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We have all read a book that completely absorbed us and caused us to transcend
into the world created by the author. It truly is a wonderful feeling. What is even more
wonderful is when the author of this book can teach the reader a very positive and
valuable life lesson through their book, without the reader ever even knowing it. This is
what made the famous writers of the past like Hemmingway and Mark Twain so good.
There is a more current author, however, who does this very well. C.S. Lewis has written
many books that draw readers in with their relatable characters and fanciful lands. But
Lewis also does something bigger than that; he teaches his readers about good and evil,
human nature, and desirable character traits. These desirable character traits become
major themes and lessons in his biography written by Alister McGrath; C.S. Lewis: A Life,
and in his books The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and The Screwtape Letters.
Clive Staples Lewis was born in Northern Ireland where he grew up. He was an
imaginative boy with a strong love for reading. As a child, he and his brother created a
whole world in their imagination. Lewis was constantly reading and quickly became a very
smart young kid. As a young adult, Lewis studied at many universities across England
before eventually receiving a scholarship to Oxford University. Before he could attend,
however, World War I broke out and Lewis enlisted in the British military. He was injured
during the war and was gladly sent home. Once home, Lewis completed his studies at
Oxford before becoming a philosophy tutor, a role he served for a long time. In this time,
the young man converted from atheism to Christianity as is so evident in his writings of
this time. This conversion was influenced by many things, a large one being his good
friend J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. During World War II Lewis
tried to re-enlist but was denied, so he helped his family in the moving of child refugees.
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After WWII, he married Joy Davidman, but soon lost his wife to cancer. Shortly after,
Lewis developed blood poisoning and died.
“Own eyes are not enough for me, I will see through those of others. . . . In reading
great literature I become a thousand men and yet remain myself. Like the night sky in the
Greek poem, I see with a myriad eyes, but it is still I who see” (Lewis, C.S. Lewis: A Life).
As McGrath cites Lewis in his biography, he really puts an emphasis on Lewis’ thirst for
knowledge. This is a thirst that people should awaken in themselves. This desire to learn
is what drove Lewis to become the legend of a man he is today. It is a character trait that
should be desirable to all people and Lewis is a great example of this trait.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is, at the surface, merely a fantastic tale
about four children and a lion. The book begins with the children; Lucy, Edmund, Peter,
and Susan; moving into their new home for the summer with their uncle. To the children,
his house is a mansion filled with mystery and adventure. During one of these adventures
Lucy, the youngest, stumbled into a large wardrobe during a game of hide and seek. She
walked further and further back but eventually she found herself in a great wood. It was
a magical land and it is where she met Tubmus, a delightful talking fawn, before returning
home to tell the others. Of course, none of them believed her but soon Edmund, the
second youngest, found his way into this magical place as well. Rather than a nice fawn,
however, he met the White Witch who gave him enchanted hot chocolate and he
promised to bring his siblings back to her. Soon, all of the children found their way through
the wardrobe and began exploring. Eventually they met Mr. and Mrs. Beaver who were
kind and took them to their dam to have dinner. While here Edmund slips away to find the
White Witch and he does. The others notice he’s gone and the Beavers take the other
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children to Aslan, the great lion who can save Narnia. The three children meet Aslan and
were all taken aback by how great and powerful he seemed. In the meantime Aslan’s
supporters had gone and saved Edmund. He was happy to see the others but also very
ashamed and embarrassed for betraying them. That night they stayed at Aslan’s camp.
Lucy and Susan had trouble sleeping that night and when they heard Aslan leaving, they
decided to follow him. He walked right into the White Witch’s camp and let them kill him
on a large table. When the enemies cleared out, the girls ran to him crying, but he had
disappeared, leaving only a broken table. Then, out of nowhere, Aslan appeared, looking
stronger than ever. He explained to the girls that he had to give his life in exchange for
Edmund’s. When they returned to camp the next morning, there was a great battle being
waged between Aslan’s troops and the White Witch’s. With Aslan and the girl’s help, they
defeated the Whitch, and the four children took their place as kings and queens of Narnia.
This book may seem like just a fanciful tale for children, but upon closer
examination it is pretty easy to see that it is more than that. As Lewis writes, “Well, sir, if
things are real, they are there all the time." "Are they?" said the Professor; and Peter did
not quite know what to say” (Lewis, 81 The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe). As with
the rest of the book, Lewis is directly hinting at religion, but whether you buy into those
beliefs of not, it is easy to see the lesson that can be taught here. No matter how
outrageous or unsupported they are, follow your beliefs. It would have been easy for Lucy
to begin doubting herself when the others did not believe in her. She could have given up
on the idea and concluded that she made it all up but she stuck to it and she was right.
This is exactly Lewis’ point. People may tease you and tell you that you are wrong, but
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even if you are the only one who believes in something, stick with it, because you may be
right.
“"Here is your brother," he said, "and – there is no need to talk to him about what
is past." Edmund shook hands with each of the others and said to each of them in
turn, "I'm sorry," and everyone said "That's all right." And then everyone wanted
very hard to say something which would make it quite clear that they were all
friends with him again – something ordinary and natural – and of course no one
could think of anything in the world to say” (Lewis, 144 The Lion, the Witch, and
the Wardrobe).
One of the major themes in this novel is forgiveness. It appears time and time
again through the book and this is just one example. Forgiveness proves to be a valuable
trait in this book. It is what separates the good guys from the bad guys and allows them
to eventually win the battle. Another example of forgiveness in the book is when Aslan
dies on the table for Edmund’s betrayal. This is the ultimate sacrifice and shows the highest
degree of forgiveness. It is also very important that Aslan does this, because in the end it is
Edmund who kills the White Witch and frees Narnia. Through these examples, Lewis
encourages readers to show forgiveness. It is a trait that many story tellers overlook and do
not bother to teach, but it is one that deserves teaching and Lewis does it well.
The Screwtape Letters is one of the most unique and interesting books I have ever
read. The story is told in the form of letters. All of the letters are sent from Screwtape, a demon
who holds an administrative post in Hell, to his nephew Wormwood, an amateur tempter who
is trying to get his human target, called a “patient” to fall into irresponsibility, temptations, and
wrongdoing in order to eventually get the patient to Hell when he dies. All of the letters
Screwtape sends are full of advice for Wormwood and also scolding if he does something
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wrong, although there is rarely praise when he does something right. The majority of the book
is filled with tips and tricks on how to defeat and combat the “enemy” (God) and how to make
the patient conform to the demons’ will without him knowing that’s what he’s doing. Through
Screwtape’s reactions to Wormwood’s letters, you get an idea of the choices that the patient
is making. In the second letter the reader finds out that the patient has converted to
Christianity and Screwtape reprimands him for this. Later in the book the reader learns that
World War II has broken out. Screwtape comments that this could either help or hinder them
depending on the actions that Wormwood takes. The patient joins the army and is sent to
war, which, to Screwtape, is a bad thing for the demons. At the end of the book, the patient’s
plane is shot down in the war and he is killed. His soul is sent to heaven, meaning that
Wormwood and the demons have failed. Wormwood turns is to be severely punished, and
when he turns to his uncle for help, his uncle says that he can expect just as much assistance
as he would give Screwtape if their roles were reversed, referring to the time Wormwood
turned in his uncle for making a religious comment to offend him.
This book is a direct commentary on religion and can be viewed as a how-to guide for
how to be a religious person in reverse. Even though this book is more directly linked to
Christianity than The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, you can just as easily extract
important lessons for anyone to learn. Lewis writes “Courage is not simply one of the virtues
but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means at the point of highest reality”
(Lewis, 86 The Screwtape Letters). At this point in the book the patient is about to begin
fighting in the war and Screwtape is trying to tell Wormwood how to get the patient to think.
He advises him to stay away from courage at all costs, because it is one of the only values
that they cannot twist to their own advantage. This shows the importance of courage to
become a good person. A courageous person, according to Lewis, has the form of every
virtue at the testing point. It does not matter what type of courage you show. It can be going
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off to war, like the patient, or standing up for what you believe, or simply trying something
new. No matter the courage, it will be the base for all other positive traits in your life, and
Lewis teaches this lesson very well.
Throughout this book Lewis continually makes the argument that being open minded
is important on the journey to becoming a good person. “It is funny how mortals always picture
us as putting things into their minds: in reality our best work is done by keeping things out”
(Lewis, 11 The Screwtape Letters). Lewis is trying to show how close-mindedness can lead
to becoming a bad person. By letting new ideas and new beliefs into one’s mind, a person
grow and becomes better. Without open-mindedness we become stagnant as a person, never
progressing or growing or improving. Yet another valuable lesson taught by Lewis in The
Screwtape Letters.
C.S. Lewis has the unique ability to write a story that seems nothing more than that.
In reality, however, you cannot find one book written by him that does not teach the reader
one or more valuable lessons. Whether you are looking at his life through McGrath’s C.S.
Lewis: A Life, or reading one of his books such as The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe or
The Screwtape Letters there is always a desirable character trait to be learned. Lewis was
an amazing man and his books are regarded as classics and some of the best literature of all
time. Go ahead and pick one up, you may just become a better person because of it.