How Did C. S. Lewis Influence Literature

Some ways that demonstrate the changes in Lewis are evident through love. His view on love changes, from the perspective that is presented at the beginning where he says that ‘love is not so important nowadays.’, to having love is a important aspect as this is shown through his comment, ‘without love the world wouldn’t mean much.’

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”.

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.

The element of fog has been long recognized as a major symbol in That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis. Most scholars view the fog as a symbol of Mark feeling trapped (Cheaney) but in addition to that, it is believed that the fog is symbolizing a dark period of time where the town of Edgestow is being overtaken. The fog that begins to cover Edgestow symbolizes much more than just a thick cloud of tiny water droplets suspended in the atmosphere. The fog, made of water, is a kind of darkness which can be felt.

Lewis mentions, “But eventually I began spending more time doing schoolwork, studying, and my eyes began opening to the world around me” (Lewis and Aydin 1:35). Or another way to say it, he became a student and a protestor, but does he really start opening his eyes to the world? Well, everything happened during his first trip to the north. His uncle Otis invited him to Buffalo, New York, and visit his family. This trip is very important because it helped him to understand the injustice in the south against the Black community and get a clearer vision of what the Black people should be fighting and demanding for in the south. Quotes like, “I was not disappointed” (Lewis and Aydin 1:42) and “… travel was an otherworldly experience” (Lewis and Aydin 1:43). They express his emotions and try to give us a context of how amazing the north was. Lewis tells us, “I could not believe that they had white people living next door to them. On both sides” (Lewis and Aydin 1:43). His first impression was huge, something that was pretty much forbidden in the south was a “myth” in the north. Finally, when his visit to Buffalo ends, he says, “After that trip, home never felt the same and neither did I” (Lewis and Aydin 1:47). I wonder if that is really the beginning of a new John Lewis, the one who does not care how many times he has to go to jail for his

While he was writing his first book in The Chronicles of Narnia series, he was greatly criticized by his friend, Tolkien. Tolkien was very critical of the book, he gave him grief about the mixed mythology. Lewis stopped writing the book and threw out his first copy. But, Lewis kept dreaming about a lion and later started the book completely over, because of this, it took ten years to finish the first book. Tolkien started to approve of the books when Aslan came into the

Books surrounded Lewis. Stone describes his house as filled with books, crowding bookcases, hallways, and rooms. Lewis had no limitation on what he could or could not read, although it quickly became evident that Jack preferred fantasy books such as Potter’s Peter Rabbit (Stone 4-5). After his mother died, Stone described what happened with Lewis’s schooling. Because Albert Lewis, C.S. Lewis’s father was afraid of financial ruin, he sent Jack and his brother to a cheap boarding school, Wynyard. At Wynyard the conditions were terrible and Lewis found no education (Stone 15, 19-20). Even though his childhood experiences were not the greatest Jack was still able to succeed in his

It is often said that something big that happens in your childhood can make a huge difference in your life. Lewis’ first bible made him want to become a preacher. As he states that he would never forget as his mother read the first words in the book saying, “In the

C.S. Lewis is one of the greatest authors in history. His books are still widely available and sold to many interested readers. In Lewis’ childhood, he experienced a tragedy that affected his belief in god; in his middle life, he mainly focused on college and his studies, but his father’s death played a role in Lewis later becoming a Christian. In Lewis’ later life, he married one of his own fans. Clive’s passion for writing began when he was a small child, and it continued to grow as he furthered his education to become a college professor at Oxford University. Lewis is still remembered today for his great works, such as The Screwtape Letters and The Chronicles of Narnia, which is a popular series among children.

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

What helped him write his writing his books was that 1. He liked to write a lot and 2. He wrote letters to his mother and his mother kept all of his letters in a pile wrapped with string. He used those letters as reference in Boy. Writing letters gave him experience to write a book, especially about his life. He was a skilled writer, and had ideas flow in his head.

    C. S. Lewis, a well-known author and apologist, is best known by people of all

With all the criticism directed at Lewis’ books for inconstancies. Two sides exist to be taken. Firstly, many say to avoid these books altogether, because they are false doctrines and should avoided. Secondly, the changes are fine since without these modifications the stories would be vague and bland. Several of these doctrines that do not line up with the Bible are plain different beliefs or ignorance. C. S. Lewis himself wrote, “Speaking personally, if I demanded that a person’s views on every subject under the sun be identical to mine as a condition to be helped by them, then if I had met myself 20 years ago, I’d have to disfellowship myself!”() Clive knows that humans are fallible and that no one’s beliefs are one-hundred percent correct, people continue to grow spiritually thus changing their beliefs. Later writes “We are all in process. None of us gets everything right all the time. That stands true for every Christian who has ever breathed oxygen.”() He knew that just because he was a famous writer of Christian literature he would still make mistakes. Before

However, something worth noting before delving into the argument of this essay, is the background of C.S Lewis. Although this is not a research essay, his personal religion does hold some relevance to the context of this essay. Despite some struggles with his belief in religion at an early age, by the time he was late into his adult years, C.S Lewis was a definite Christian. Not only was this his personal religion, but also very publicly so. He wrote novels explicitly outlining his Christian views and gave several

Narnia's first characteristic of note is the portal through which it is reached – the wardrobe. By connecting the secondary world with the first, ‘real' one, rather than simply beginning the story within Narnia, Lewis is able to introduce thoughts about truth and