want his disciples to rise to heaven. Aslan like God, wants his people to rise to greatness. This is the book when Aslan symbolize as

Lewis is able to use the emotions of the readers to help maintain the façade that Aslan is gone forever. Lucy and Susan make every effort to remove the bondages from his body and comfort his “lifeless” body (Lewis 172-173). His resurrection is marked by a bright light, birds, a broken stone table, and no Aslan to be found (Lewis 176-177). A glance at the story of Jesus’s resurrection and one will notice the similarities between the bright light, broken stone, and lack of a body. Aslan has returned more powerful than before defeats Jadis and her army in battle. Without him, it is very likely that Jadis would have won the battle. Christians will argue that without the resurrection of Jesus, we would have been defeated by Lucifer and his

C.S. Lewis wrote The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe because he wanted to write a children’s book “as a gift for his godchild” (Palmer). It began for him with a series of pictures that came into his mind. “Lewis stated, ‘Everything began with images; a faun carrying an umbrella, a queen on a sledge, a magnificent lion” (Kennedy). A fairy tale was forming in his mind and “‘At first there wasn't anything Christian about them; that element pushed itself in of its own accord’” (Kennedy), As the story progresses and Lewis’s characters and storyline begin to develop a seemingly clear relationship formed between The Bible and this novel. “Given Lewis’s strong Christian faith, that is not surprising. In fact, once the story was established, Lewis said he ‘...saw how stories of this kind could steal past a certain inhibition which had paralysed much of my own religion in childhood’” (Kennedy.) Even though C.S. Lewis started off writing a children's novel, many people perceive it to be a novel written in parallel to the Bible. Lewis has used Biblical references and a classic storyline to prove that good will alway triumph over evil. Aslan is labeled as a divine figure in the novel; he is also known as the son of the Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea. Aslan’s death and resurrection is like that of Christ. The four children are all considered important to in the world of Narnia, but in the real world they are

This shows parallels to how Jesus and the Holy Spirit bring new life to those who believe in Him and the promise that Christ will come back one day to reclaim His people. Another book in the series that includes many references to the Bible is The Last Battle. This is the last book in the series and shows many similarities to the book of Revelation in the Bible and to the end of time. Not only does Aslan have a false Aslan who is trying to deceive and overtake Narnia similar to Jesus having an Anti-Christ, Satan, who tries to tempt and deceive God’s people, but this last book also shows many parallels to the Judgement and last days on earth. Both the Anti-Christ and the Anti-Aslan speak lies about the true Jesus and Aslan and it is ultimately up to the Narnians and the people on Earth to accept or decline the real Jesus and the real Aslan. Lastly, both the Bible and The Last Battle show the struggles between good and evil in this book and offer hope in the return of the real Aslan and the real Christ. Even The Magician’s Nephew, the first book in the series, shows allusions to the book of Genesis in the Bible and the world’s

The first part of the book focuses on providing the reader with an overview of Palestine under Roman rule, a land filled with turmoil and false messianic figures. Aslan gives specific examples of failed self-proclaimed messiahs, such as Judas the Galilean and “the Samaritan”, who attempted to overthrow Roman rule but eventually were

Since the four children can be seen as symbolisms of human beings, their relationship with Aslan shows a lot about the grace, mercy and overall character of God. One of the main examples where this is seen is the grace that Aslan showed to Edmund who was a traitor. Despite Edmunds’ choice to prioritize Turkish delight over his family and his right as one of the king of Narnia, Aslan still accepted Edmund into his army and not only that Edmund still inherited the kingdom of Narnia not by his own works but by Aslan’s