Loyalty In The Witch And The Wardrobe
The Innate Traits of Loyalty
Loyalty is a concept that has always been part of the human culture, w hether it is devotion towards one’s favourite clothing brand, to one’s sovereign government, or to one’s deity. It is a word that has been in use for centuries because of its intrinsic relevance to everyday life. From its compassionate, to its beneficial aspects, it is a natural behavior for almost every human being. Loyalty has many different connotations and can be conveyed in a wide variety of ways.
Even though loyalty has built and ruined nations, families and friendships, it is often simply described as feeling of allegiance, reliability, or trustworthiness. In fact, the Random House Thesaurus describes it as “faithfulness, fidelity, steadfastness, …show more content…
constancy, trustworthiness, reliability, devotion, dependability [...]”(Random House 1984). This is correct, but there is a vast depth to the word ‘loyalty’ that many don’t bother to explore. It is presumed to have derived from the French around the 1400s. It is often associated with an unswerving allegiance towards a government, friends, family, deity, et cetera. It can be one’s faithfulness “especially in allegiance to a ruler or country”(HarperCollins 2000). In this way, loyalty has been a part of the history of man for millennia. In fact, throughout our history, loyalty has been a key factor in the success and downfall of nations, and will continue to be.
There are two types of loyalty: emotional and behavioral. Behavioral loyalty is a sense of loyalty that does not derive from love, trust, or any other deep emotional feeling, but from a matter of benefit. For instance, if one were to be offered a sum of money from a country, one may be loyal to said country not out of a sense of patriotism, but out of the logic that he or she may get more money at a later date. Similarly, a lobbyist may bribe people with money to get them to do things in his or her favor. According to Ebsco, one may display behavioral loyalty irrespective of his or her view of the object: “Loyalty should be defined as a behavioral or practical phenomenon based on the degree to which an individual maintains allegiance to another entity, regardless of the subject’s feelings about the object of his or her loyalty”(Ebsco 2017). As a result, behavioral loyalty can lead to demoralization and corruption, for when one thinks only about oneself and cares not about the object of his/her loyalty, one can make calamitous choices.
Such choices can be witnessed in books.
The notable children's book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis displays the consequences of faulty choices based on behavioral loyalty. In the mythical land of Narnia, four children, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy are alleged to reign on the four great thrones of Narnia. However, this would mean the downfall of the White Witch. In order to stop the four children from obtaining the thrones, she tempts young, naïve Edmund. She fills his head with thoughts of becoming king, and having the most delicious sweets, if only Edmund would bring along his siblings to meet the White Witch. “He did want Turkish Delight and to be a Prince (and later a King) and to pay Peter out for calling him a beast. As for what the Witch would do with the others, he didn't want her to be particularly nice to them - certainly not to put them on the same level as himself; but he managed to believe, or to pretend he believed, that she wouldn't do anything very bad to them [...]”(Lewis 85). Edmund, being new to Narnia has only the faintest idea of the White Witch’s cruelty, thus pledging himself loyal to her for his own personal benefit, not thinking of his true opinion of the White Witch, or about the repercussions his family may face.
Yet another example of an unethical use of behavioral loyalty is in William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”. In this play, Shakespeare depicts the events of Ancient Rome and how the great Julius Caesar came to be stabbed. …show more content…
According to Shakespeare, Caesar was stabbed to death because his best friend Brutus pledges his loyalty to a conspiracy group for his own benefit. The conspirators convince Brutus that Caesar, if crowned king, would be a tyrant and that if Brutus were to help them end Caesar’s life, he would be greatly honoured by all Romans. Brutus falls into the trap and betrays his best friend “for the good of Rome” and for fame, which was later proven to be the opposite of the complete cataclysm that unfolded before Brutus’s eyes. It is natural for man to want power and greatness, but it should not result in sacrificing loved ones. Behavioral loyalty, though not always inherently erroneous, can lead to betrayal and dishonesty.
The other form of loyalty is emotional loyalty. Emotional loyalty is borne of a deep sense of love, patriotism, and dedication. When one feels emotional loyalty, it is a feeling that cannot be so easily feigned or fractured. One has a true, devout association with the object of his or her loyalty. Emotional loyalty is often felt between family members, lovers, even between a dog and its owner. Afterall, one can not simply stop loving. It is a pure, uncontrollable feeling. Consequently, it is often considered to be the more honourable, genuine loyalty.
A clear example of such honest emotional loyalty can be found in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men.
During the Great Depression, two men, George Milton and Lennie Small, struggle to find work. However, Lennie Small is a monstrous man with the nescient mind of a toddler due to his mental handicap. In the 1930s, mentally challenged individuals were treated as insignificant others in society and were not allowed to be hired for work. This hindered George and Lennie, but the emotional loyalty they felt towards one another helped them surmount obstacles that only the best of friends could surmount. With the help of George, Lennie was able to get himself a job on a farm, helping him chase the common dream of all men, the American
Dream.
Loyalty, so it seems, has a vast variety of meanings and can be expressed in many different ways. From consumerism to politics, friendships to loved ones, behavioral and emotional loyalty play a major role in one’s everyday world. It can keep one nation divided and bring another together, create and crush friendships. Loyalty is a concept that has and always will be a natural part of human culture.
Loyalty is a concept that has always been part of the human culture, w hether it is devotion towards one’s favourite clothing brand, to one’s sovereign government, or to one’s deity. It is a word that has been in use for centuries because of its intrinsic relevance to everyday life. From its compassionate, to its beneficial aspects, it is a natural behavior for almost every human being. Loyalty has many different connotations and can be conveyed in a wide variety of ways.
Even though loyalty has built and ruined nations, families and friendships, it is often simply described as feeling of allegiance, reliability, or trustworthiness. In fact, the Random House Thesaurus describes it as “faithfulness, fidelity, steadfastness, …show more content…
constancy, trustworthiness, reliability, devotion, dependability [...]”(Random House 1984). This is correct, but there is a vast depth to the word ‘loyalty’ that many don’t bother to explore. It is presumed to have derived from the French around the 1400s. It is often associated with an unswerving allegiance towards a government, friends, family, deity, et cetera. It can be one’s faithfulness “especially in allegiance to a ruler or country”(HarperCollins 2000). In this way, loyalty has been a part of the history of man for millennia. In fact, throughout our history, loyalty has been a key factor in the success and downfall of nations, and will continue to be.
There are two types of loyalty: emotional and behavioral. Behavioral loyalty is a sense of loyalty that does not derive from love, trust, or any other deep emotional feeling, but from a matter of benefit. For instance, if one were to be offered a sum of money from a country, one may be loyal to said country not out of a sense of patriotism, but out of the logic that he or she may get more money at a later date. Similarly, a lobbyist may bribe people with money to get them to do things in his or her favor. According to Ebsco, one may display behavioral loyalty irrespective of his or her view of the object: “Loyalty should be defined as a behavioral or practical phenomenon based on the degree to which an individual maintains allegiance to another entity, regardless of the subject’s feelings about the object of his or her loyalty”(Ebsco 2017). As a result, behavioral loyalty can lead to demoralization and corruption, for when one thinks only about oneself and cares not about the object of his/her loyalty, one can make calamitous choices.
Such choices can be witnessed in books.
The notable children's book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis displays the consequences of faulty choices based on behavioral loyalty. In the mythical land of Narnia, four children, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy are alleged to reign on the four great thrones of Narnia. However, this would mean the downfall of the White Witch. In order to stop the four children from obtaining the thrones, she tempts young, naïve Edmund. She fills his head with thoughts of becoming king, and having the most delicious sweets, if only Edmund would bring along his siblings to meet the White Witch. “He did want Turkish Delight and to be a Prince (and later a King) and to pay Peter out for calling him a beast. As for what the Witch would do with the others, he didn't want her to be particularly nice to them - certainly not to put them on the same level as himself; but he managed to believe, or to pretend he believed, that she wouldn't do anything very bad to them [...]”(Lewis 85). Edmund, being new to Narnia has only the faintest idea of the White Witch’s cruelty, thus pledging himself loyal to her for his own personal benefit, not thinking of his true opinion of the White Witch, or about the repercussions his family may face.
Yet another example of an unethical use of behavioral loyalty is in William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”. In this play, Shakespeare depicts the events of Ancient Rome and how the great Julius Caesar came to be stabbed. …show more content…
According to Shakespeare, Caesar was stabbed to death because his best friend Brutus pledges his loyalty to a conspiracy group for his own benefit. The conspirators convince Brutus that Caesar, if crowned king, would be a tyrant and that if Brutus were to help them end Caesar’s life, he would be greatly honoured by all Romans. Brutus falls into the trap and betrays his best friend “for the good of Rome” and for fame, which was later proven to be the opposite of the complete cataclysm that unfolded before Brutus’s eyes. It is natural for man to want power and greatness, but it should not result in sacrificing loved ones. Behavioral loyalty, though not always inherently erroneous, can lead to betrayal and dishonesty.
The other form of loyalty is emotional loyalty. Emotional loyalty is borne of a deep sense of love, patriotism, and dedication. When one feels emotional loyalty, it is a feeling that cannot be so easily feigned or fractured. One has a true, devout association with the object of his or her loyalty. Emotional loyalty is often felt between family members, lovers, even between a dog and its owner. Afterall, one can not simply stop loving. It is a pure, uncontrollable feeling. Consequently, it is often considered to be the more honourable, genuine loyalty.
A clear example of such honest emotional loyalty can be found in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men.
During the Great Depression, two men, George Milton and Lennie Small, struggle to find work. However, Lennie Small is a monstrous man with the nescient mind of a toddler due to his mental handicap. In the 1930s, mentally challenged individuals were treated as insignificant others in society and were not allowed to be hired for work. This hindered George and Lennie, but the emotional loyalty they felt towards one another helped them surmount obstacles that only the best of friends could surmount. With the help of George, Lennie was able to get himself a job on a farm, helping him chase the common dream of all men, the American
Dream.
Loyalty, so it seems, has a vast variety of meanings and can be expressed in many different ways. From consumerism to politics, friendships to loved ones, behavioral and emotional loyalty play a major role in one’s everyday world. It can keep one nation divided and bring another together, create and crush friendships. Loyalty is a concept that has and always will be a natural part of human culture.