voyage of the dawn treader Chapter 10&11

BACKGROUND • Lewis’ summary: “About the spiritual life (especially in Reepicheep)”

RECAP Edmund & Lucy (LWW) and their cousin Eustace get sucked into Narnia through an old painting of a ship. They join King Caspian and Reepicheep on a voyage to reach the end of the world and rescue 7 banished Lords. On the Lone Islands, the groups escapes slavery and ind the irst lord (Bern) - make him governor of the land. On the next stop (Dragon island), Eustace turns into a dragon and must be saved and made new by Aslan. It also appears that the second lord (Octesian) died on this island. The group then escapes from a giant sea serpent and lands on Deathwater Island. Here they ind a pool that turns anything it touches into gold. The group is illed with pride but the appearance of Aslan helps them to forget themselves. The ind the third lord (Restimar) at the bottom of the golden pool. The next stop is on the Island of Voices. Invisible enemies demand that Lucy go up into a magician’s house to reverse the invisibility spell that has been placed on them.

CHAPTER 10: THE MAGICIAN’S BOOK * What are your irst reactions to this chapter? * What is the irst challenge Lucy faces in this chapter? (Her own fear). What is she afraid of? (Possibly the invisible people being giant grasshoppers. The magician and his creepy old house - stairs, masks and rooms. The mirror with the beard. Aslan Himself). * Fear is clearly a dominant theme in this chapter. But what should she be afraid of? (In one way - her own sinfulness. The image in the mirror is the one who could cause the most damage in this chapter. This is the opposite of her own conclusions about the mirror - “I just caught my own relection…it’s quite harmless” (148)). Is Lewis trying to say that we should we be afraid of ourselves? Should we be afraid of ourselves? * What are some signs that the magician might not be as scary as we irst think? (His study is full of books! He was also compared to a large cat by the invisible people. The magician evokes a similar kind of feeling as the Professor in LWW. He is mostly unseen and a little frightening but in the end is gentle, kind-hearted, and wise. I think this is how many children view adults especially older adults. They are almost frightening until you get to know them.) * How is the magic book described? What might this tell us about Lewis’ view of books? (Books are to be cherished. Books can be magical because they can take us to other worlds and out of ourselves.) * Lewis references Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night's Dream in this chapter - poor Bottom (153). Can you think of any other Shakespeare plays that resemble what is happening in these chapters? (The Tempest - A magician who lives on an island who rules over a begrudging subjects is encountered by a shipwrecked group of travelers…) * What would happen in Narnia if Lucy said the beautifying spell? (War) Clearly she doesn’t want this so why is she so compelled to say the spell? (Because back in England she will be more beautiful than Susan and everyone will pay attention to her. She wants this outcome even if it means the destruction of Narnia and probably Susan.) What does this tell us about our desires? (Many times we want things that would destroy us and those around us. And even if we know this it is still incredible hard to resist.) * Why doesn’t Lucy say the spell? (Fear of Aslan) Is this a good motivator for obedience today? (In some ways yes but the goal is to be motivated by love for God and others rather than just fear. But fear has its place as a guide/ an almost bumper lane that prevents us from going off track.) * Have you ever had this kind of moment where you see something or hear something almost as an intervention by God and suddenly realize something you've been doing is wrong? * Why does Lucy hurry up and say the second spell? * Why doesn’t Aslan intervene? (We don’t know the ways of God. He is beyond us in every way. We should be thankful for every intervention. But I also think the reason may be that this spell affects Lucy personally rather than hurting so many others.) * What are the consequences of Lucy giving into temptation in this instance? (She will never fully trust her friend again. They may not even remain friends.) Why doesn’t Aslan tell her what would have happened had she resisted the temptation? ("To know what would have happened, child?” said Aslan. "No. Nobody is ever told that…But anyone can ind out what will happen” - PC) Why does this motivate us to obedience? (Before temptation - think how this could destroy my life. After temptation - forgiveness and moving on to the next right step.) * What do you make of the wonderful story Lucy read? (Lucy was living in the story. It came alive. It was real. The events in it had impacted her individually. This is true of the Gospel story as well - A cup, sword, tree, hill) What do you think these represent? (Last Supper, Arrest, Cruciixion, Resurrection/Ascension - Aslan will tell her this story again and again.) * Why do all good stories remind her of this story? (All stories ultimately point back to the Gospel. Lewis and Tolkien argued that the Gospel “is NOT simply one more great story, pointing to the underlying reality. Rather, the Gospel IS the underlying reality to which all stories point. It gives us more than a passing inspiration because it happened. It is THE true story.”) * What does Lucy look like when she irst sees Aslan? (Almost as beautiful as the magical Lucy) What is Lewis saying by this? (Jesus is the one who can actually give us what we desire, in seeing Jesus we become like Him, that true beauty is found in a God-facing heart.) * Lucy wrongly thinks that nothing she does could make Aslan visible. So how do the things we do today make God more or less visible? * What are Aslan’s “own rules” that he obeys? (Hebrews 12:14 — “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” Our actions either reveal or conceal the Lord. This is how God intended for it to work.)

CHAPTER 11: THE DUFFLEPUDS MADE HAPPY * What are your irst reactions to this chapter? * Why is Coriakin on this island? (Sent here to rule over the Duffers and help them learn to be governed by wisdom.) * What do the Duffers think of Coriakin? (They distrust him and think they know better than him.) How do we sometimes respond like the Duffers to those who are put in authority over us? * Why won’t Aslan show Himself to the Duffers? What does this tell us about God? (God's “dealings with each are tailored to the individual needs of each. Fuller revelations of His nature are withheld until our capacities have been adequately enlarged.”) * What does Coriakin mean that Aslan can’t be kept and he is not tame? How is this true of God? (We can’t make Him do what we think is best and we can’t force his presence in our lives…) * Why does Coriakin think it is better for the Duflepuds to admire the Chief than to admire nobody? (A call for heroes…) * How does the constant approval of the Duflepuds resemble our current age? (Echo chambers…)

CHARACTERS - Edmund - David - Lucy - Lucy - Eustace - Hudson - Reepicheep - - Aslan - Todd - Chief - - Invisible People 1, 2, 3 - - Anne Featherstone - - Marjorie Preston - - Coriakin -