Difference between The Magician's Nephew and Merlin - Essay Example

& Number: The Magician's Nephew and Merlin (Final Paper – 2 sections) 15 August (estimated word count –1,723) Introduction The genre of fantasy literature has its own vast group of adherents because fantasy is a wonderful world of make-believe where the writers conjure up magical themes, settings and characters. A reader is absorbed totally in a fantasy novel and there are good writers at it. This type of literature appeals to all age levels, depending on the sophistication of the story told. It may be a story that brings moral lessons to young minds or for adult enthusiasts to ponder. Discussion This paper consists of two main sections, the first is a reflection paper on the novel by C. S. Lewis entitled “The Magician's Nephew” and the second section is a comparison and contrast between the novel by C. S. Lewis with that of another fantasy novel written by author Stephen Lawhead, “Merlin.” The first section deals on the treatment of religion, life and faith as portrayed in “The Magician's Nephew” as these topics were the main themes of the story. Irish author Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1963) is described by most literary critics and academicians as a Christian apologist due to his strong views on Christianity. He defended his faith against the objections of other world religions because he was also a theologian, besides being a writer, poet, academic, essayist and literary critic. To put things in a wider perspective that explains his strong religious faith, Lewis had once been an atheist in his early adulthood but reacquired his faith again later in life due to the influences of his literary friends. This may help to explain why religion is a consistent theme throughout most of his works and his books are strongly influenced by this faith, often using thinly-disguised references to the Bible. C. S. Lewis portrays Christianity in his book by constant references to a supernatural or supreme being with vast powers of creation. His own viewpoint is that religion is the total of all absolute truths, unlike the views of Lawhead who based his stories on parts of history. A famous quote attributed to Lewis was that he “is an empirical theist” who arrived at religious beliefs by proving the existence of God through reasoning and logic. Further, his portrayals of Christianity are shown by the constant repetition of the varying nature of temptations and the exhilarating experience of eventual redemption from sin (Elwell 682) and any reader can very easily notice these similarities in his stories and the stories of creation in the Bible. Those few years he had spent as an atheist had enriched his creative imagination, which he used later on in his stories. He had dabbled previously in mysticism, occult and black magic which gave so many ideas he used so profitably in writing his stories of fantasy literature. Lewis asserted that religion is absolute. Unlike history, which can vary depending on the historians and their views on what events and personalities to include in their narratives or interpretations, a stance on religion does not change with the times but rather remain constant. Additionally, Lewis communicated through his books and writings how poor and inadequate our faith in God is (Edwards 310) and that people must rely completely on God alone. Lewis' body of work is considered by most people as a literature of faith (ibid.) because of a constant harping to faith in a higher being. Lewis suffered pain, disappointment and grief with death of his wife, and this further strengthened his faith as manifested in his works. It is only God who holds the ultimate truth, and Lewis saw life as extremely shallow, filled up with false hopes and fleeting happiness. Lewis wanted people to return to their faith and accept God in their lives wholeheartedly. He likens this process as the act of finally letting go and let God into their lives to guide their actions and thoughts all throughout their lives. The most obvious parallel between “The Magician's Nephew” and the Bible is in the creation of Narnia, which is the close equivalent of the creation of the Garden of Eden. Narnia itself resembles Eden in many ways, such as its pristine beauty and the presence of innocence. However, Lewis with a curious twist of his imagination, put things in reverse. The Bible gives the creation of Eden first before the first humans fell from grace by disobeying God's laws. In his plot, these protagonists fell from grace first and then the creation of Narnia came in much later in the story. This reverse order of events does not detract from the clear symbolism of the powers of creation of a supreme being who can conjure something out of nothing. By a clever juxtaposition of the same events, Lewis emphasized the positive of happily ever after. Evil as represented by the serpent in the Bible is assumed by the character of a witch named Jadis. This witch also tempted the main character to try eating the apple in the orchard, again very similar to the Bible's Tree of Life and Knowledge. The apple specifically forbidden by God represented knowledge and immortality; Jadis in the story had eaten the same kind of apple and likewise achieved immortality but in a very negative sense, as she is tortured by her own everlasting despair and eternal misery, precisely because of this immortality. But unlike in the biblical story, Digory as the main character, was able to resist this temptation. The dark and abandoned mystical city of Charn represented the universe as a void, it was the same in the Bible, before God created the world and ushered in light. Digory and his companion Polly are the fantasy equivalent of Adam and Eve, but unlike the latter, the former pair escaped from darkness towards light instead, to the newly-created beautiful world by the lion named Aslan. The ultimate message one gets from reading this book is the omnipresence of a supreme being. Further, the teaching of religion through moral lessons between good and evil can be combined in a literary work of fantasy that appeals nicely to young minds. This second part of the paper explores the similarities and differences between these two books, “The Magician's Nephew” by Lewis and “Merlin” by Stephen R. Lawhead, based on the criteria of themes, characters, portrayal of Christianity and the style of writing that was employed by the two authors. Although both stories are fantasy stories, each one differs from the other by their intended audience. Fiction literature can be distinguished by a number of its characteristics or features, and this is the subject matter in the next few paragraphs. The leitmotif or overriding theme of Lewis' work in “The Magician's Nephew” is no doubt one of religion. There are far too many allusions to the same biblical stories in his own story of Narnia as to suggest otherwise. The bible also has many stories, many of them told in the form of parables that contain a moral lesson. More than these similarities to the Bible, the paramount idea espoused by Lewis is one of theodicy, the vindication of divine goodness and justice despite the presence of evil; put differently, it shows the victory of good over evil. The idea of theodicy was originally introduced by the philosopher Leibniz, who wanted to have a way to reconcile the goodness of God with the presence of evil, as to why evil even exists. In a way, Lewis was a believer of theodicy himself, as what he had famously said about using his logic and reason to prove the very existence of God. Not many people know that Lewis is also a philosopher in the real sense of this appellation, by using classical moral arguments to prove his point about religion. In this regard, he managed to combine fiction, fantasy and religion in most of his works which is no mean accomplishment (Baggett, Habermas & Walls 14). Although “Merlin” is also a work of fiction but based on some aspects of reality, it is actually a re-telling of the story of King Arthur. Its main theme is chivalry, the age when these knights exercised and exemplified the ethos of this medieval sense of manhood and gallantry through generosity, courtesy, defense of the helpless and courtly love or unrequited love. The characters in Lewis' story are pure creations of fantasy with no clear relevance to any real person or location while that of “Merlin” at least has some semblance to reality based on the Arthurian legend of the Knights of the Round Table. This latter story is therefore can be appealing to a more mature or discerning audience of readers, as the theme of “Merlin” delves more on adult issues of love, war, loyalty, treachery, vengeance and a chivalric code of honor. The name itself evokes fantasy, as Merlin is known as the magician in the legend of Camelot. Lewis' portrayal of Christianity in his work is more philosophical based on theodicy; religion in his viewpoint is more abstract but manifested in benevolent acts of God despite the presence of evil. Religion and faith therefore both have redeeming values in themselves. This is contrasted with that of Lawhead's “Merlin” wherein religion is practiced more in the actual realities of daily life such as charitable works, helping the downtrodden, honesty, and word of honor among knights based on their strict code of conduct. Christianity here is made real. The writing style of Lewis, in his own words, is to use plain and simple language to mean exactly what is being meant. This means no vague, long or obscure words are used. This is proved by memorable characters and events which readers can recall distinctly. His style is crisp and therefore very effective. On the other hand, the style of Lawhead's can be described as more academic, in the sense there is research involved based on history, myths and legends. Conclusion Between the two literary works of fiction, I prefer “Merlin” better. This is because it deals more with reality and is perhaps more attuned to my age and inclination. “Merlin” talks about knights, chivalry, magic and wizardry which I find all to be very interesting. It contains bits of information on history and facts (actual places and events), like the Medieval period. It is therefore an extremely delightful and engrossing read for me and for anyone. Works Cited Baggett, David, Habermas, Gary R. and Jerry L. Walls. C. S. Lewis as Philosopher: Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. Downers Grove, IL, USA: InterVarsity Press, 2008. Print. Edwards, Bruce L. C. S. Lewis: An Examined Life. Santa Barbara, CA, USA: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007. Print. Elwell, Walter A. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Grand Rapids, MI, USA: Baker Academic, 2001. Print. Read More