A Wardrobe that leads you to Narnia.

Most writers use some kind of source when writing a novel. The inspiration may

be religious, scientific, or something that inspires them. They may use the source to

prove a point or add sense to the text. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by Clive

Staples Lewis, is a brilliant example of this. The themes of this novel, I believe, are the

fundamental concepts of good and evil and the religion of Christianity. The Lion, the

Witch, and the Wardrobe are just one of the seven pieces of the Chronicles of Narnia.

This exciting story revolves around four children who, by chance, enter the magical

world. The children (Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy) arrive at a place called Narnia to

find it under the wicked rule of the White Witch, the self-appointed Queen of Narnia. It

was predicted that human children would come to Narnia and free it from the Witch's

control. They are destined to restore and bring peace to Narnia and set off on a quest to

correct the White witch's wrongdoings.

One of the themes of this novel is the idea of a basic struggle between good and

evil in life. Good is portrayed by Aslan, a lion who is kind and gentle, a representation of

all that is good. On the other hand, the White Witch represents evil with her poorly-used

spells and unkind nature. The message here is trying to remind us to be mindful of the

darkness as it exists in many disguises. The theme of this novel, I believe, is to do with

Christianity. Each of the seven books in The Chronicles of Narnia deals with one of the

seven deadly sins. In the case of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, there is a sin

of gluttony (a misplaced appetite for food). Sin happens when Edmund causes himself

to lock himself on the Turkish delight long after he leaves the White Witch. Edmund's

intake of Turkish delight may also be a connection to the sins of Adam and Eve as they
eat from the Tree of Knowledge. There are a lot of mythologies in this story and a lot of

Christian interpretations. Although God and Christ have never been expressly

mentioned, the similarities between Aslan and Christ are very recognizable. Events

such as the breaking of the Stone Table, the role played by prophecies, self-sacrifice,

public shame before death, the resurrection and the references to Christmas, Adam and

Eve are all indicative of religion.

The story of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the wardrobe

starts when four children named Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy go to the country to

live in an old professor's huge, mysterious house during the London air raids. On a rainy

day, the children take the opportunity to explore the house, looking into spare bedrooms

and old passageways, before Lucy, the youngest, stops to look into a huge wardrobe

sitting in an empty room. She walks past the long fur coats and finds herself standing in

the middle of the trees. Its night and snow is falling, though it's summer in London. She

walks in the direction of an iron lamp-post and, finding it odd to come to a lamp-post in

the middle of a wood, she encounters a very surprised faun. This faun, confirming that

Lucy is a human child, or a "daughter of Eve," she invites her to enjoy tea, sweets,

stories, and music in her cozy little cave. Suddenly, she exclaims that she has to get

back, and the faun, Mr. Tumnus, begins to cry. He explains that he is in the service of

the evil White Witch, who has cast a spell over Narnia so that it's always winter, but

never Christmas. Narnia is the name of the world in which Lucy encounter, a world that

extends from the lamppost to the eastern shore. But for her brothers and sisters, no

time has passed since she was last seen. Lucy is excited to share news of Narnia with

them, but when they search inside the closet, they find it quite ordinary.
 The next rainy day, as the children play hide-and-seek, Lucy crawls back into the

closet. Edmund, seeing her vanish, follows her and finds him standing in the middle of

the forest on a winter's day. He approaches the lamp-post, calling out to Lucy, when the

sledge of a reindeer comes to a halt. A woman in white fur with a golden wand and

crown states that she is the Queen of Narnia and questions Edmund who he is. Once

she discovers that he is a human child, or a "Son of Adam," she invites him to sit down

with her in her sledge, and stirs him a warm drink and, at his request a box of Turkish

delights. As Edmund eats the Turkish Delights, she tells him to return with his brother

and sisters to her house, which she points out between the two hills in the distance. She

leaves him at the lamp-post, still craving more Turkish Delights. Lucy sees him and is

delighted that he's made it through; together, they're out of the closet, and Edmund

informs Susan and Peter that they've pretended to be in Narnia. Lucy runs away and

cries, and Susan and Peter, concerned that Lucy has gone crazy, and are going to

speak to the professor about the situation. To their shock, the professor asks them why

they don't believe Lucy's claim, because logic suggests that she's telling the truth. One

day, the housekeeper gives the kids strict orders to stay out of the way as she takes a

group to a tour through the house, which is very popular. When the children play, they

immediately remember that they're going to run straight into the group that is touring

around the house. The four of them run into the empty room and into the wardrobe.

Within seconds, they find themselves standing in the forest. Peter apologizes to Lucy for

not trusting her, and Edmund disapproves of the fact that he had been lying about

having been in Narnia before, angering Peter. Lucy brings the group to Mr. Tumnus's

home, but when they get to his door they discover that he's been arrested. They are led
by a red robin to Mr. Beaver, who brings them to their home, where Mrs. Beaver has

cooked a meal. Mr. Beaver states that Mr. Tumnus was captured and possibly

transformed into a stone in the Witch's house. In the meantime, he has received a

message that Aslan is close and that they will all meet him at the Stone Table the next

day. After a while, Lucy learns that Edmund is gone, and Mr. Beaver voices his

suspicion that he's going to the White Witch. They hurriedly prepared for the trip to the

Stone Table and spent the night in an old hiding spot, waking up in the morning to the

sound of the bells. Father Christmas has arrived, a warning that the magic of the Witch

is beginning to fade. He gives gifts to each of them, as well as a lovely tea tray.

In the meantime, Edmund makes his way through the freezing night to the

Witch's house and finds a stone statue courtyard. He's let in, and he tells the Witch that

his brother and sisters are at the Beavers ' place and that Aslan is coming. The Witch is

shocked and sends her wolves to the Beavers and the children, ordering her sledge to

be prepared. Edmund discovers that there is no more Turkish delight, and he starts to

believe like he has made a major mistake. He was ordered into the sledge next to the

Witch, and after moving through the ice, they came to see a small group celebrating

Christmas morning in the woods. The Witch transforms them into a stone, and when

Edmund tries to stop her, she hits him. The coming spring made it difficult for the sledge

to go any further, so they begin walking, Edmund's hands tied tightly behind his back .

When the Beavers and Peter, Susan and Lucy arrive at the East Shore, where they find

the Stone Table and Aslan, the great lion, Aslan asks where the fourth one has gone,

and Mr. Beaver reveals that Edmund has betrayed them to the Witch. Then Peter

displays the castle of Cair Paravel, where there are four thrones waiting to be filled.
Then, there are cries. The Witch's wolves have arrived, and Peter, in a show of bravery,

kills the leader by hitting him in his head. In recognition of this act of courage, Aslan

makes Peter a Knight.

Edmund, meanwhile, is tired from walking. He and the Witch are coming to a halt

in the forest, where she binds him to a tree and prepares to destroy him. There's a

commotion at that moment Edmund faints. The Witch and her dwarf run, but Aslan

saves Edmund. He's walking with Aslan in the morning, and they're having a private

conversation. When they come back, Edmund tells his brother and sisters he's sorry,

and they're all forgive him. The Witch is looking for a meeting with Aslan. There is talk of

a dark magic that allows traitors like Edmund to be handed over to the Witch. Aslan,

however, takes her aside and makes an agreement that no one dares ask. The Witch

leaves and the rest of them set up a tent for the night. Susan and Lucy have trouble

falling asleep during the night, fearing like something terrible is going to happen. They

discover that Aslan is heading into the forest, and they decide to follow him. He notices

that they're trailing him, and they're walking together to the Stone Table, where Aslan

tells them they need to hide. They watch the evil party, headed by the Witch. He's tied

down, and the Witch kills him with a knife. In the silence that follows, the two girls

approach the dead body and begin to weep. When the sun rises, though, they hear a

sudden crash: the Stone Table was destroyed. They discovered that Aslan is alive. He

reveals that there is another magic, older than the one the Witch knows, a magic before

the dawn of time. This helps the person who dies to come back to life in the role of a

traitor. The two girls climb onto him, and Aslan leaps across the country to the Witch's
tower, where he runs over the wall to the courtyard. Once there, he brings all of the

stone statues back to life - including Mr. Tumnus.

Assembled to battle the White Witch, the team quickly travels to a narrow valley

where Peter, Edmund, and Aslan's army are battling the Witch and her followers. Aslan

confronts the Witch and kills her, winning the war. Edmund is injured, and Peter reveals

to the others that Edmund was the one who destroyed the Witch's wand. Lucy uses her

Christmas gift, a bottle of fire-flower juice from the light, to recover everything. Aslan

instructs her, too, to tend to the others. Edmund is growing, and tougher than ever

before. Aslan is turning him into a knight. There is a festival at Cair Paravel, and the

prophecy is coming true: the four thrones are filled with the two Sons of Adam and the

two Daughters of Eve, and Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy each rise in glory. They

rule Narnia fairly for several years, until one day, as they search for the White Stag in

the Western Woods; they come to a lamp-post. They're all struck oddly, like something

from a movie. They step past it, and all of a sudden the trees become jackets, and they

slip out of the closet in their old clothing. The housekeeper and the tour group are just

passing through the door. The children tell the professor the tale in order to justify why

four of the fur coats in the wardrobe are missing. He believes their story entirety, and

tells them that one day they will see Narnia again. He emphasizes what Aslan said to

them as they claimed their thrones: they will always be kings and queens of Narnia.

Even though this novel is steeped in Christian origin story, Lewis is attempting to

make this tale broadly applicable to the human condition. I believe that the writer blends

biblical interpretation with fiction to help young people in their struggle to believe that

only a small sin would send us to hell and that Jesus ' love for the weakest and smallest
person has changed the world. Lewis uses symbolism to make the Lion, the Witch and

the Wardrobe fascinating and engaging on a variety of levels. For example, the death of

Aslan clearly reflects the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ. The irredeemable

darkness of the White Witch represents Satan. The snow that covers Narnia all year

round is a sign of death, an indication that Narnia is a cold and gloomy place where life

cannot grow properly. Springtime and Christmas, symbolize hope for mankind-with the

birth of Christ, we are given the promise of a new life-never come to Narnia until the

defeat of the White Witch.

Lewis uses similar symbols to portray the character of the White Witch: "Its face

was white-not just black, but white like snow, except for its very red lips. It was a lovely

face in many ways, but proud and cold and stern." The Lion, the Witch and the

Wardrobe provide us with a new view of faith and allow the story of Jesus to come to

life. This also helped us to acquire understanding of the nature of good and bad.
 A Wardrobe that leads you to Narnia.

SUBMITTED BY: Zchareen Dominique C. Ambong

Grade 11 – Our Lady of Fatima

SUBMITTED TO: Mrs. Rosemarie Elusfa