The Chronicles of Narnia Part 1: Into the Wardrobe
The Chronicles of Narnia- C.S. Lewis
As I begin this review of the Chronicles of Narnia I would like to briefly state my process for these reviews. The Chronicles of Narnia are a seven-part collection written by C.S. Lewis between 1950 and 1956: starting with The Magician’s Nephew and ending with The Last Battle. I will be reading the novels in the order that C.S. Lewis instructed not by order of publication. The order is as follows: The Magician’s Nephew, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Horse and His Boy, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, and The Last Battle. I will be publishing my reviews of the Chronicles in three parts: the first will contain summaries, scores, and a short thematic discourses on the first three books, the second review will contain summaries, scores, and thematic reviews on the middle three books, and the last review will be a review of the last book in a similar vein as the previous reviews with an additional review on the collection as a whole.
The Magician’s Nephew (1955)- C.S. Lewis (202 pages)
The first work, in terms of the chronology not by publication, in C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia has a substantial task of introducing the reader to the tales of Narnia and the magic that surrounds it. The Magician’s Nephew does a great job introducing the reader to the magic of the other worlds including Narnia, as well as two crucial characters in the White Witch and Aslan. The story itself follows the adventures of the children Digory and Polly at first through their harmless adventures in and around their townhomes in London but the adventure quickly progresses. The children run into Digory’s Uncle who then gives them magic rings and sends them off into new worlds. Now I don’t want to give up too many details of the story but Digory and Polly explore these new worlds for the rest of the novel eventually coming across the White Witch and Aslan in the process. C.S. Lewis does a masterful job of painting an awe-inspiring picture of these new worlds, showing the beauty and destruction of each all while setting up larger themes of rebirth, choice, and sin.
In my expedited thematic discourse on the Magician’s Nephew, I will focus on the theme of rebirth, responsibility, and temptation. In the creation of Narnia, Lewis does a magnificent job systematically working through how the world was made and the purity that comes with it. As you read, notice what makes the world, in what order, and what brings life to it. Secondly, as the animals are created, the creator makes a conscious decision as to which can speak and which cannot, which are the higher beasts and which are the dumber or more base beasts. As the reader, you should notice which beasts are chosen for responsibility and which are also selected for the high council. Lastly, temptation is critical to this work. Digory as he hits the bell falls into temptation and must venture into a Garden of Eden of sorts full of temptation to cleanse himself from his former failure. In this garden, someone else takes and eats of the fruit and a character reflects that those who eat of the fruit always receive what they want but they do not always like it and those who steal for it will always be unhappy. In this very poetic passage, the speaker, who I am purposefully not naming, illuminates the importance of not only how you obtain something, but why you wish to obtain it. If either answer is impure so too will be your outcome.
Thematic Questions: 8, although an easy read C.S. Lewis pacts some powerful imagery into the adventure.
Enjoyment: 7, the tale of Digory and Polly provides an important backdrop to the adventures to follow in Narnia.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1950)- C.S. Lewis (189 pages)
The second and most well-known story of the Chronicles of Narnia follows the adventures of Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy as they adventure into Narnia to defeat the White Witch. The story begins with the children being sent to live with an old Professor out in the country in his magnificently large house. While living there the children explore the house and eventually come upon the old wardrobe where their adventures begin. Once the children are in Narnia, they enter a country enchanted into eternal winter before Aslan returns. I will let you read the work to learn the rest of the tale. While I have seen the movie, this was my first reading of the book and I found it thoroughly enjoyable. I found myself recalling scenes from the movie as I read it in the book and I’m happy to say the movie does a pretty great job following the true nature of the book. While the movie provides a strong rendition of the book I believe the book, much like in any case, is better than the movie but the latter is absolutely worthwhile. The movie does an especially tremendous job showing the beauty of Narnia and Aslan. One large difference, I found is the ending of the book compared to the movie. The book ends in a different, prolonged manner. While I think I prefer the movie’s more succinct closing of the tale, especially in consideration of Aslan, I can absolutely understand why C.S. Lewis choose the ending he did in the book. Overall, the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is a great work filled with adventure, beauty, despair, and countless themes.
Much like the Magician’s Nephew, the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe have rebirth and temptation at the core of the work. In the tale, a key character dies but the deep magic of Narnia allows a rebirth for that character as they died for someone else’s faults and sins even though they were sinless themselves. Dying for someone else’s sins and saving someone else is powerful enough that it is able to turn back death. Secondly, temptation is also crucial. A certain character receives enchanted Turkish delights and the narrator remarks that these enchanted Turkish delights have magic in them that makes the consumer forever hungry. This appetite and gluttony could even force the consumer to overindulgence and death. Here it is important to remember who gave this character this gift and why the gift was given. Much like before, impurity in one of those answers will lead to an impure and corrupted outcome.
Thematic Questions: 8, the imagery and actions of Aslan juxtaposed with the White Witch provides key themes that ring throughout the rest of the Chronicles.
Enjoyment: 8, although I remembered a large portion of the plot from the movie, I still thoroughly enjoyed the tale.
The Horse and His Boy (1954)- C.S. Lewis (224 pages)
The Horse and His Boy takes the narrative away from Narnia and into the deserts of Calormen. My edition had a map of the region and I would suggest looking one up if your edition does not. Narnia is farther north, then Archenland is south of Narnia, and Calormen is south of Archenland. Archenland is a place much like Narnia, although not as magical, but still very friendly with Narnia while Calormen is a place of savagery, slaves, and cruelty. It is in the country of Calormen that this tale begins following a poor boy named Shasta, not quite a slave but close enough in his servant status to his father. Before his father is able to sell him, Shasta runs away with a talking Narnian horse named Bree and the adventures begin. Along the way, the duo meet another pair attempting to flee to Narnia and join Aravis and Hwin, another Narnian talking horse. From here the group of four, travel through Calormen together with the ultimate goal of arriving in Narnia although perils, trials, and great secrets fall in their way. I thoroughly enjoyed the adventure of Shasta and Aravis. Unlike the other two tales in which I had some idea of what would happen, I entered this tale with little idea of the story and found the adventure very gratifying.
The two themes that captivated me in the Horse and His Boy are perspective and belonging. Throughout the early portion of the tale, Shasta bemoans his unfortunate life, his poor upbringing, and his trials and tribulations. Eventually, he complains in the presence of someone else who helps to illuminate the true luck that Shasta has in fact had. I’m being vague here intentionally. Once Shasta’s eyes are illuminated to the luck of his life, his character changes greatly from one of sorrow to one of gratitude and happiness. Whatever your position there are two sides to the story, choose gratitude and happiness. Secondly, belonging is an important theme. All four of the members of the adventurous party are running away from something with the symbol of Narnia as their north star. All four feel that for some reason or another they do not belong in Calormen and can’t belong there in the future. As a reader, identify why these characters feel a lack of belonging and what they are truly searching for.
Thematic Questions: 7, a powerful tale that uses an unfamiliar setting to provide new discourses on perspective and belonging.
Enjoyment: 9, a wholly new and exciting tale that had me curious from cover to cover.
Readability: 8, a very quick and easy read. This score relates to all three of the above tales and likely the subsequent four as well.
I hope you have enjoyed this different format so far. The next review will follow the same format and revolve around Prince Caspian, the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and the Silver Chair.
