Thursday, May 15, 2008
well, if your a fantasy/fairytale lover like me, your bound to have read Chronicles of Narnia. If you haven't, i just have to say that ur pretty much deprived.
the Chronicles of Narnia was written by the famous christian apologist, C.S. Lewis. there are 7 books to this chronicle.
1. The Magician's Nephew
2. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
3. The horse and his boy
4. Prince Caspian
5. Voyage of the Dawn Treader
6. The Silver Chair
7. The Last Battle
yep. the seven books that tell the wonderful tale of Narnia. these are the order of books in which i read them in, although you dont have to. there was a big debate on what was the right order of reading the book. many people believed that it's much better to read according to the published date of the books, starting from book 2 followed by books 4, 5, 6, 3, 1 and lastly, book 7. the truth is, that C.S. Lewis never even kept track of the books that he published, and he didnt care about the reading order of the books. Jack (C.S. Lewis), in the end sided with reading according to Narnian chronology.
Jack, and J.R. Tolkien were both very good friends. Jack respected Tolkien's remarks, character, and everything else. but what shocked Jack was that after showing Tolkien a manuscript of the book, Tolkien described Jack's writings as ' haphazard' and not being 'meticulous with the details and overall consistency'. pity the poor guy. haha. Jack's encouragement always gave Tolkien the strength to continue writing, but instead of getting the favor returned, Tolkien just gave bad criticism. haha. i feel for him.
many readers, after reading the C.O.N., believe that Jacksie wrote it as and allegory, as much of the books relate to the Bible. Jack makes it clear that 'he didn't write the Narnian Chronicles as a biblical allegory'. an allegory is a literary device in which an author uses the form of a person, place, or animal to represent an abstract idea. like for example, an eagle can represent the abstract concept of 'freedom', a witch, 'evil'. Jacksie says that it wasnt an allegory, but there were some symbolism added to it. 'I don't say,' Let us represent Christ as Aslan.'. I say, '
Supposing there was a world like Narnia, and
supposing, like ours, it needed redemption, let us imagine what sort of Incarnation and Passion and Resurrection Christ would have there.'', which is what Lewis claims.
aside from the criticism, good and bad, the C.O.N. has been very succesful, touching readers young and old throughout the world. to christians, it would have a much nicer meaning to it. like how Aslan is similiar to Christ, being a Reedemer in the book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, as it parallels Christ's role discussed in Hebrews 2:14 and Romans 5:8. there are many biblical parallels in the books. for example, Aslan's slaying and resurrection follows closely the biblical accounts of Jesus Christ's crucifixion and resurrection with the difference that Aslan dies for Edmund only, while Christ died for all of us. see John 19-20 for more info.
i recommend these books, to anyone who loves fantasy, fairytales and war. Jacksie planned to write the C.O.N. for kids, although many adults and teenagers read them. if you love greek and roman literature, you should also like this book as it includes fauns, centaurs and minotaurs. in addition to all these classic myths, Lewis also added a set of other creatures from other mythical traditions, for example orknies, ogres, Father Christmas and Tash. Lewis only intended these books be written for kids, but even so, everyone who has read it so far loved it.
of course, in every story book there are characters. in C.O.N., there are both the good and the bad, like every other fantasy books. the main characters are usually kids, or teenagers. Digory Kirke or Professor Kirke, along with Polly Plummer are the main characters in the first book, The Magician's Nephew. then of course there are the four famous Pevensies, Peter (my fav xD), Edmund, Lucy and Susan, also known as the rightful Kings and Queens of Cair Paravel.
King Peter the Magnificent, resembles the apostle Peter, who led the early christian church. the primary reason for this link was that the apostle, was more or less, the de facto head of the early church, and Peter, the highest authority in the Narnian series (apart from Aslan). like the apostle, Peter struggles alot with self-reliance and too little trust in Aslan as shown in the fourth book, Prince Caspian. Peter is also the oldest among the Pevensies, and entered Narnia when he was 13, and 22 when he goes back to Narnia in The Last Battle. haha. he's all im gonna share about cuz he's my fav. xPP
apart from these six, there are a few other main characters, such as Eustace Scrubb, who is a cousin of the Pevensies, Jill Pole, Eustace's friend. well, these heroes might look perfect to you, but infact they dont. Peter struggles with self-reliance, Susan with Worldliness, Edmund with Power and appetite, Lucy with curiousity and peer pressure. Digory with pride, Polly with stubborness, Eustace with selfishness and lastly, Jill with pride. Lewis echoes what the apostle Paul says in Romans 3:23:" For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." showing that not everyone is perfect, even in story books.
well, aside from these main few ones, there are also alot of side characters who play and important part to the story, of which i would definitely not mention, after giving so much information about the series xP.
OHKAY. ENOUGH OF NARNIA. GO READ IT IF U WANNA KNOW MORE! XD
erm, i take no credit for all the above information. Richard Wagner's the man to thank. haha. all credit goes to him.
ohkay! i think im going crazy. after watching the battle in the movie of the C.O.N., i imagined i was king Peter on a horse with a sword and shield when i was on my dad's bike. LOL. haha. i think im really going crazy. it's the nicest series of books i've read so far though. haha.. thnks Lewis. haha.
hmm. school's been kinda boring these few days. HOLIDAYS NEXT WEEK! XDD cant wait. and we're having a party at my house for Magellan! xD so cant wait. well. i gtg now. shall update another time. cya!
Labels: Narnia
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