THE MAGICIAN’S NEPHEW (C.S. LEWIS) THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA BOOK REVIEW INTRODUCTION Journey to the end of the universe, vibrant creatures that will enthrall your ingenuity, and epic battles between morality. The Magician's Nephew, promulgated in 1955, is one of the successful fantasy novel publications of the twentieth century inscribed by C.S. Lewis. Among the seven novels in the Chronicles of Narnia, The Magician's Nephew was the sixth published book. Nevertheless, it is volume one of the series according to the history of Narnia in sequence. This book is a 5-star masterpiece that entices the reader into a dimension where enchantment meets reality and unravels the emptiness of greed and pitfalls of temptation that have intrigued generations. SUMMARY The embedded passage toward the next-door house drives to an immersive experience, Narnia, a distinct realm where the adventure takes place, where the forests are thick and stiff, and conversing beasts are summoned to exist. Set at the beginning of summer holidays in London, neighborhoods Digory Kirke and Polly Plummer were looking for adventure. The two children live in a row of connected houses, where they decided to wander in a vacant house through the attic passages. However, upon endeavoring to infiltrate an abandoned house, they came across into the forbidden study room of Digory's enigmatic uncle, Uncle Andrew. To their misfortune, Uncle Andrew discovered them and deceived Polly into giving her a present, a yellow ring, which causes someone to disappear when touched. Polly was sent to the wood between the worlds, and the only way to bring her back is for Digory to follow her along with the two green rings that are supposed to bring them back home. Digory put on the yellow ring and transported him to the woods where Polly resides. Later on, the two children noticed distinctive pools of water and commenced to traverse one of the pools, which directs people to enter other worlds. However, their intrusiveness leads them to continuously seek and find themselves in the lifeless world of Charn, where Digory spotted a golden bell with a hammer inside an abandoned castle. Despite Polly's objections, Digory thumps the bell that awakens the Queen of Charn from an enchanted slumber known as Jadis, whose motives are solely evil. While the children attempt to escape, the Queen managed to track them back to London and made Uncle Andrew her servant. After Jadis stirs up a dispute in London, the children succeeded in deporting Jadis back to the wood between the worlds but accidentally brought Uncle Andrew, the Cabby, and the horse with them. Upon attempting to accomplish their intention to take Jadis back, they plunged into the wrong pool and directed them to a world with complete darkness, Narnia. As they anticipate, they begin to hear the Lion sing as it draws light to the world and carried life to living creatures. Aslan, the lion, asked Digory how a malevolent entity invaded Narnia and eventually allotted Digory a responsibility to retrieve an apple from a distant garden that will serve to protect Narnia from the evilness of Queen Jadis. With Polly and the winged horse's presence, Digory arrived at the place, but Jadis was there to tempt him to either consume the apple or take it back home to cure his ill mother. Digory resists the temptation and returns to Aslan, and as a result, Aslan rewards Digory to pluck an apple for his mother. After the lengthy journey, Uncle Andrew and the children finally reached home and mended his ill mother, living a peaceful life. Later on, a tree sprang from which Digory buries the apple together with the magical rings and uses the wood to make it into a wardrobe, which no one knows what magic awaits behind it. REVIEW C.S. Lewis's narrative in The Magician's Nephew offers a detailed variety of styles. The author's purpose is to engage that the reader apprehends the story is true and instill a lesson that they can use either in a liturgical context or as a practical moral. Lewis managed to express the origins of all the actions and behavior between our world and the realm of Narnia began. The author successfully allocated the characters based on whether their intentions are good or immoral, resulting in a well-developed character, particularly the protagonist, for such a short novel. Apart from that, it made an impressive introduction to Narnia since the storyline discloses how we conceive the world and how evil began to infiltrate. In line with Cicco (2016), The Magician's Nephew revolves around what is good versus what is evil, articulating how and to what extent those factors influence a person's character and perception. Without a doubt, Aslan embodies goodness, whereas Queen Jadis characterizes evilness. The author emphasizes how humans are intrinsically driven by evil thinkers or doers. The story is nothing different from the world we live in, where people are easily swayed by deceptions when it benefits them. There are instances when we do not reflect on situations rationally, which results in unethical practices. The author implies that we must weigh our ethical decisions to benefit the common good. Most importantly, in any circumstances, always trust "Aslan." The Magician's Nephew serves as a framework for young children to understand how the world came into existence, allowing the reader to apprehend the cosmos of Narnia. Once again, Lewis has yielded an exemplary fantasy in a brisk and comical tale, which resonates with biblical notions that are assured to captivate its intended young audience. In The Magician’s Nephew, the author explicitly and effectively manifested religious influences in the form of symbols, as stated by Putranti 15.1 (2015). First, the author creates Aslan, the lion, as the creator and benevolent ruler of Narnia since Lewis decides to represent Aslan in depicting the Biblical metaphor for God. From the accounts of the amended transcription in the Holy Bible (1989), it is undoubtedly not a coincidence since, if we relate the tale to Christianity, God is also often signified as a Lion in the book of Hosea 5:14. Second, the character of Queen Jadis embodies the Biblical concept of the Devil, which is capable of destroying her world and people for her dominance. In the book of Ezekiel 29:17, the Devil used to be the most exquisite and dominant of angelic beings, making the heart arrogant and obstructing wisdom for the sake of splendor. The third is the apple tree that symbolizes the Biblical concept of temptation, which Aslan ordered Digory to search. According to Genesis 2:16-17, God introduced it as a tree of knowledge of Good and Evil that is forbidden to eat, but Adam and Eve failed to obey and forsaken everlasting life. However, the story contradicts since Digory was able to overcome temptation. Lastly, the phrase on page 75, “What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing. It also depends on what sort of person you are,” is the biblical concept for human beings. Since humans have the liberty to choose either God or Satan, the consequences of their actions are determined by their choices in life. Lewis's writing style in The Magician's Nephew astounds me with how each scene placidly stimulates in such a sparse number of pages. He employs schematic language, which I always considered remarkably compelling than the verbose rhetorical nonsense that is currently valued as 'popular.' The author has an enthusiasm for writing substantial detail to encompass an image in your insightful thoughts, which you can draw up your own anecdotes and visuals from Narnia and other realms, regardless of what television and film modifications have done. According to Wagner (2005), Lewis infuses their mouths with endearingly humorous language that may have been one that spurred contemporary authors such as Pratchett. Moreover, the author organized an enthralling piece of details in the entire plot, which is relevant in crafting a structured sequence of revelations. CONCLUSION Literature and the author's life have a personal connection since it may serve as a platform in which the author can deliberately convey what he encounters or contends in life. This is evident as he firmly revealed his relationship with his creator through incorporating symbols to manifest Christian values, myths, and ideas. Apart from that, I commend this book since it brings certainties to life for readers of all ages, highlighting how evil can't be eradicated. Nonetheless, we can manipulate how we perceive situations and, as a result, motivate ourselves to see the good in all circumstances. Personally, this book is highly suggested and can affirm that it will surpass your expectations. Subsequently, this outstanding masterpiece will forever engrave a legacy, as the author successfully provokes and connects to the readers' emotions through simple descriptive phrases. -DAYRIT, ANGELINE A.
