The Magician's Nephew and Merlin - Essay Example

The Magicians Nephew and Merlin (Compare and Contrast) 10 August (estimated word count – 450) “The Magicians Nephew” by Irish author Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1963) is a work of pure fiction based on a fantasy intended for small children. Its theme is more on the wonders of magic in order to suspend disbelief but which kids certainly find appealing (Lewis 5). Things just happen because of magic and there is no need to explain why events happened as they had. On the other hand, the book “Merlin” by Stephen R.

Lawhead (1950- ) is also fantasy but with certain twists based on bits and pieces of history. In other words, it is a story of historical fiction, with actual names and places intertwined with the storys theme. The contrast between these two novels is in their treatment of life and religion. Lewis has been described by some as a Christian apologist, as his “The Magicians Nephew” has lots of allusions to the bible, especially on the story of creation and that of the apple tree, with the evil queen representing the serpent in Eden of Christian theology (Elwell 681).

Lawhead is a realist, his stories based on a re-telling of the legend of King Arthur and his knights. The viewpoint of Lewis on life is based on his deep religious beliefs while Lawhead is basing his viewpoint on some historical facts that he had weaved into his stories. Moreover, Lewis seems to have a happy childhood due to his constant reading of childrens books and he had retained this childlike wonder throughout his life. The credibility of Lawhead in his books is the sheer amount of research that went into the writing and his creative imagination.

The similarities is that both writers are proficient in the fiction genre but differences are in their treatment of fantasy novels. Lewis writes pure fantasy with no regard to history or other facts except within the context of a story but Lawhead insists on a connection to actual events and places. Lewis writes to a very young audience while Lawhead appeals to an older group of readers (teens and adolescents) or even adults interested in a new interpretation of the Arthurian legend and his knights of the round table, as example, in his “Merlin” book.

The two authors are both writers of fantasy literature but they differ in the specific childrens type of literature. Lewis is an exponent of mythopoeia, a genre based on fictional mythology that was popularized by J. R. R. Tolkien, of which the Lord of the Rings is also an example. Works of Lawhead are also fictional but based more on history rather than on religion like Lewis. In mythopeia, a story is based on myths (Gray 85) while legends are based on history. Works CitedElwell, Walter A. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology.

Grand Rapids, MI, USA: Baker Academic, 2001. Print. Gray, William. Fantasy, Myth, and the Measure of Truth: Tales of Pullman, Lewis, Tolkien, MacDonald and Hoffmann. New York, NY, USA: Palgrave MacMillan, 2009. Print.Lewis, Clive Staples. The Magicians Nephew: The Chronicles of Narnia. New York, NY, USA: Harper Collins Publishers, 2009. Print.