Christian Symbolism

Throughout history authors have incorporated religious meaning in their writing. Christian symbolism can often play a role in British literature. C. S Lewis, one of the most recognized literary British scholars to ever live, did just that. The Chronicles of Narnia is often revered as one of the most admired children’s series of fantasy novels with Christian parallels playing a vital role throughout the series.
Clive Staples Lewis was the most popular author of Christian books of his era. He attended Oxford and graduated with honors. He later taught English at Magadalen College for twenty-nine years. Lewis wrote adult fiction, essays, poetry, and Christian apologetics. In addition, he wrote a series of children’s fantasy novels called the Chronicles
As a boy, Lewis didn’t enjoy children's storybooks because they were not appealing to him. For this very reason, as an adult, he was motivated to write children's books that were imaginative and intriguing (Barratt). Lewis’ chronicles were set in a fantasy world known as Narnia. In the beginning Nania was not a thought out plan. It actually started as a bunch of images Lewis had developed in his mind. These images included a faun with an umbrella, a pail queen, and a lion. Although many Christian themes can be interpreted from the series, Lewis denies having written them solely for that purpose: ‘At first there wasn’t
He tricks the bewildered donkey named Puzzle into putting on the lion's skin. Shift keeps Puzzle at a distance from the other Narnians so they cannot see that he is not a real lion. Puzzle acts as an impostor for Aslan, while Shift gives the Narnians misleading information. This bears comparison with the book of Revelation when the antichrist appears as the false prophet (Zaleski). In The Magician’s Nephew, Digory rings the bell that awakens the White Witch. Awakening her allows her to enter into the world of Narnia. This parallels to the fall of man when Adam and Eve eat the forbidden apple therefore allowing sin to enter the world (Downing).
Christian parallels play a pivotal role throughout the fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia. Lewis has a God-given ability to engross the reader in the adventure of the story while at the same time teaching them moral and Christian truths. As Bruner and Ware describe “The same is true for us. Lewis draws us into another world so that we might experience Christ by another name. And when we return home from the adventure, we bring with us a better understanding and deeper love for the Savior, or at the very least, we return having smelled the aroma of joy-and craving its true