Religious Symbolism In The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe

Memory is the quality that allows the readers to personally connect with a work of art. Relatable works tend to have more of an emotional impact on the reader. Symbols are used to connect the tangible to something intangible. Through this connection, readers will associate the aspects of the thing being symbolized to the symbol. For example, if a character is used to symbolize the devil in a work of art, the audience will associate the aspects of the devil to the character. Patterns allow readers to parallel one work of art to another work of art.

     My favorite character in this book would have to be Peter. He was a little bit of a tough guy yet timid, but wasn’t afraid to fight for his siblings lives. Peter was the oldest amongst his brother and two sisters and was most likely the brains and brawn of the bunch. In this story, Peter has to fight off a wolf to test his courage or, in Aslan’s words, win his spurs. He returns victorious and is knighted by the lion called Aslan. His brother Edmund, a very mischievous boy and a bother to his sisters Lucy and Susan, looks up to Him though he never admits to it. Peter was definitely the highlight of this book.

The books have Christian themes and describe the adventures of a group of children who visit a magical land called Narnia. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was the first published and the most popular book of the series. Lewis is said to have stated that he wrote the novels when he wondered what it would be like if Jesus Christ was incarnated on another planet or world to save the souls of those inhabitants”.

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

Within The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Lewis exemplifies the lion, Aslan, as Jesus Christ. The lion’s unconditional love for anyone that comes to him for help is exemplary of Jesus’ for all his sheep. “Aslan gave himself so Edmund could be saved. Likewise, Jesus sacrificed his own life so that mankind could receive salvation” (Rize 1). With Aslan representing Jesus, he is willing to do anything for the love of his people, even those that have strayed. Within humanity there are many sinners, but Jesus died so everyone, including the wrongdoers, could eventually go to heaven. His followers found this to be a conflicting because they did not understand why the criminals deserved the same love from him they received. Edmund and the Witch thought the same thing of Aslan when he volunteered to die in Edmund’s place. This shows the profoundness of Christ and Aslan’s behavior that may never be understood in its entirety. “Aslan is a simultaneously a frightening and benevolent lion… [The Pevensie children] are [not] horrified so much

In C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Lewis emphasizes the three points of philosophy, themes, and symbolism throughout his writing. Lewis was a strong Christian man, and wanted to make children see and understand all the stories of the Bible. Therefore, he put Christian elements through his books, but with fantasy characters as well. Especially in this story, Lewis conveys the differences between good and evil. Aslan is represented as Christ just as the White Witch represents the sense of evil. Lewis wrote several books in this Narnia series, but The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe became the most famous and recognized of his novels.

Thesis Statement: The characters and events of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe have symbolic similarities to events described in the Bible.

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.

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

Authors use literary devices as tools throughout their novels, each in a variety of situations, serving various purposes. One of C.S Lewis ' notable attributes was his consistent use of religion throughout his work. Which thus begs the question: What is the literary function of religious allegory in the novel, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C.S Lewis?

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is the first of several novels in the C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia. These books tell stories of another universe that is called Narnia. Here there are many unearthly things from talking animals and evil witches. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is the story of four young siblings who discover this new world by entering a wardrobe. Little did they know, they were destined to become the new royalty of Narnia but only after going through many battles. In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis analyzes the character Lucy, the theme of good versus evil, and the parallels of Narnia to other literature and Lewis’s life.

When having to reflect upon the movies I have seen and trying and pinpoint a few that have made a spiritual impact on me without me even noticing, was very difficult. So, I took to Google and realized that one of my favorite series, The Chronicles of Narnia, is almost based on Christianity itself. One movie, in particular, probably the most well known is The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. The movie is found to have Christian themes. The writer of the novels the films are based on has religious views in almost all the books. This film adaption of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is filled with hidden religious content. For instance, Aslan is seen to be Jesus Christ, Jadis is Satan, and the plot of the movie follows the resurrection

C.S. Lewis uses a secondary world, Narnia, to convey complex, thought-provoking messages to readers of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. This paper examines the way a selection of Narnia's key characteristics prompt debates over logic and faith, comment on the nature of spiritual and metaphysical journeys, allow readers to broaden their conception of their own capabilities, encourage new reflection on the story of Christ and help to clarify conceptions of good and evil.