Chronicles of Narnia Literary Analisis 1, 2, and 3

Reading Analysis 1, 2, and 3

                                           

I just finished reading the Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis. All of the books in this series fall under the fantasy genre.  The books follow the adventures of several children and their quests to do good and overcome evil in the fictional land of Narnia. The collective theme of these books state that love for all things is essential and that “good” will always overcome “evil”.

These books take place over a wide variety of settings.  But mainly, the central location is Narnia, a fictional parallel world. The world of Narnia has several countries including Narnia itself, Calormene, Archenland, The Seven Isles, The Lone Islands, and many more. The adventures of the children take place in the forests, underground lands, and on the sea.  The palace, Cair Paravel, is also a location important in each of the seven books.

The Chronicles of Narnia do not follow the adventures of one child only. They follow several children, and the adventures of each child are intertwined with the adventures of the others.

Aslan—Aslan is the Great Lion, the creator of the world of Narnia. Aslan is a lion, and he is the definition of “good”. He is in all the stories and he connects with each of the children from our world who come into the land of Narnia.

The Children from our world—Digory Kirke and Polly Plummer happen into the world of Narnia the day it is being created. They appear in the Magicians Nephew, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and The Last Battle. The Pevensie children, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy are central focal points in the Narnia series. They defeat the White Witch in the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Aslan makes the Pevensie children and kings and queens of Narnia.  They are always considered kings and queens each time they visit Narnia. One or more of the Pevensie children appears in each of the books. Eustace Scrubb and Jill Pole are two friends who happen into the land of Narnia.  Eustace is a cousin to the Pevensie children.

Important characters from the land of Narnia—Prince Caspian is a great friend to the Pevensie children and Eustace. He is the rightful heir to the Narnian throne during his time. Shasta and Aravis are the characters in The Horse and his Boy. Shasta discovers that he is a prince and later on marries Aravis.

In each of the Narnian books there is conflict. The main conflict is always major, the classic “good” vs. “evil”. The conflict in these stories is centered on a character who wishes for power and control. Much of the conflict in this series is fought out through battles. “Good” always wins in the land of Narnia and the children help make sure that Narnia overcomes evil. Aslan always helps the children complete the tasks he gives them to overcome the evil in the land of Narnia.

Many scholars believe that the Narnia series has Christian parallels. Even though C.S. Lewis said that he did not intend in the first place to parallel Christianity through his books, I liked reading and discovering the parallels that scholars have made.

 I also enjoy being able to identify with all the characters when I read a book. One of my favorite characters in this series is Lucy Pevensie. I love her innocence and her pure love for all things around her. Prince Caspian is my second favorite character. I enjoyed reading about his journey and I thought that he was a very strong character.