Allegory and Symbolism: Deciphering the Chronicles
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Eucatastrophe and Co-Inherence in the Urban Utopian Vision of Charles Williams Bradley Wells
Eucatastrophe and Co-inherence in the Urban Utopian Vision of Charles Williams Bradley Wells Charles Williams is perhaps best known for his association with the Oxford writing group formed in the early twentieth century known as ‘The Inklings’. While the members of this group had much in common, including a shared Christian faith, their creative visions differed in both form and content. In particular, Williams differed from his better known colleagues, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, in the presentation of a unique utopic vision of the ur- ban world. Both Lewis’s Narnia and Tolkien’s Middle Earth are essentially fantasy worlds to which the reader escapes, be it immediately and inherently in Tolkien, or transitionally and allegorically in Lewis. Williams’s novels and plays differ in that they are more immediate and accessible, being set in a particular location and time in our familiar world. Rather than transporting the reader to a distant imaginary world, Williams expands our understand- ing of the everyday empirical one in order to accommodate his social and spiritual vision. That is not to say that Lewis and Tolkien have nothing to say about the world they inhabit, but rather that their attitude towards it is more ambivalent. Flora Leinard demonstrates this in her recent study that contrasts Tolkien’s anti-industrial and anti-urban 'green' vision, and the 1 more optimistic and embracing urban view of Williams. In this context, natural utopic idylls represented in the Shire, Rivendell, Ents and Silmarils COLLOQUY text theory critique 21 (2011). © Monash University. www.arts.monash.edu.au/ecps/colloquy/journal/issue021/wells.pdf 102 Bradley Wells ░ of Middle Earth are not to be found in Williams, except in the form of a mere adolescent pre-urban phase. -
Socialist Fairy Tales, Fables, and Allegories from Great Britain
© Copyright, Princeton University Press. No part of this book may be distributed, posted, or reproduced in any form by digital or mechanical means without prior written permission of the publisher. ■ Introduction In 1974, I visited the mining area of South Wales to make a short educational radio programme about the nationalization of the mines, which took place under the Labour government of 1945– 50. One miner and political activist, Chris Evans, gave me a long interview ranging across the history of locality, mining, work, and his hopes for a socialist future. In describing the nature of life and work, he moved into recitation mode and said: I go to work, to earn money to buy bread to build up my strength, to go to work to earn money to buy bread to build up my strength to go to work . We laughed wryly. I enjoyed the way in which he had reduced the whole cycle of life and work into one rhythmic account. In literary terms, it turns the intricate interactions of existence into emblems, single vignettes that flow one to the other, contrasting with each other. It is, then, a particular kind of storytelling used with the in- tent of revealing or alerting a reader or listener to what the speaker thinks is an unsatisfactory state of affairs. The fact that the story doesn’t end with a conclusion hits the button because through its never- ending form (rather than through words themselves) it re- veals the folly, drudgery, and wrongness of what is being critiqued. 1 For general queries, contact [email protected] © Copyright, Princeton University Press. -
The Magician's Nephew Is a Fictional Fantasy
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1. Background of the Research The Chronicles of Narnia: the Magician’s Nephew is a fictional fantasy novel written by C. S. Lewis as the sixth book of the series. This novel was published in 1955 by HarperCollins. Even though it was published as the sixth book, chronically the story of the novel happened before The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, which makes this novel as the first book of the series. The Chronicles of Narnia consists of seven books; “The Magician’s Nephew”, “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe”, “The Horse and His Boy”, “Prince Caspian”, “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader”, “The Silver Chair” and “The Last Battle”. The story of The Magician’s Nephew is about Digory Kirke and Polly Plummer, two children characters, which have to protect and save Narnia from Queen Jadis and Uncle Andrew, two adult characters that want to exploit and destroy it. There is an irony about how children grow up with a lesson that they have to save the nature, but the adults ruin it. Based on that fact, I believe that humans can be divided into two types of behavior seen from the way they are treating the nature, the protector and the destroyer. This novel describes that the serenity of nature is the important thing that becomes the reason of Digory and Polly to begin their journey. Based on that aspect, humans know nature is a thing that cannot be avoided in our life since humans grow up in nature and most of bedtime stories and fairytales take nature as its settings. -
Alternate History – Alternate Memory: Counterfactual Literature in the Context of German Normalization
ALTERNATE HISTORY – ALTERNATE MEMORY: COUNTERFACTUAL LITERATURE IN THE CONTEXT OF GERMAN NORMALIZATION by GUIDO SCHENKEL M.A., Freie Universität Berlin, 2006 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (German Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) April 2012 © Guido Schenkel, 2012 ABSTRACT This dissertation examines a variety of Alternate Histories of the Third Reich from the perspective of memory theory. The term ‘Alternate History’ describes a genre of literature that presents fictional accounts of historical developments which deviate from the known course of hi story. These allohistorical narratives are inherently presentist, meaning that their central question of “What If?” can harness the repertoire of collective memory in order to act as both a reflection of and a commentary on contemporary social and political conditions. Moreover, Alternate Histories can act as a form of counter-memory insofar as the counterfactual mode can be used to highlight marginalized historical events. This study investigates a specific manifestation of this process. Contrasted with American and British examples, the primary focus is the analysis of the discursive functions of German-language counterfactual literature in the context of German normalization. The category of normalization connects a variety of commemorative trends in postwar Germany aimed at overcoming the legacy of National Socialism and re-formulating a positive German national identity. The central hypothesis is that Alternate Histories can perform a unique task in this particular discursive setting. In the context of German normalization, counterfactual stories of the history of the Third Reich are capable of functioning as alternate memories, meaning that they effectively replace the memory of real events with fantasies that are better suited to serve as exculpatory narratives for the German collective. -
JRR Tolkien's Sub-Creations of Evil
Volume 36 Number 1 Article 7 10-15-2017 ‘A Warp of Horror’: J.R.R. Tolkien’s Sub-creations of Evil Richard Angelo Bergen University of British Columbia Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore Part of the Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons Recommended Citation Bergen, Richard Angelo (2017) "‘A Warp of Horror’: J.R.R. Tolkien’s Sub-creations of Evil," Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature: Vol. 36 : No. 1 , Article 7. Available at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol36/iss1/7 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Mythopoeic Society at SWOSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature by an authorized editor of SWOSU Digital Commons. An ADA compliant document is available upon request. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To join the Mythopoeic Society go to: http://www.mythsoc.org/join.htm Mythcon 51: A VIRTUAL “HALFLING” MYTHCON July 31 - August 1, 2021 (Saturday and Sunday) http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-51.htm Mythcon 52: The Mythic, the Fantastic, and the Alien Albuquerque, New Mexico; July 29 - August 1, 2022 http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-52.htm Abstract Considers Tolkien’s skilled evocation of evil and the way he manages to hold Augustinian and Manichean conceptions of evil in balance, particularly in his depiction of orcs. Additional Keywords Augustine, St.—Concept of evil; Evil, Nature of, in J.R.R. -
The Great War and Narnia: C.S. Lewis As Soldier and Creator
Volume 30 Number 1 Article 8 10-15-2011 The Great War and Narnia: C.S. Lewis as Soldier and Creator Brian Melton Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore Part of the Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons Recommended Citation Melton, Brian (2011) "The Great War and Narnia: C.S. Lewis as Soldier and Creator," Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature: Vol. 30 : No. 1 , Article 8. Available at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol30/iss1/8 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Mythopoeic Society at SWOSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature by an authorized editor of SWOSU Digital Commons. An ADA compliant document is available upon request. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To join the Mythopoeic Society go to: http://www.mythsoc.org/join.htm Mythcon 51: A VIRTUAL “HALFLING” MYTHCON July 31 - August 1, 2021 (Saturday and Sunday) http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-51.htm Mythcon 52: The Mythic, the Fantastic, and the Alien Albuquerque, New Mexico; July 29 - August 1, 2022 http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-52.htm Abstract Looks at influence of orldW War I in Lewis’s autobiography and on war in Narnia, correcting mistaken search by some critics for deep-seated war trauma in Lewis’s life. Reinforces that Lewis and Tolkien were not psychological twins, had differing personalities going into the war, and came out of it with different approaches to dealing with war in their fiction. -
The Horse and His Boy
Quick Card: The horse and his boy The Horse and His Boy, by C. S. Lewis. Reference ISBN: 9780007588541 Shasta, a Northerner enslaved to a Calormene fisherman, dreams of escape to the free North of Archenland. With the help of a talking horse named Bree, Shasta flees, meeting another pair of fugitives along the way: Plot Aravis and her talking horse Hwin. As they journey northwards, the four uncover a plot by Rabadash, the prince of Calormene, to conquer Archenland and threaten the peace of the northern lands. They race to warn the Archenlanders and rally the Narnians to their aid. This story is set during the Golden reign of the Pevensie children: Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. Calormene- A land South of Narnia, it is home to cruel, pagan slave lords: the Tarquins. Setting Narnia- Home of the four kings and queens of legend and kingdom of the lion Aslan, the Son of the King Beyond the Sea. Archenland- Borderland between Calormene and Narnia, populated by free people whose loyalty is to Narnia and Aslan. Shasta- The protagonist of the piece is a young boy, uneducated and neglected. Though he is immature, he has an inbred longing for freedom and justice and an indomitable hope to escape to the free North. Bree recognizes at once that he must be “of true Northern stock.” Bree- Pompous and self-important, the Narnian horse brags about his knowledge of the North and plays the courageous war-horse though he is really a coward at heart. Despite his boorish tone, he is a loyal friend. -
The Shifting Perils of the Strange and the Familiar’: Representations of the Orient in Children's Fantasy Literature
‘The shifting perils of the strange and the familiar’: representations of the Orient in children's fantasy literature by Farah Ismail Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Magister Artium (English) In the Faculty of Humanities University of Pretoria Pretoria 2010 Supervisor: Ms. Molly Brown © University of Pretoria Acknowledgments I would like to thank: Ms. Molly Brown, for her guidance and support My parents, Suliman and Faaiqa Ismail, for their support and encouragement Mrs Idette Noomé, for her help with the Afrikaans translation of the summary Yvette Samson, whose boundless enthusiasm has been an immense inspiration © University of Pretoria Summary This thesis investigates the function of representations of the Orient in fantasy literature for children with a focus on The Chronicles of Narnia as exemplifying its most problematic manifestation. According to Edward Said (2003:1-2), the Orient is one of Europe’s ‘deepest and most recurring images of the Other… [which]…has helped to define Europe (or the West) as its contrasting image, idea, personality, experience.’ However, values are grouped around otherness1 in fantasy literature as in no other genre, facilitating what J.R.R. Tolkien (2001:58) identifies as Recovery, the ‘regaining of a clear view… [in order that] the things seen clearly may be freed from the drab blur of triteness or familiarity.’ In Chapter One, it is argued that this gives the way the genre deals with spaces and identities characterized as Oriental, which in Western stories are themselves vested with qualities of strangeness, a peculiar significance. Specifically, new ways of perceiving the function of representations of the Other are explored in the genre of fantasy. -
The Crisis in Protestant Biblical Theology
The Crisis in Protestant Biblical Theology Warren A. Gage, Th.M., J.D., Ph.D. In a very few years we Protestants will celebrate the 500th anniversary of our Reformation. The passing of such a milestone will have our now worldwide community celebrating many astonishing accomplishments. In retrospect it is clear that a virtual fountain of liberty, both spiritual and political, poured forth from the nail–pierced door in Wittenberg. The gospel of free grace was recovered in 1517, resulting in a robust proclamation of spiritual freedom justified by an appeal to Scripture alone. This gospel of liberty was restated by Luther and the Reformers in a message so powerful that many multitudes of Europeans, both in their home countries and later in their many colonies around the world, ascribed salvation from the bondage of sin to the singular work of God, who raised Christ Jesus from the dead in order to make His people free. The foremost achievement of the Reformation was to give the Bible to the common man.1 In order to disciple the nations to the teaching of the Scripture, men and women had to be taught to read. As a consequence, schools were founded in Protestant communities in Europe and North America. The resulting increase of popular literacy enabled enlightened and liberal communities to emerge in the wake of the Reformed missionary and in response to the pulpit of the Reformed pastor. Moreover, the Bible gave the Protestant church an eschatological vision which required a teleological understanding of the world and a linear understanding of historical progress. -
Teaching Speculative Fiction in College: a Pedagogy for Making English Studies Relevant
Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University English Dissertations Department of English Summer 8-7-2012 Teaching Speculative Fiction in College: A Pedagogy for Making English Studies Relevant James H. Shimkus Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/english_diss Recommended Citation Shimkus, James H., "Teaching Speculative Fiction in College: A Pedagogy for Making English Studies Relevant." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2012. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/english_diss/95 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of English at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in English Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. TEACHING SPECULATIVE FICTION IN COLLEGE: A PEDAGOGY FOR MAKING ENGLISH STUDIES RELEVANT by JAMES HAMMOND SHIMKUS Under the Direction of Dr. Elizabeth Burmester ABSTRACT Speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy, and horror) has steadily gained popularity both in culture and as a subject for study in college. While many helpful resources on teaching a particular genre or teaching particular texts within a genre exist, college teachers who have not previously taught science fiction, fantasy, or horror will benefit from a broader pedagogical overview of speculative fiction, and that is what this resource provides. Teachers who have previously taught speculative fiction may also benefit from the selection of alternative texts presented here. This resource includes an argument for the consideration of more speculative fiction in college English classes, whether in composition, literature, or creative writing, as well as overviews of the main theoretical discussions and definitions of each genre. -
Doctor Cornelius Knows It's Important That Caspian Know His Own History
octor Cornelius knows it’s important that Caspian know his own history and the Dhistory of Narnia. Use the facts below to answer the questions on the activity page. NARNIA FACT FILE O When C.S. Lewis started writing his O In choosing the name, ‘Pevensie’, but the author of The Hobbit and The first story about Narnia, he began with C.S. Lewis may have been thinking of Lord of the Rings didn’t like the story the words: “This book is about four the village of Pevensey on the Sussex and Lewis almost didn’t write any children whose names were Ann, coast, which was the historic site of more. Martin, Rose, and Peter. But it is most an early Roman fort built to protect O It was C.S. Lewis’ good friend, about Peter who was the youngest.” England from invasion. It is also the writer Roger Lancelyn Green, who Peter was the only one of C S Lewis’ where Duke William the Bastard of encouraged the author to complete original names for the children to be Normandy came ashore for his the first book about Narnia and, later, used in the books and he was the invasion which culminated in the suggested giving the seven books the eldest not the youngest. Battle of Hastings. overall title, ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’. O C.S. Lewis probably chose the name O C.S. Lewis’ dedicated The Lion, O Although J.R.R. Tolkien didn’t really ‘Peter’ because it had been the name the Witch and the Wardrobe to his like C.S. -
Fantastical Worlds and the Act of Reading in Peter and Wendy, the Chronicles of Narnia, and Harry Potter
Bucknell University Bucknell Digital Commons Master’s Theses Student Theses Spring 2021 Fantastical Worlds and the Act of Reading in Peter and Wendy, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Harry Potter Grace Monroe Bucknell University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.bucknell.edu/masters_theses Part of the Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons, and the Literature in English, British Isles Commons Recommended Citation Monroe, Grace, "Fantastical Worlds and the Act of Reading in Peter and Wendy, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Harry Potter" (2021). Master’s Theses. 247. https://digitalcommons.bucknell.edu/masters_theses/247 This Masters Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Theses at Bucknell Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master’s Theses by an authorized administrator of Bucknell Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. I, Grace Monroe, do grant permission for my thesis to be copied. FANTASTICAL WORLDS AND THE ACT OF READING IN PETER AND WENDY, THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, AND HARRY POTTER by Grace Rebecca Monroe (A Thesis) Presented to the Faculty of Bucknell University In Partial Fulfillments of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in English : Virginia Zimmerman : Anthony Stewart _____May 2021____________ (Date: month and Year) Next moment he was standing erect on the rock again, with that smile on his face and a drum beating within him. It was saying, “To die would be an awfully big adventure.” J.M. Barrie, Peter and Wendy Acknowledgements I would like to thank the many people who have been instrumental in my completion of this project.