Symbolism in Narnia

Cherished by children and adults alike, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, which chronologically is second in C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia, is today perhaps the best-known out of the entire fantasy series. Within the novel, each enchanting character that's introduced to the reader and the situations they're placed in symbolizes something much larger. Specifically, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe's main theme is on the biblical message of salvation. Roaring into the story, the lion Aslan, who is the true king of Narnia, represents Jesus Christ in several different ways. Firstly, Aslan's a lion. Is it just coincidence that the lion is the king of the jungle? Why choose a lion? What's it mean? In the Bible, there is proof that Jesus descends from the tribe of Judah, which is referred to as a lion. That's just the beginning of the representation. When Aslan enters Narnia, he frees the Narnians from the White Witch's curse. Likewise, when Jesus the Savior entered the world, he freed his children from the bondage of sin. Surprisingly, the trinity is briefly mentioned in the book, since Aslan is the son of the emperor over the sea. Before the Pevensie children meet Aslan, Peter asks Mr. Beaver if there is any way he can rescue the faun, Mr. Tumnus. The wise, old, animal replies only Aslan can save the faun. It's the same for us. It's solely God who can give salvation. This saving grace is symbolized by the sacrifice Aslan makes for undeserving Edmund. Similar to Christ on the cross, Aslan was shaved and mocked then put to death on the Stone Table. After Aslan's execution, the stone table cracked into two large pieces. Amazingly, the exact moment the Son of God perished, the curtain hanging in the holy of holies was torn top to bottom. If Aslan had not conquered death, like Jesus did on the third day, the symbolism would have stopped there. Not to mention the story would have ended terribly! Obviously, C.S. Lewis didn't put Aslan in his story for no reason. The magnificent lion Aslan, king of the fantasy world called Narnia, symbolizes our perfect savior Jesus Christ throughout the entire series.

Every story needs a menacing villain. Meeting this standard, Jadis, known as the White Witch among the Narnians, positions herself as Queen of Narnia and places a curse over the land that makes it always winter. Since the Chronicles of Narnia series has biblical overtones, it's no surprise that the witch symbolizes Satan. But how does she exactly? Here are some examples. Along with the witch looms the awful frost. This, of course, portrays sin entering the world. Undeniably, Jadis isn't nicknamed the White Witch for nothing. Possessing incredible power, the false queen transforms people into stone and her evil magic makes things seem like what they're not. The lady, who is whiter than snow and has the appearance of an Amazon, is a deceiver. In the book of Genesis, where we read about the first deceiver, Satan makes his entrance into the Garden of Eden bearing the image of a snake. While there, he lies to Adam and Eve by telling them if they sin against the Lord they will become their own god. This is imaginatively paralleled within the children's book. Devilishly, the White Witch tricks Edmund into believing she'll crown him prince and eventually king over Narnia, as long as he serves her wishes. Although the witch controls Narnia, she will never obtain the power of the four future kings and queens she desires, because she isn't human at all, even though she likes to think so. Similarly, no matter how much the devil chooses to believe it, he isn't equal to God's power, because he's a fallen angle. Astonishingly, even though the Witch is threatening, she is still terribly afraid of Aslan. Likewise, the prince of sin is terrified of the King of Kings. Over all, there are many ways Jadis represents Satan in Narnia. You only need to dig deeper to reveal the true identity of Narnia's menacing villain.

There is one more comparison we need to consider, and that's how does Lucy represent a believer and how Edmund is like a nonbeliever? Although there're related, Lucy and Edmund are as different from each other as Aslan and the witch are. Out of the four Pevensie children, the two youngest children's character is apparent by their fruits. Being the first to discover Narnia, kind-hearted Lucy is honest, valiant, faithful, and loving, while Edmund is selfish, cowardly, deceitful, and just plain cruel. Curiously, in the book the children mention some of their favorite animals, which happen show their personalities. Lucy's is a badger. Unsurprisingly, Edmund exclaims his first pick is the sly fox. Compared to each other, the brother and sister are complete opposites, especially in their different reactions of Narnia. When Edmund stumbles upon Narnia for the first time, he is immediately tempted by the witch's magical drink and Turkish delight. Selfishly, the little pig convinces himself to desert his family in order to please his stomach. Temptation is something we all deal with, because we're human. When people who don't serve Lord are tempted, of course they're going to do what they want, because, after all, they are the ones who are at the center of their lives. We are either serving ourselves or God. Realizing he made the wrong choice a little too late, Edmund finds no comfort in following the White Witch and feels cold and terribly sick. Ultimately, those who serve the devil through their sins will never find permanent satisfaction and will regret it for eternity. Because Edmund is poisoned by the witch's food, he hates Aslan just like those who are not of Jesus' flock despise him. From the first time Edmund hears Aslan's name, he feels a deep dread, meanwhile Lucy feels exhilarating joy. Loved for her innocence, Lucy treasures being in the presence of the mighty Aslan and is devoted to serving and fighting for him. Likewise, Christians find fulfillment, comfort and purpose in serving the Lord correctly, and long for the day when they will be glorified and with their heavenly Father for eternity. Graciously, Aslan saved Edmund from the witch's snare and forgave him for his actions. Although Edmund knew he was forgiven, he was oblivious to the fact that Aslan died for him. Lucy thought that he ought to know the price Aslan paid for him. Similarly, Christians have the responsibility to spread the gospel. One of the many representations made within The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, is that Edmund symbolizes the unbeliever, because he serves himself, while Lucy symbolizes the believer, because the Lord is at the center of her life.

Compromising Morality

Awarded the Newbery Medal, the children’s book “Shiloh” is a touching story about a boy’s love for a dog, and that love, which compromised his morality, puts him in loads of trouble. This narrative is set in the beautiful state of West Virginia. Living with his family in the hills above the little town of Friendly, eleven-year-old, Marty Preston, is enjoying another laid back summer. When a beagle follows Marty home one day, everything drastically changes for the young boy. Apparently, Shiloh (the name Marty bestowed upon the dog) ran away from his home, because his owner was abusive. The dog’s master happens to be Judd Travers. Although it’s against the law, Travers hunts deer out of season; he drinks, and beats his hunting dogs. Nobody likes him. Marty despises him. That’s fine with Judd. Consequently, Marty decides it’s necessary for him to take action. Instead of returning the dog the second time he runs off, Marty hides him away from Judd, where he’ll be safe. He mustn’t tell anyone. If the boy wants to hang on to Shiloh, it’s essential he remain a secret. But this secret is too big for Marty to handle, and his lies seem to grow every day, like a cookie monster on a feeding frenzy. Tragically, not only do his lies cause a bunch of trouble, they also create distrust within his family. How far will Marty’s determination to save Shiloh push those he loves away, and end up affecting his morality negatively in the process?

In this book, Marty rescues Shiloh through lies. What would have been a different approach to the situation? He could’ve bought Shiloh. Within the story, the main character tries to gather some change by collecting cans. Unfortunately, this is a terrible way to earn money, because it takes so long to acquire a reasonable amount! Although Marty was willing to do extra work around the house for change, his family had little to spare and the neighbors didn’t have any jobs he could do. That eliminates two options. Still, he could have been more creative. Since animals were his passion, he could have offered to take care of people’s pets, bathe them, feed them, and walk them for pay. Here are some other suggestions: yard work, watering plants, watching kids, delivering groceries, cleaning, taking out trash; the list of jobs could continue further. Ultimately, Marty’s first mistake was not asking his parents for help. Hiding his true feelings from his parents, Marty missed out on the opportunity of receiving ideas and much needed advice, which could have saved him much grief. Another of Marty’s down falls was his impatience to wait for God’s timing. He selfishly took control of the situation instead of trusting in the Lord. If you desperately desire something, most likely you’ll be willing to wait and even work for it. In the end, there were several possibilities Marty could’ve taken, and they all would have been more rewarding than lying.

Common knowledge is that it’s never ok to lie, because it’s a sin, right? At first our reaction is, “Of course it’s never alright to lie”, but then we start second guessing ourselves. “Is it ever right to lie?” After thinking it over for a bit, you’re still unsure. It’s a tricky question.

Thankfully, the Bible, which is the word of God, tells us the truth about lying. Presented to the Israelites on Mount Sinai, the Ten Commandments were God’s way of instructing his people on how they should live. In Exodus 20:16 the law states, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” Truth in relationships is divinely commanded. So does that mean we’re not to lie ever? Well, the first thing we need to recognize is that there are worse sins than others. Compare coveting your friend’s new toy compared to murdering your friend! Which is the greater sin? Now, all sin is a serious offence to God, “For the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23) But there are lesser and greater sins. Throughout scripture, we have examples where God treats different sins with different degrees of punishment. Logically, we can see when a sin dealt with distinctly. For example, take a toddler stealing a cookie from the cookie jar, then lying to his mom about it. Trying to escape punishment, the disobedient child tells his mother a falsehood. In this kind of instance, it’s wrong to lie for a number of reasons. Now suppose Corrie Ten Boom, who is hiding Jews behind her wall, is asked by a Nazi if there are Jews in the house. It would be an abomination to God for her to allow the German to spill the innocent blood of the Jews. So she lies. When Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, the whole world was thrown in depravity. As Christians, we have been saved by grace through Christ’s justifying work on the cross. The word justified means just as if we hadn’t sinned and just as if we obeyed perfectly. Does this mean we can sin all we want now? Absolutely not! Paul speaks of this in Romans 6:15, where he asks, “Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” We are new creatures in Christ. Basically, lying is a sin, but there are lesser and greater sins, and we must be careful that our morality doesn’t succumb to our sin.

The Great Ancient Scientist

Archimedes, who was born in 287 BC, is known as one of the world’s greatest ancient scientists. Gifted with a natural genius, Archimedes was a mathematician, mechanical engineer, inventor, astronomer, and physicist. While he was devoted to every branch of science, his true love was for mathematical science. Unfortunately, we do not have many proven facts about this amazing man from the past. Despite this lack of information, much else is known about his discoveries and investigations. Putting his thoughts to paper, Archimedes painstakingly wrote several books aimed for professional scholars, and ten of his works survive today. The knowledge that has been passed down from Archimedes has impacted the world greatly. Today, most of the things taught in school were first thought up by Archimedes. For example, did you ever wonder where pi originated from? It was Archimedes himself. About twenty-two hundred years later, we still have the opportunity to explore Archimedes works, because of all the long hours he spent toiling over his life work. There is much we still have to learn from this great ancient mind.

Being a citizen of the lovely city, Syracuse of Sicily, this brilliant scientist was the son of the astronomer Pheidias and apparently related to Hieron II, who was the most enlightened ruler of the time. Like most Greeks, the young Archimedes attended Alexandria, where he studied under the successors of Euclid and obtained an inspiration for mathematics. Ultimately, it was his mechanical inventions that first accredited his fame. As an aspired scientist, he often would go without food and neglect his person. Archimedes focused on his work. Although he could be a workaholic, he wasn’t without a sense of humor. Supposedly, he purposely inserted false propositions into a manuscript that he lent out to friends. Who knew Archimedes was a practical joker? Advanced in his thinking, one way he would amuse himself was through puzzles and difficult geometry problems. Archimedes was a brilliant and talented scientist who loved learning and whose work mattered very much to him.

Archimedes made many scientific investigations in his lifetime. Except for his lost work On Sphere-Making, he wrote only on strictly mathematical subjects. Incredibly, ten of Archimedes terrific writings survived. They are the following: The Method, A Collection of Lemmas, The Measurement of a Circle, The Quadrature of the Parabola, On Spirals, The Sphere and the Cylinder, On Conoids and Sphereoids, The Sand-Reckoner, On Plane Equilibriums, and finally On Floating Bodies, which is about Archimedes’ discoveries on the displacement of water. Behind this discovery is a popular story, where Archimedes shouts “Eureka”! Wanting to dedicate a crown of gold to the gods, Hieron II probably weighed some gold to give to a goldsmith for the making of the wreath. When it was finished, he asked Archimedes to discover if the goldsmith mixed any sliver into the crown. Archimedes was perplexed. This was a laborious problem. How’d he figure it out? He needed a bath! As he entered the tub, he noticed the water raising and joyously leaped out of the public bath (as the story goes) and ran through the town naked exclaiming, “Eureka! I found it!” What he had discovered was that a submerged body would displace water according to its volume, thus he was able to test the crown. Archimedes made many other amazing discoveries and inventions. While studying in Egypt, it is believed that he may have first thought of the water-screw. Also to name a few of his findings, the laws for the lever and balance, pulleys, he built a planetarium and weapons of war, the list goes on and on. For one individual, he made an incredible amount of scientific investigations that affect our lives today.

“Give me a place to stand on and I will move the earth,” were the exact words of the Greek mathematician. Amazingly he proved his theory by moving a large ship off the land with just a few pulleys and himself. When Archimedes set his mind to something, he accomplished it. This devotion was ultimately the cause of his death. During the second Punic War, Archimedes died at the age of seventy-five years. There are several different accounts on the cause of Archimedes death, but all agree that he died at this time in history. After the siege of Syracuse in 212 BC, one version states that a roman solider ordered Archimedes, who was working on a diagram, to present himself immediately to General Marcellus. He refused, because he wanted to finish the problem first. Enraged, the soldier killed him on the spot. Although that was the end of Archimedes’ life, the information from his investigations has made a difference to generations after. Today, we still use the Archimedes’ screw. This machine can lift water uphill through a cylinder that has blades that twist upward like a screw. Since water is very heavy, this design of transport is extremely affective. His invention the pulley is simply remarkable. They are used to lift elevators, open garage doors, and in machines to move heavy weights. This genius’ principals and mathematic equations are still used today. Over all, we can safely except that if not for this man, things would be very different. Sadly, we do not have all Archimedes works. Perhaps we never will. What more treasures of scientific knowledge would we obtain from the world’s greatest ancient mathematician, inventor, scientist, etc, ever?

Hutchins R. (1952) Great Books of the Western World. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. (William Benton)

Durant W. (1939) The Life of Greece. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Gow M. (2005) Archimedes: Mathematical Genius of the Ancient World. New Jersey: Enslow Publishers, Inc.