I have to admit that I have not read the whole book of the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, because of sheer lack of time (family issues). I have read some of it, so I get the gist, and I have been to class so I understand a bit more about the book, but I am afraid I am not quite as informed about this book as I am about the others. I got to page 80, when all of the children are in Narnia, and Edmund just left the beavers’ house.
I think this might not be the best book for young readers. Not specifically because of the story, but because of the language used. It is quite old, dare I say Modern English. It is however a book that takes place around the time of the second world war, so I do understand why they chose this kind of language.
There are 7 books, and as I understand the White Witch is defeated in the first book. So I was quite curious what the other 6 books would have been about. After reading what the other books are about (prince Caspian, etc.) I must say that I think C.S. Lewis thought of this series just to be one book, The lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It seems to me that the other books just originated from the success of the first book.
In the lesson we discussed the characteristics of The Quest. The call, the journey, the obstacles, the final ordeal and the goal. From what I know about the book now, it seems to me that:
– The call: Mr. Tumnes disappeared because of his involvement with Humans. Lucy feels guilty because she was the human that caused him to be arrested. Edmund, wanting to become king of Narnia with his brother and sisters as servants, thinks it is his own fault. He is a criminal.
– The Journey: On their way to defeat the white witch.
– The obstacles: I think this must be Edmund. Surely the kids would not want to hurt their own brother?
– The final ordeal: The fight between the white witch’ army and the army of Aslan.
– The goal: To free Mr. Tumnes and Narnia from the evil reign of the White Witch.
A good novel is:
A distancing from the ordinary
This is most certainly true in the story. I have never read a similar story like this one. Though I have of course read books about leaving to another world (Harry Potter for instance), I have not read any along the lines of this one. And wouldn’t everyone want to spice up their (ordinary) lives by just leaving for a different world beyond anyone’s imagination?
Language
I think this might be a little off-putting for the children. Like I explained earlier: It is quite old, dare I say Modern English. It is however a book that takes place around the time of the second world war, so I do understand why they chose this kind of language.
Convincing world – based on history or myth
Even though a world like this does clearly not exist, it is somewhat convincing. Just because it is an imagined world, they have real world problems. Like war, betrayal and standing up for what is right.
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