Well folks, this is it--we have reached the end. This is the 112th entry into this blog, which means that (subtracting this one and the introductory entry), there are 110 chapters in the TCON series. With very few exceptions, I have written on one chapter per day for the past 110 days (since the introduction was published on the same day as Chapter 1 of The Magician's Nephew and this entry will be published on the same day as Chapter 16 of The last Battle).
And it has been quite a journey. When I started this project, it was a way to keep me busy during the quieter months of the summer--there just aren't many students who need academic advising in the middle of the summer. But as the months moved from July to August to September, and now well into October, work became much busier and it became much harder to keep up. But keep up I did.
I admit that this project saw ups and downs, as most projects do. I enjoyed the project the most at the beginning (when, I suppose, I was most optimistic about the project) and at the end--that is to say, during the first book and during the last book (which, as you've by now figured out, is my favorite). Somewhere around the middle of The Silver Chair I became really tired of the project, but I knew I needed to see it through.
In many ways, this project was much more than a summer project. It was a lesson in goal setting and goal achievement. Even though I was occasionally a day or two behind, I always caught up, and I finished on the pace of exactly one chapter per day. I will admit, as much as I have enjoyed this project, it will be nice to (a) free up about 30 minutes a day, and (b) read something different for a change.
For those of you who followed along in the journey, thank you. I don't think there's one solitary person who did, but if you did, I appreciate your effort. And if you're reading through these for the first time after the fact, I also thank you for following along with me in this adventure.
I'll finish with some of my grandfather's favorite concluding words (as seen in several videos he left behind)--
Until next time, over and out.
Saturday, October 25, 2014
The Last Battle | Chapter 16: Farewell to Shadowlands
Chapter Summary:
Everyone continues to run, until they come to a great waterfall. Everyone is magically transported up the waterfall, and they continue to run once they reach the top--faster and faster. They pass the garden where Digory journeyed on the flying horse Fledge to gather the fruit for Aslan. And then they come to the top of a hill, where there is a gate to a garden. The gate opens, and Reepicheep greets them, and bids them to enter.
As they enter the garden, they see that it is bigger on the inside than on the outside--much like the stable had been. Then, everyone greets them. Fledge the flying horse comes to greet Digory and Polly. They are greeted by everyone--Kings Caspian and Rilian, Puddleglum, Trumpkin the dwarf, Trufflehunter the badger, King Cor and his father King Lune of Archenland, Bree and Hwin the horses, the two Beavers and Tumnus the fawn, and even King Frank and Queen Helen, from the beginning of the world.
Lucy observes to Tumnus that the garden also looks just like Narnia--and then Lucy realizes that the garden is also Narnia--and that the Narnias will continue on forever, each more beautiful than the last.
Lucy and the others look around them see that something has happened to them--they can focus on (and with great clarity) absolutely anything, no matter the distance, as if looking through a telescope. Lucy sees so far that she sees England and her parents, and asks Tumnus how she can get there. Tumnus tells her that it's possible to get to any world now--the England she is seeing is just like the Narnia that she is currently in. It's the real England.
Aslan reappears and greets Puzzle the donkey first. Aslan whispers two things to him, which no one hears.
Aslan also greets Lucy, and tells her that she is not yet as happy as he means her to be. Lucy says that they are afraid of being sent away again. Aslan tells Lucy: "No fear of that... Have you not guessed?... There was a real railway accident ... Your father and mother and all of you are--as you used to call it in the Shadow-Lands--dead. The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning" (p. 520-ish*). Aslan then appears not as a lion anymore, but as someone else.
The story ends with the guarantee that they all live happily ever after, and that their life in England and Narnia were only the first chapter of a very great story, which no one has ever read before, and one that goes on forever--in which each chapter is better than the last.
Reflection:
Again, this is a sensational chapter. I would argue that it is second-best in the TCON series to Night Falls on Narnia. What an interesting and excellent conclusion to our tale. As usual, there are a few things I want to look at. I will also summarize my experience in a final blog post (which should come a few hours after this one).
First thing's first--you read it right, all of our characters are dead. I made sure to include the quote in the summary because, in terms of the plot, it is the final twist and the final end to the Narnian plot as we came to know it. All of our characters died in a railway accident at the beginning of The Last Battle. Eustace and Jill were never going back to England anyway during their adventure, because from the moment they appeared before Tirian in the woods to rescue him, they were already dead. The same goes for everyone else who was on the train or waiting on the platform.
But as Aslan says, death is what the state of being is referred to as only within the Shadowlands. They are not really dead, but more alive than they have ever been. Aslan puts it so very well that it is worth repeating, even though it's in my summary above: "The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning" (p. 520-ish).
BUT.
This brings up a huge huge huge huge huge important and fascinating topic--the one that has frustrated theologians and scholars and lovers of the TCON series. And it's this: If everyone is dead, and Susan is not a friend of Narnia, and therefore not in this Narnian heaven--while Emeth, who worshipped a different god his entire life is in this Narnian heaven, then what follows is this: According to this, C.S. Lewis is telling us that worshiping a different god will get you into heaven, but losing your faith in the god that you should have been worshiping all along will not get you into heaven. Yikes! It's the greatest thing that rubs people the wrong way about this series, and it's definitely a fascinating topic to explore. If only we had C.S. Lewis to tell us what he meant by all of it. But it seems that will have to wait until we too make it out of the shadow-lands.
The other great thing about this chapter is that it brings to us the quintessential curtain call--often associated with hypothetical version of heaven (think about the last episode of Lost). Everyone who has passed on before them are present to greet them--all of the wonderful characters that we, as the readers, have come to know and love throughout our journey in Narnia. It's special to us in the same way that it's special to the Kings and Queens of Narnia, and the animals that have just entered the doorway into Aslan's Country--it's special because we are reunited with our friends who we have not seen in so long, and it brings us, and them, great joy.
Now, let's take a final look at the last paragraph of the novel:
I will conclude our conversation in my final blog entry in just a couple of hours.
* Apologies for the approximate page numbers. I've left my main copy at home, and wanted to conclude these journal entries today, so I've rented a different copy from the Baylor library, and the page number don't match. Oops!
Everyone continues to run, until they come to a great waterfall. Everyone is magically transported up the waterfall, and they continue to run once they reach the top--faster and faster. They pass the garden where Digory journeyed on the flying horse Fledge to gather the fruit for Aslan. And then they come to the top of a hill, where there is a gate to a garden. The gate opens, and Reepicheep greets them, and bids them to enter.
As they enter the garden, they see that it is bigger on the inside than on the outside--much like the stable had been. Then, everyone greets them. Fledge the flying horse comes to greet Digory and Polly. They are greeted by everyone--Kings Caspian and Rilian, Puddleglum, Trumpkin the dwarf, Trufflehunter the badger, King Cor and his father King Lune of Archenland, Bree and Hwin the horses, the two Beavers and Tumnus the fawn, and even King Frank and Queen Helen, from the beginning of the world.
Lucy observes to Tumnus that the garden also looks just like Narnia--and then Lucy realizes that the garden is also Narnia--and that the Narnias will continue on forever, each more beautiful than the last.
Lucy and the others look around them see that something has happened to them--they can focus on (and with great clarity) absolutely anything, no matter the distance, as if looking through a telescope. Lucy sees so far that she sees England and her parents, and asks Tumnus how she can get there. Tumnus tells her that it's possible to get to any world now--the England she is seeing is just like the Narnia that she is currently in. It's the real England.
Aslan reappears and greets Puzzle the donkey first. Aslan whispers two things to him, which no one hears.
Aslan also greets Lucy, and tells her that she is not yet as happy as he means her to be. Lucy says that they are afraid of being sent away again. Aslan tells Lucy: "No fear of that... Have you not guessed?... There was a real railway accident ... Your father and mother and all of you are--as you used to call it in the Shadow-Lands--dead. The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning" (p. 520-ish*). Aslan then appears not as a lion anymore, but as someone else.
The story ends with the guarantee that they all live happily ever after, and that their life in England and Narnia were only the first chapter of a very great story, which no one has ever read before, and one that goes on forever--in which each chapter is better than the last.
Reflection:
Again, this is a sensational chapter. I would argue that it is second-best in the TCON series to Night Falls on Narnia. What an interesting and excellent conclusion to our tale. As usual, there are a few things I want to look at. I will also summarize my experience in a final blog post (which should come a few hours after this one).
First thing's first--you read it right, all of our characters are dead. I made sure to include the quote in the summary because, in terms of the plot, it is the final twist and the final end to the Narnian plot as we came to know it. All of our characters died in a railway accident at the beginning of The Last Battle. Eustace and Jill were never going back to England anyway during their adventure, because from the moment they appeared before Tirian in the woods to rescue him, they were already dead. The same goes for everyone else who was on the train or waiting on the platform.
But as Aslan says, death is what the state of being is referred to as only within the Shadowlands. They are not really dead, but more alive than they have ever been. Aslan puts it so very well that it is worth repeating, even though it's in my summary above: "The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning" (p. 520-ish).
BUT.
This brings up a huge huge huge huge huge important and fascinating topic--the one that has frustrated theologians and scholars and lovers of the TCON series. And it's this: If everyone is dead, and Susan is not a friend of Narnia, and therefore not in this Narnian heaven--while Emeth, who worshipped a different god his entire life is in this Narnian heaven, then what follows is this: According to this, C.S. Lewis is telling us that worshiping a different god will get you into heaven, but losing your faith in the god that you should have been worshiping all along will not get you into heaven. Yikes! It's the greatest thing that rubs people the wrong way about this series, and it's definitely a fascinating topic to explore. If only we had C.S. Lewis to tell us what he meant by all of it. But it seems that will have to wait until we too make it out of the shadow-lands.
The other great thing about this chapter is that it brings to us the quintessential curtain call--often associated with hypothetical version of heaven (think about the last episode of Lost). Everyone who has passed on before them are present to greet them--all of the wonderful characters that we, as the readers, have come to know and love throughout our journey in Narnia. It's special to us in the same way that it's special to the Kings and Queens of Narnia, and the animals that have just entered the doorway into Aslan's Country--it's special because we are reunited with our friends who we have not seen in so long, and it brings us, and them, great joy.
Now, let's take a final look at the last paragraph of the novel:
"And has He spoke He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at least they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before" (p. 525-ish).And what a wonderful conclusion to the story this is. What the narrator basically tells us is that everything we have just read was only the introduction. Not even the first chapter--just the introduction prior to the first chapter. The prologue, if you will. The end of The Last Battle is full of hope and joy and excitement for the future. And of course, there's that first sentence, in which we would suspect that Aslan has finally come to appear to be the shape of a man, whose name I suspect is Jesus.
I will conclude our conversation in my final blog entry in just a couple of hours.
* Apologies for the approximate page numbers. I've left my main copy at home, and wanted to conclude these journal entries today, so I've rented a different copy from the Baylor library, and the page number don't match. Oops!
Friday, October 24, 2014
The Last Battle | Chapter 15: Further Up and Further In
Chapter Summary:
Emeth tells the Kings and Queens of Narnia that he came to Narnia with Rishda--but was disappointed when he found that they were going to be working for an ape who was clearly lying about his entire scheme. Emeth has served Tash all of his life, and so he knew that when the disguised Puzzle was presented each night that it was a scam. Likewise, Emeth knew that when Ginger the cat bolted out of the stable that Ginger had met the real Tash. So, Emeth resolved to go into the stable. He did so, and killed the solider who had been ordered to kill anyone who entered the stable aside from Ginger. Emeth then wandered the land looking for Tash. Eventually, Aslan appeared, and Emeth bowed down in reverence. Aslan told Emeth that he will count all of Emeth's services to Tash as services to him (Aslan). Because, Aslan said, Aslan and Tash are opposites. To do good in the name of Tash is the same as serving Aslan, but doing bad in the name of Aslan is the same as serving Tash. Emeth has been searching for Aslan again ever since.
As Emeth concludes his story, Puzzle appears, looking much better than he ever had in Narnia. Jill and Lucy greet him. The Kings and Queens of Narnia begin to wonder where they are. With the help of Farsight the eagle, they realize that the land that they are in is an exact replica of Narnia--only with better colors, more importance, and more significance--as if the old Narnia was just a dream, and this was the true Narnia.
Jewel the unicorn begins to run with joy. Everyone else joins in, realizing that they can keep up with Jewel. No one is out of breath, and no one gets hot--they simply just keep running faster and faster.
Reflection:
Like the last chapter, there is so much to discuss from this chapter. But I think we'll again stick to the most obvious passage--the part where Emeth meets Aslan. Let's take a look at this a little more closely. The following is told by Emeth:
Given that Aslan also implies that Tash is an allegory for the devil, the allegorical implications here are actually pretty darn weird. Aslan is basically saying that if anyone does good in the name of a different god (or demon or devil) that they are really doing the good (and gaining their rewards) in the name of Aslan.
Needless to say, this paragraph encompasses the greatest controversy in all of the TCON series. Because basically Aslan is saying that devout followers of other faiths will reach heaven and gain their rewards because of the good that they have done in the names of other gods. The entire philosophy is, of course, rather contrary to Biblical and contemporary Christian teaching, and is a huge deviation from just about everything else presented in the series. The question, of course, is whether C.S. Lewis believed this himself. After all, he tells us that TCON was never meant to be a perfect allegory. But since just about everything else is, it's rather shocking to find something so very different from what we've experienced throughout the entire series.
Then, there's another interesting thing about this chapter. Apparently Narnia's version of heaven is exactly like Narnia itself. This is pretty fascinating--and I think it might be a glimpse into what C.S. Lewis himself imagines heaven to be like. The narrator describes it much in the same way he describes the fruits that are growing in this land--in part by saying that he basically cannot describe it; you really have to see it for yourself. All we know is that this new version of Narnia is the one that feels right for everyone--it's the one that feels like home.
Onward we go to the last chapter of TCON, and the final post of this blog.
Emeth tells the Kings and Queens of Narnia that he came to Narnia with Rishda--but was disappointed when he found that they were going to be working for an ape who was clearly lying about his entire scheme. Emeth has served Tash all of his life, and so he knew that when the disguised Puzzle was presented each night that it was a scam. Likewise, Emeth knew that when Ginger the cat bolted out of the stable that Ginger had met the real Tash. So, Emeth resolved to go into the stable. He did so, and killed the solider who had been ordered to kill anyone who entered the stable aside from Ginger. Emeth then wandered the land looking for Tash. Eventually, Aslan appeared, and Emeth bowed down in reverence. Aslan told Emeth that he will count all of Emeth's services to Tash as services to him (Aslan). Because, Aslan said, Aslan and Tash are opposites. To do good in the name of Tash is the same as serving Aslan, but doing bad in the name of Aslan is the same as serving Tash. Emeth has been searching for Aslan again ever since.
As Emeth concludes his story, Puzzle appears, looking much better than he ever had in Narnia. Jill and Lucy greet him. The Kings and Queens of Narnia begin to wonder where they are. With the help of Farsight the eagle, they realize that the land that they are in is an exact replica of Narnia--only with better colors, more importance, and more significance--as if the old Narnia was just a dream, and this was the true Narnia.
Jewel the unicorn begins to run with joy. Everyone else joins in, realizing that they can keep up with Jewel. No one is out of breath, and no one gets hot--they simply just keep running faster and faster.
Reflection:
Like the last chapter, there is so much to discuss from this chapter. But I think we'll again stick to the most obvious passage--the part where Emeth meets Aslan. Let's take a look at this a little more closely. The following is told by Emeth:
"I overcame my fear and questioned the Glorious One and said, Lord, is it then true, as the Ape said, that thou and Tash are one? The Lion growled so that the earth shook ... and said, It is false. Not because he and I are one, but because we are opposites, I take to me the services which thou hast done to him, for I and he are of such different kinds that no service which is vile can be done to me, and none which is not vile can be done to him. Therefore if any man swear by Tash and keep his oath for the oath's sake, it is by me that he has truly sworn, though he know it not, and it is I who reward him. And if any man do a cruelty in my name, then, though he says the name of Aslan, it is Tash whom he serves and by Tash his deed is accepted. Dost thou understand, Child? I said, Lord, Thou knowest how much I understand. But I said also (for the truth constrained me), Yet I have been seeking Tash all my days. Beloved, said the Glorious One, unless thy desire had been for me thou wouldst not have sought so long and so truly. For all find what they truly seek" (p. 517).Well, well, well. Talk about an interesting paragraph from a theological standpoint! To summarize the paragraph, Aslan is basically telling Emeth that even though he sought to do good in the name of Tash, he was really doing good in the name of Aslan during his entire life--he just didn't know it. Aslan accepts him--and has welcomed him through the stable door--because Emeth had been doing good in the name of Tash his whole life, which was really doing good in the name of Aslan.
Given that Aslan also implies that Tash is an allegory for the devil, the allegorical implications here are actually pretty darn weird. Aslan is basically saying that if anyone does good in the name of a different god (or demon or devil) that they are really doing the good (and gaining their rewards) in the name of Aslan.
Needless to say, this paragraph encompasses the greatest controversy in all of the TCON series. Because basically Aslan is saying that devout followers of other faiths will reach heaven and gain their rewards because of the good that they have done in the names of other gods. The entire philosophy is, of course, rather contrary to Biblical and contemporary Christian teaching, and is a huge deviation from just about everything else presented in the series. The question, of course, is whether C.S. Lewis believed this himself. After all, he tells us that TCON was never meant to be a perfect allegory. But since just about everything else is, it's rather shocking to find something so very different from what we've experienced throughout the entire series.
Then, there's another interesting thing about this chapter. Apparently Narnia's version of heaven is exactly like Narnia itself. This is pretty fascinating--and I think it might be a glimpse into what C.S. Lewis himself imagines heaven to be like. The narrator describes it much in the same way he describes the fruits that are growing in this land--in part by saying that he basically cannot describe it; you really have to see it for yourself. All we know is that this new version of Narnia is the one that feels right for everyone--it's the one that feels like home.
Onward we go to the last chapter of TCON, and the final post of this blog.
Thursday, October 23, 2014
The Last Battle | Chapter 14: Night Falls on Narnia
Chapter Summary:
Everyone stands by the doorway, which is now open, and watches as Father Time emerges from the north of Narnia. Father Time blows his horn. The sky fills with shooting stars until the sky empties of them, and only blackness remains. The stars, which are living beings, fall to Narnia and then the beings come through the door.
Then, all of the creatures of Narnia come racing to the doorway--thousands upon thousands of them (including friends that everyone thinks are dead--including Roonwit the centaur). Each of them look Aslan in the face (they have no choice it seems), and immediately feel either terror or love. Those who feel terror go off into the darkness to the right of the doorway, never to be seen again. Those who feel love go into the doorway.
The grass and trees die. The ocean rises and rises, until only ocean and no land is visible. The sun and moon come up. The sun's fire devours the moon. Aslan calls to Father Time to make an end. Father Time reaches up, grabs the sun and squeezes it. Then, there is nothing but blackness and extreme cold. Aslan tells Peter to close the door and lock it, and he does. Lucy and Tirian cry over the ended world.
Many Talking Dogs then announce that they smell a Calormene. Indeed, they have found Emeth. Peter and Emeth meet. The Kings and Queens of Narnia sit with Emeth to hear who he is and how he came to be there.
Reflection:
If you must know just one thing about this chapter, it is this: Never has my summary done less justice to the contents of any chapter in the TCON series. This chapter is not really about what happens, but rather about the imagery behind how it happens. The entire chapter is absolutely magical--well, for a scene that is essentially depicting a boiled-down version of Judgment Day. Nevertheless, the chapter is absolutely captivating, and is unquestionably the best writing in the entire TCON series, as well as the best imagery. This is the climax of The Last Battle and the TCON series. No, not anything in the next two chapters even compare (and there is still at least one bombshell left).
I don't really know how to do justice to this chapter in a short reflection. So I will look at the passages that stand out to me as the most significant, or perhaps in this instance, the ones that I have questions about. Here is the first, which occurs just after Jill and Eustace see Father Time and are reminded of their journey beneath the earth when they had encountered him sleeping (in The Silver Chair):
And then there's the other passage, in which Aslan asks Peter to close the door. Here's how it goes down:
So there you have it--very likely the best chapter of the TCON series, in my opinion. It's all about the imagery and the fine details in this chapter. Everything is very carefully orchestrated and carried out, exactly as Aslan has planned. Of course, there's also the morbid implication that the animals and creatures who did not go into the stable were, within a few moments, drowned when the entire world became engulfed by the ocean... But we try not to focus too much on that detail. The chapter is a wonderful mix of beautiful, horrifying, enchanting, mysterious, unreal, unnerving, and powerful. I strongly encourage that you read it for yourself--I cannot do it justice. Of course, the power of this chapter is only derived from having read the entire series, so I would recommend that you begin with the previous 108 chapters, and then make your way to this one. The journey is great, and the destination is well worth it.
Everyone stands by the doorway, which is now open, and watches as Father Time emerges from the north of Narnia. Father Time blows his horn. The sky fills with shooting stars until the sky empties of them, and only blackness remains. The stars, which are living beings, fall to Narnia and then the beings come through the door.
Then, all of the creatures of Narnia come racing to the doorway--thousands upon thousands of them (including friends that everyone thinks are dead--including Roonwit the centaur). Each of them look Aslan in the face (they have no choice it seems), and immediately feel either terror or love. Those who feel terror go off into the darkness to the right of the doorway, never to be seen again. Those who feel love go into the doorway.
The grass and trees die. The ocean rises and rises, until only ocean and no land is visible. The sun and moon come up. The sun's fire devours the moon. Aslan calls to Father Time to make an end. Father Time reaches up, grabs the sun and squeezes it. Then, there is nothing but blackness and extreme cold. Aslan tells Peter to close the door and lock it, and he does. Lucy and Tirian cry over the ended world.
Many Talking Dogs then announce that they smell a Calormene. Indeed, they have found Emeth. Peter and Emeth meet. The Kings and Queens of Narnia sit with Emeth to hear who he is and how he came to be there.
Reflection:
If you must know just one thing about this chapter, it is this: Never has my summary done less justice to the contents of any chapter in the TCON series. This chapter is not really about what happens, but rather about the imagery behind how it happens. The entire chapter is absolutely magical--well, for a scene that is essentially depicting a boiled-down version of Judgment Day. Nevertheless, the chapter is absolutely captivating, and is unquestionably the best writing in the entire TCON series, as well as the best imagery. This is the climax of The Last Battle and the TCON series. No, not anything in the next two chapters even compare (and there is still at least one bombshell left).
I don't really know how to do justice to this chapter in a short reflection. So I will look at the passages that stand out to me as the most significant, or perhaps in this instance, the ones that I have questions about. Here is the first, which occurs just after Jill and Eustace see Father Time and are reminded of their journey beneath the earth when they had encountered him sleeping (in The Silver Chair):
"'Yes,' said Aslan, though [Eustace and Jill] had not spoken, 'While he lay dreaming, his name was Time. Now that he is awake he will have a new one'" (p. 511).This is an unusual statement, and not one that I immediately made sense of. I would speculate that Father Time's name would now be Eternity, but I don't know that for sure. I think this is one mystery that is going to remain unsolved, and I think it's that way for a reason. (A quick Google of this question reveals no certain results. Not even any speculations as far as I can tell. I'm sure speculations have occurred, I'm just not finding any quickly.)
And then there's the other passage, in which Aslan asks Peter to close the door. Here's how it goes down:
"'Peter, High King of Narnia,' said Aslan. 'Shut the Door.'
Peter, shivering with cold, leaned out into the darkness and pulled the Door to. It scraped over ice as he pulled it. Then, rather clumsily (for even in that moment his hands had gone numb and blue) he took out a golden key and locked it'" (p. 515).Another very interesting passage. I'm sure that Aslan could have closed the door himself, either with his body or with his mind--but he doesn't. Instead, he asks Peter to close the door. Why not any of the other individuals present, such as Digory or Polly, who were present when Narnia first formed? What about Tirian, the last of the Kings of Narnia? For some reason, it had to be Peter. There was no question about it. It always would and always had been Peter's duty. And we know this because he has the key. What key? From where? How did he obtain it? How did he know it would lock this door? We just don't know, and I just don't think we'll ever find out.
So there you have it--very likely the best chapter of the TCON series, in my opinion. It's all about the imagery and the fine details in this chapter. Everything is very carefully orchestrated and carried out, exactly as Aslan has planned. Of course, there's also the morbid implication that the animals and creatures who did not go into the stable were, within a few moments, drowned when the entire world became engulfed by the ocean... But we try not to focus too much on that detail. The chapter is a wonderful mix of beautiful, horrifying, enchanting, mysterious, unreal, unnerving, and powerful. I strongly encourage that you read it for yourself--I cannot do it justice. Of course, the power of this chapter is only derived from having read the entire series, so I would recommend that you begin with the previous 108 chapters, and then make your way to this one. The journey is great, and the destination is well worth it.
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
The Last Battle | Chapter 13: How the Dwarfs Refused to Be Taken In
Chapter Summary:
Tirian looks around him, and sees that he is not inside of a stable, but in a place that appeared to be outdoors, on a beautiful summer day. The sun is shining, and there are fruit trees nearby. As Tirian and the others eat the fruit, Peter and the other Kings and Queens discuss how they had arrived. All of them arrived because they were either on the train or on the platform waiting for the train. They all remember a loud noise and a jolt. Peter remembers seeing the train moving toward the platform too quickly.
Tirian then sees where he entered into this land. There is a door in the middle of the field, with nothing on either side of it. Looking through the crack, Tirian can see the Calormenes and the glow of the bonfire.
Lucy describes what happened on their side of the stable. First, a Calormene solider entered and stood by the door. A cat then came in and Tash immediately appeared. The cat bolted out of the door again, and Tash disappeared. The Calormene solider stayed in place. Then, the other soldier (Emeth) was thrust into the stable. Emeth and the soldier have a quick struggle, and Emeth kills the other soldier and throws him out of the stable. Emeth has wandered around looking for Tash since then. After that, Shift was thrown in. Tash immediately appeared, and quickly disappeared with Shift. Then came about 12 dwarfs, Jill, Eustace, and finally Tirian.
The dwarfs are sitting in a tight circle nearby. Lucy and Tirian approach them, and it is quickly clear that the dwarfs believe that they are sitting inside of a dark stable, not basking in a sunlit field in an open country. Lucy and Tirian try different methods to show them where they are, but the dwarfs are too convinced that they are in a dark stable.
Aslan appears and greets everyone, and tells Tirian that he has done well. Lucy asks Aslan if he can do anything about the dwarfs. Aslan goes to the dwarfs and makes a beautiful meal appear before each of them. The dwarfs only taste bitter, nasty food--and eventually start fighting one another about whose food is better. Aslan says that the dwarfs refuse to allow themselves to be helped.
Aslan then goes to the stable door and says "Now it is time... Time!... TIME" (p. 511) and the stable door opens.
Reflection:
There are a few significant things that occur within this chapter, not all of which I can discuss yet (and some of which involve Susan, which I mentioned in the last post--this will be a subject for later on). But first, there's the plot. We finally have a resolution of the mystery of the stable. For some reason, the stable seems to have led not to a stable, but to a bright, beautiful country (guess whose country it is!)--at least for some of our characters. In truth, the stable led many places. It led to Aslan's country, it led to death, and it led, indeed, to a dark and dingy stable for some (the dwarfs). But we can be certain that the reality of the situation is that the stable unexpectedly, at some point since Puzzle was rescued, became a portal into Aslan's country.
Of course, we now have some resolution with regard to each of the characters that enters into the stable. The mysteries are solved. There is now only one mystery left--how will it all end? The last paragraph of the chapter, which I have summarized here, is very telling, but I will leave that as a cliffhanger for tomorrow.
Let's look at an important moment in the passage--the one in which we finally know that Tirian has done as he was supposed to during the adventure that unfolds within this novel. Here's what happens when Aslan greets Tirian:
What we might not have realized until now is that Tirian has gone through some tremendous growth throughout this novel. Tirian has come a long way indeed since he and Jewel killed two Calormene soldiers without considering the consequences (and the consequences, indeed, have been tremendous). Despite where he started from, Tirian has shown that he is a person of true character, a person worthy to be called the last of the Kings of Narnia.
And now I'm going to do something I've yet to do in this blog much--talk about the future. C.S. Lewis really does something incredible with this novel and with the TCON series--he saves the best for last. Not only is The Last Battle, in my opinion, the best novel of the series, but the last three chapters of The Last Battle are, without a doubt, the best chapters of the entire novel. This is not easy to accomplish, since there have been many wonderful chapters along the way. But like any good author (or beverage), C.S. Lewis knows how to finish strong. These last three chapters are pretty special ones in the literary world. And they are coming up next. Get ready.
Tirian looks around him, and sees that he is not inside of a stable, but in a place that appeared to be outdoors, on a beautiful summer day. The sun is shining, and there are fruit trees nearby. As Tirian and the others eat the fruit, Peter and the other Kings and Queens discuss how they had arrived. All of them arrived because they were either on the train or on the platform waiting for the train. They all remember a loud noise and a jolt. Peter remembers seeing the train moving toward the platform too quickly.
Tirian then sees where he entered into this land. There is a door in the middle of the field, with nothing on either side of it. Looking through the crack, Tirian can see the Calormenes and the glow of the bonfire.
Lucy describes what happened on their side of the stable. First, a Calormene solider entered and stood by the door. A cat then came in and Tash immediately appeared. The cat bolted out of the door again, and Tash disappeared. The Calormene solider stayed in place. Then, the other soldier (Emeth) was thrust into the stable. Emeth and the soldier have a quick struggle, and Emeth kills the other soldier and throws him out of the stable. Emeth has wandered around looking for Tash since then. After that, Shift was thrown in. Tash immediately appeared, and quickly disappeared with Shift. Then came about 12 dwarfs, Jill, Eustace, and finally Tirian.
The dwarfs are sitting in a tight circle nearby. Lucy and Tirian approach them, and it is quickly clear that the dwarfs believe that they are sitting inside of a dark stable, not basking in a sunlit field in an open country. Lucy and Tirian try different methods to show them where they are, but the dwarfs are too convinced that they are in a dark stable.
Aslan appears and greets everyone, and tells Tirian that he has done well. Lucy asks Aslan if he can do anything about the dwarfs. Aslan goes to the dwarfs and makes a beautiful meal appear before each of them. The dwarfs only taste bitter, nasty food--and eventually start fighting one another about whose food is better. Aslan says that the dwarfs refuse to allow themselves to be helped.
Aslan then goes to the stable door and says "Now it is time... Time!... TIME" (p. 511) and the stable door opens.
Reflection:
There are a few significant things that occur within this chapter, not all of which I can discuss yet (and some of which involve Susan, which I mentioned in the last post--this will be a subject for later on). But first, there's the plot. We finally have a resolution of the mystery of the stable. For some reason, the stable seems to have led not to a stable, but to a bright, beautiful country (guess whose country it is!)--at least for some of our characters. In truth, the stable led many places. It led to Aslan's country, it led to death, and it led, indeed, to a dark and dingy stable for some (the dwarfs). But we can be certain that the reality of the situation is that the stable unexpectedly, at some point since Puzzle was rescued, became a portal into Aslan's country.
Of course, we now have some resolution with regard to each of the characters that enters into the stable. The mysteries are solved. There is now only one mystery left--how will it all end? The last paragraph of the chapter, which I have summarized here, is very telling, but I will leave that as a cliffhanger for tomorrow.
Let's look at an important moment in the passage--the one in which we finally know that Tirian has done as he was supposed to during the adventure that unfolds within this novel. Here's what happens when Aslan greets Tirian:
"Then he fixed his eyes upon Tirian, and Tirian came near, trembling, and flung himself at the Lion's feet, and the Lion kissed him and said, 'Well done, last of the Kings of Narnia who stood firm at the darkest hour'" (p. 510).Tirian is Sam Gamgee at the opening of mount doom, who keeps his faith, carries Frodo, and is inevitably the reason that the ring is finally destroyed. Sam is the real hero, and so is Tirian.
What we might not have realized until now is that Tirian has gone through some tremendous growth throughout this novel. Tirian has come a long way indeed since he and Jewel killed two Calormene soldiers without considering the consequences (and the consequences, indeed, have been tremendous). Despite where he started from, Tirian has shown that he is a person of true character, a person worthy to be called the last of the Kings of Narnia.
And now I'm going to do something I've yet to do in this blog much--talk about the future. C.S. Lewis really does something incredible with this novel and with the TCON series--he saves the best for last. Not only is The Last Battle, in my opinion, the best novel of the series, but the last three chapters of The Last Battle are, without a doubt, the best chapters of the entire novel. This is not easy to accomplish, since there have been many wonderful chapters along the way. But like any good author (or beverage), C.S. Lewis knows how to finish strong. These last three chapters are pretty special ones in the literary world. And they are coming up next. Get ready.
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
The Last Battle | Chapter 12: Through the Stable Door
Chapter Summary:
As the Narnians retreat from the battle and reorganize, they see that Eustace being carried toward the stable and then thrown in. While the Narnians recover from the battle, the dwarfs begin firing arrows at the Calormenes to keep the battle even--the dwarfs want neither side to win.
The Calormenes quickly overwhelm the dwarfs, and then attack the Narnians again. This begins the last battle of the last of the Kings of Narnia. Jill is pulled into the stable by a Calormene soldier. Tirian fights the enemies around him until he finds himself dueling with Rishda himself directly in front of the stable door. Tirian suddenly rushes at Rishda, throwing them both through the open stable door.
The door is slammed closed behind them. Tirian realizes that they seem not to be in a stable, but somewhere much better lit. Rishda is next to him, pointing at Tash. Tash asks Rishda why Rishda has summoned him, but Rishda simply cowers in fear. Tash picks up Rishda under his arm, and then a voice from nearby commands Tash to leave. Tash vanishes with Rishda under his arm.
Tirian looks around to see seven Kings and Queens standing before him. He first sees Jill and then Eustace, neither of whom look like they have just been in battle. Then he is introduced to Peter, Polly, Digory, Edmund, and finally Lucy. Tirian asks Peter where Susan is, and Peter replies that she is no longer a friend of Narnia. Jill and Polly explain that Susan is too busy being a grown-up and rushing from one moment to another in her life.
Tirian then looks around him and realizes how strange his adventure had become.
Reflection:
As the fifth-to-last chapter in the TCON series, this chapter brings us to the battle climax of the entire TCON series, beginning with the words "And then the last battle of the lasdt King of Narnia began" (p. 504). Ohhh, they said it! Sorry, couldn't help myself there. Anyway, the whole battle portion is rather an anticlimax, but I think it's written that way on purpose. All that really happens (and over the course of only a few paragraphs) is that the Narnians fight, Jill gets pulled into the stable, and Tirian finds himself pushed toward the stable.
Of course, what you may have figured out by now is two things: First, the climax is not the battle. The climax is that Tirian believes that he is giving up his life in order to save Narnia. The second thing you might realize is that we really have not yet reached the climax. The climax of The Last Battle is not the battle itself, but what comes afterward, in the last three chapters in particular.
But we will have to wait for those last few chapters--at least for a few more days. What we can look at is Tirian's sacrificial moment. Here's the very short scene:
And while we're at it, I don't yet know what to make of the blinding light and earth shaking that has occurred when both Shift and Tirian/Rishda enter the stable. Nothing that happens within the stable seems to imply anything like a bomb going off, but that's exactly what is described. Perhaps we will get an explanation sooner or later.
We'll leave this behind for the moment. I had just written a paragraph on the Susan situation, but I realized that we still have a few chapters left to go before we discuss the controversy surrounding Susan's absence from this scene in this chapter. Lest I spoil things if you are actually reading along with both my blog and the novels (ha), I will do you the small favor of waiting a day or two or three before discussing this further. After all, there are scenes in the next few chapters that will contribute to that discussion, so it is best to wait anyway. Just don't let me forget. Discuss Susan.
As the Narnians retreat from the battle and reorganize, they see that Eustace being carried toward the stable and then thrown in. While the Narnians recover from the battle, the dwarfs begin firing arrows at the Calormenes to keep the battle even--the dwarfs want neither side to win.
The Calormenes quickly overwhelm the dwarfs, and then attack the Narnians again. This begins the last battle of the last of the Kings of Narnia. Jill is pulled into the stable by a Calormene soldier. Tirian fights the enemies around him until he finds himself dueling with Rishda himself directly in front of the stable door. Tirian suddenly rushes at Rishda, throwing them both through the open stable door.
The door is slammed closed behind them. Tirian realizes that they seem not to be in a stable, but somewhere much better lit. Rishda is next to him, pointing at Tash. Tash asks Rishda why Rishda has summoned him, but Rishda simply cowers in fear. Tash picks up Rishda under his arm, and then a voice from nearby commands Tash to leave. Tash vanishes with Rishda under his arm.
Tirian looks around to see seven Kings and Queens standing before him. He first sees Jill and then Eustace, neither of whom look like they have just been in battle. Then he is introduced to Peter, Polly, Digory, Edmund, and finally Lucy. Tirian asks Peter where Susan is, and Peter replies that she is no longer a friend of Narnia. Jill and Polly explain that Susan is too busy being a grown-up and rushing from one moment to another in her life.
Tirian then looks around him and realizes how strange his adventure had become.
Reflection:
As the fifth-to-last chapter in the TCON series, this chapter brings us to the battle climax of the entire TCON series, beginning with the words "And then the last battle of the lasdt King of Narnia began" (p. 504). Ohhh, they said it! Sorry, couldn't help myself there. Anyway, the whole battle portion is rather an anticlimax, but I think it's written that way on purpose. All that really happens (and over the course of only a few paragraphs) is that the Narnians fight, Jill gets pulled into the stable, and Tirian finds himself pushed toward the stable.
Of course, what you may have figured out by now is two things: First, the climax is not the battle. The climax is that Tirian believes that he is giving up his life in order to save Narnia. The second thing you might realize is that we really have not yet reached the climax. The climax of The Last Battle is not the battle itself, but what comes afterward, in the last three chapters in particular.
But we will have to wait for those last few chapters--at least for a few more days. What we can look at is Tirian's sacrificial moment. Here's the very short scene:
"A new idea came into Tirian's head. He dropped his sword, darted forward, in under the sweep of the Tarkaan's scimitar, seized his enemy by the belt with both hands, and jumped back into the stable shouting:
'Come in and meet Tash yourself!'
There was a deafening noise. As when the Ape had been flung in, the earth shook and there was a blinding light" (p. 505).I think Tirian remembered the words of the dying centaur Roonwit, delivered to him by the eagle Farsight--that there is nothing wrong with a heroic death. And that is exactly what Tirian does, at least what he believes--he believes that he is sacrificing both himself and Rishda to Tash, thereby ending both of their lives together for the sake of Narnia. It is one of the most heroic acts in all of the TCON series.
And while we're at it, I don't yet know what to make of the blinding light and earth shaking that has occurred when both Shift and Tirian/Rishda enter the stable. Nothing that happens within the stable seems to imply anything like a bomb going off, but that's exactly what is described. Perhaps we will get an explanation sooner or later.
We'll leave this behind for the moment. I had just written a paragraph on the Susan situation, but I realized that we still have a few chapters left to go before we discuss the controversy surrounding Susan's absence from this scene in this chapter. Lest I spoil things if you are actually reading along with both my blog and the novels (ha), I will do you the small favor of waiting a day or two or three before discussing this further. After all, there are scenes in the next few chapters that will contribute to that discussion, so it is best to wait anyway. Just don't let me forget. Discuss Susan.
Monday, October 20, 2014
The Last Battle | Chapter 11: The Pace Quickens
Chapter Summary:
As soon as Tirian and company jump into the light of the fire, Rishda retreats to gather his army. Shift is too slow; Tirian and Poggin grab him and throw him into the stable. The result is a blinding blue-green light, a severe earthquake, and the noise of a loud bird.
Several Talking Animals immediately join Tirian, including all of the Talking Dogs and many smaller animals. Tirian tells the smaller animals to go release the Talking Horses that will join them. The small animals run off to find the Talking Horses to do this.
The two enemy lines gather and clash. Several Calormenes die, as well as several on the Narnian side--three dogs and a bear. The dwarfs (aside from Poggin) just watch. Tirian tries to call them to the aid of the Narnians, but they reply that the dwarfs are for the dwarfs.
Just then, the Talking Horses all start running up the hill toward Tirian. The dwarfs shoot every single one of them with arrows, killing them all. Eustace and Jewel are in an absolute rage. The dwarfs, again, say that the dwarfs are for the dwarfs--they don't want either side to win the battle.
A drum begins booming, and Tirian knows that it's a call to other nearby Calormenes to come to the battle. Tirian creates another plan of attack quickly, to strike before the other Calormenes arrive. Jill shoots at the Calormenes with her arrows while Farsight the eagle pecks at their eyes. Then, the other Narnians fall upon the Calormenes. The fight seems to be going well for the Narnians until the Calormene reinforcement arrive. Tirian calls for retreat.
Reflection:
As has been the theme throughout the TCON series, C.S. Lewis is continually (as the kids would say) upping his game. This battle is more important, and certainly more of a violent depiction of real battle than any other previous Narnian battle. This book is no longer one that I would direct specifically at children--it has gone beyond a little violent, and has become pretty graphic.
And that's not the only emotion that C.S. Lewis has increased throughout the TCON series. Let's take a look at one of the saddest passages in the entire series. Now, you need a little context first. Throughout The Last Battle, there has been a bear who has been reluctantly following Shift and his scheme. The bear has always been the one to ask the questions that everyone else is thinking. But the bear, who is unnamed, is much like Puzzle--he is used to just doing what he's told, and in general believes what others say about him. So when Shift tells him several times that he just doesn't understand and isn't very clever, he just does along with it.
But during the battle, the bear dies. And it is the saddest moment in the TCON series thus far. Here's the very brief moment:
This, my friends, is the absolute tragedy of war. Without a doubt, C.S. Lewis had WWII in mind as he was writing his passage--and all of the young men who gave up their futures without a real understanding of who they were or even why they were fighting. It is the truest tragedy of wars everywhere, and C.S. Lewis captures it perfectly.
And with that, let us open the stable door.
As soon as Tirian and company jump into the light of the fire, Rishda retreats to gather his army. Shift is too slow; Tirian and Poggin grab him and throw him into the stable. The result is a blinding blue-green light, a severe earthquake, and the noise of a loud bird.
Several Talking Animals immediately join Tirian, including all of the Talking Dogs and many smaller animals. Tirian tells the smaller animals to go release the Talking Horses that will join them. The small animals run off to find the Talking Horses to do this.
The two enemy lines gather and clash. Several Calormenes die, as well as several on the Narnian side--three dogs and a bear. The dwarfs (aside from Poggin) just watch. Tirian tries to call them to the aid of the Narnians, but they reply that the dwarfs are for the dwarfs.
Just then, the Talking Horses all start running up the hill toward Tirian. The dwarfs shoot every single one of them with arrows, killing them all. Eustace and Jewel are in an absolute rage. The dwarfs, again, say that the dwarfs are for the dwarfs--they don't want either side to win the battle.
A drum begins booming, and Tirian knows that it's a call to other nearby Calormenes to come to the battle. Tirian creates another plan of attack quickly, to strike before the other Calormenes arrive. Jill shoots at the Calormenes with her arrows while Farsight the eagle pecks at their eyes. Then, the other Narnians fall upon the Calormenes. The fight seems to be going well for the Narnians until the Calormene reinforcement arrive. Tirian calls for retreat.
Reflection:
As has been the theme throughout the TCON series, C.S. Lewis is continually (as the kids would say) upping his game. This battle is more important, and certainly more of a violent depiction of real battle than any other previous Narnian battle. This book is no longer one that I would direct specifically at children--it has gone beyond a little violent, and has become pretty graphic.
And that's not the only emotion that C.S. Lewis has increased throughout the TCON series. Let's take a look at one of the saddest passages in the entire series. Now, you need a little context first. Throughout The Last Battle, there has been a bear who has been reluctantly following Shift and his scheme. The bear has always been the one to ask the questions that everyone else is thinking. But the bear, who is unnamed, is much like Puzzle--he is used to just doing what he's told, and in general believes what others say about him. So when Shift tells him several times that he just doesn't understand and isn't very clever, he just does along with it.
But during the battle, the bear dies. And it is the saddest moment in the TCON series thus far. Here's the very brief moment:
"The Bear lay on the ground, moving feebly. Then it mumbled in its throaty voice, bewildered to the last, 'I--I don't--understand,' laid its big head down on the grass as quietly as a child going to sleep, and never moved again" (p. 500).How sad! What makes it so sad is that the bear never understood who he should be following. He never understood the evil that had come to Narnia. And he never understood why he was fighting in the battle. He just went along, because his country and his king called him to do so--but he never knew why.
This, my friends, is the absolute tragedy of war. Without a doubt, C.S. Lewis had WWII in mind as he was writing his passage--and all of the young men who gave up their futures without a real understanding of who they were or even why they were fighting. It is the truest tragedy of wars everywhere, and C.S. Lewis captures it perfectly.
And with that, let us open the stable door.
Sunday, October 19, 2014
The Last Battle | Chapter 10: Who Will Go Into the Stable?
Chapter Summary:
Jewel tells Jill to cut the lion skin off of Puzzle, and Jill does so. Shift tells the crowd of Narnians that Aslan is angry, and therefore won't come out of the stable anymore. When a dwarf in the crowd speaks up and says that the whole false Aslan getup was Shift's idea, Shift responds by telling the crowd that there is a Tashlan (what they are now referring to Aslan/Tash) in the stable. Shift says that now, they would have to go into the stable to see Tashlan; however, Tashlan is angry, and who knows what might happen to them.
Tirian and Jill wonder to each other what is really in the stable--and they speculate that it's just likely a few Calormene soldiers with swords. But then, Ginger the cat volunteers to go into the stable. Tirian realizes that Ginger is in on the scheme, and everyone holds their breath as Ginger enters the stable.
Ginger is only in the stable for moments, when it bolts like lightning from the stable and climbs a nearby tree, clearly terrified. Everyone quickly realizes that Ginger has been transformed from a Talking Cat to a non-Talking Cat. Ginger disappears up the tree, and is never seen or heard of again.
Then, a Calormene soldier named Emeth speaks up to Rishda the chief soldier and says that he would like to go into the stable to meet Tash. Emeth is clearly a very devoted Tash follower. Rishda tries to talk Emeth out of going into the stable, but Emeth makes Shift swear that Tash is in the stable. Shift reluctantly swears it, and Emeth goes into the stable.
Very soon after, a man is thrown out of the stable, dead. Rishda goes up the man, reacts in a startled way for a split second, and then announces that Emeth is dead. However, Tirian and company can tell that the man is not Emeth--it is someone else.
Shift then asks who wants to go in next, and he along with Calormene soliders start closing in on the Narnians. Tirian sees that it is time. He tells the others to get their swords out. Seven figures leap into the firelight as Tirian proclaims his presence and calls all loyal Narnians to his side.
Reflection:
This chapter may as well be titled "The Plot Thickens." What makes this chapter the most interesting is that in a vast majority of novels, including a majority of the TCON series, there is a protagonist (or several) and an antagonist (or several). And generally, one of those two parties has the upper hand. Now, in the grand scheme of The Last Battle, our antagonists certainly have the upper hand. But this chapter brings us something new entirely. In this chapter, the mystery has the upper hand.
We know this because literally nothing is going right for anyone. Tirian, Eustace, Jill, and company are having to revise their plan in an impromptu manner after Shift foils their plan to reveal Puzzle to the Narnians. Meanwhile, Shift, Ginger, and Rishda clearly had a plan in which Ginger went into the stable. I don't think the plan was for Ginger to come flying from the stable in absolute terror and somehow turn into a non-talking animal. This, by the way, was not something that just happened. This is not a normal event. This is a thing of mysterious legend--a thing that the Narnians grew up hearing could happen to them if they were bad. It would be like peeing in the pool and your pee actually turning purple. Or crossing your eyes and they actually stayed crossed forever. Or getting a lump of coal in your stocking instead of presents. You get the idea. This isn't something that just happened every day, or ever. It was a thing of legend; it wasn't supposed to actually happen.
Anyway, their plan also obviously did not involve a young soldier named Emeth voluntarily going into the stable to meet the god that he had worshiped loyally all his life. And the plan was not for Emeth to disappear into the stable. And the plan was certainly not for a man (who Rishda clearly recognizes) to be thrown from the stable, dead. Something is going on in the stable that no one currently understands--not Tirian, not Shift, and no one who can be labeled a protagonist, antagonist, or a victim (the Talking Animals of Narnia) within this novel.
Thus, the mystery of the stable is the winner of this chapter. The mystery is the 'side' with the upper hand. And it's going to absolutely make things interesting from here on out.
Jewel tells Jill to cut the lion skin off of Puzzle, and Jill does so. Shift tells the crowd of Narnians that Aslan is angry, and therefore won't come out of the stable anymore. When a dwarf in the crowd speaks up and says that the whole false Aslan getup was Shift's idea, Shift responds by telling the crowd that there is a Tashlan (what they are now referring to Aslan/Tash) in the stable. Shift says that now, they would have to go into the stable to see Tashlan; however, Tashlan is angry, and who knows what might happen to them.
Tirian and Jill wonder to each other what is really in the stable--and they speculate that it's just likely a few Calormene soldiers with swords. But then, Ginger the cat volunteers to go into the stable. Tirian realizes that Ginger is in on the scheme, and everyone holds their breath as Ginger enters the stable.
Ginger is only in the stable for moments, when it bolts like lightning from the stable and climbs a nearby tree, clearly terrified. Everyone quickly realizes that Ginger has been transformed from a Talking Cat to a non-Talking Cat. Ginger disappears up the tree, and is never seen or heard of again.
Then, a Calormene soldier named Emeth speaks up to Rishda the chief soldier and says that he would like to go into the stable to meet Tash. Emeth is clearly a very devoted Tash follower. Rishda tries to talk Emeth out of going into the stable, but Emeth makes Shift swear that Tash is in the stable. Shift reluctantly swears it, and Emeth goes into the stable.
Very soon after, a man is thrown out of the stable, dead. Rishda goes up the man, reacts in a startled way for a split second, and then announces that Emeth is dead. However, Tirian and company can tell that the man is not Emeth--it is someone else.
Shift then asks who wants to go in next, and he along with Calormene soliders start closing in on the Narnians. Tirian sees that it is time. He tells the others to get their swords out. Seven figures leap into the firelight as Tirian proclaims his presence and calls all loyal Narnians to his side.
Reflection:
This chapter may as well be titled "The Plot Thickens." What makes this chapter the most interesting is that in a vast majority of novels, including a majority of the TCON series, there is a protagonist (or several) and an antagonist (or several). And generally, one of those two parties has the upper hand. Now, in the grand scheme of The Last Battle, our antagonists certainly have the upper hand. But this chapter brings us something new entirely. In this chapter, the mystery has the upper hand.
We know this because literally nothing is going right for anyone. Tirian, Eustace, Jill, and company are having to revise their plan in an impromptu manner after Shift foils their plan to reveal Puzzle to the Narnians. Meanwhile, Shift, Ginger, and Rishda clearly had a plan in which Ginger went into the stable. I don't think the plan was for Ginger to come flying from the stable in absolute terror and somehow turn into a non-talking animal. This, by the way, was not something that just happened. This is not a normal event. This is a thing of mysterious legend--a thing that the Narnians grew up hearing could happen to them if they were bad. It would be like peeing in the pool and your pee actually turning purple. Or crossing your eyes and they actually stayed crossed forever. Or getting a lump of coal in your stocking instead of presents. You get the idea. This isn't something that just happened every day, or ever. It was a thing of legend; it wasn't supposed to actually happen.
Anyway, their plan also obviously did not involve a young soldier named Emeth voluntarily going into the stable to meet the god that he had worshiped loyally all his life. And the plan was not for Emeth to disappear into the stable. And the plan was certainly not for a man (who Rishda clearly recognizes) to be thrown from the stable, dead. Something is going on in the stable that no one currently understands--not Tirian, not Shift, and no one who can be labeled a protagonist, antagonist, or a victim (the Talking Animals of Narnia) within this novel.
Thus, the mystery of the stable is the winner of this chapter. The mystery is the 'side' with the upper hand. And it's going to absolutely make things interesting from here on out.
Saturday, October 18, 2014
The Last Battle | Chapter 9: The Great Meeting on Stable Hill
Chapter Summary:
It becomes clear to everyone that the only thing left to do is to return to Stable Hill, reveal Shift's scheme, and hope that enough Narnians join them in battle to defeat the Calormenes. Tirian insists that Eustace and Jill return to their world, but Eustace and Jill both don't want to and don't know how to return even if they wanted to. After much begging, Tirian allows them to come with him to go to battle.
During the march back to Stable Hill, Eustace and Jill speculate on what would occur to them if they were to die in battle in Narnia. Neither quite knows the answer. Eustace says that he was worried that the terrible jerk they felt on the train was a railway accident, so he was glad that they found themselves in Narnia instead.
Everyone becomes quiet as they approach Stable Hill. They take shelter in some brush just behind the stable and await the midnight meeting that occurs nightly. Their plan is to wait until the right moment, and then reveal Puzzle in his absurd lion skin getup.
The bonfire is lit, and Ginger the Cat, Shift the Ape, and Rishda the Calormene captain appear. Tirian hears Rishda whisper to Ginger to play his part well. The Talking Beasts gather and Shift begins to speak. Shift tells the Narnians that someone has dared to do something horrible--a donkey has decided to dress itself in a lion skin and pretend to be Aslan.
Tirian, Eustace, and Jill react with shock--they realize that they are telling the Narnians just enough of the truth to make their current plan impossible. They now know that if they bring Puzzle out into the open, the Narnians will likely kill him, based on what Shift has just said.
Reflection:
My guess is that this will probably be our last true plot-moving chapter of the TCON series. From here on, it's all about the final hours of Narnia, and what comes next. What this chapter does show us, of course, is the unbelievable bravery of all of the characters in this story. They say that Narnia does have that effect on people, and we're definitely seeing it now. Tirian, Eustace, Jill, Jewel, and Poggin the Dwarf all most likely realize that they are marching toward their deaths in a battle that is virtually un-winable, but they go nonetheless. And they go because despite everything, they still believe in Narnia, and therefore they still believe in Aslan.
Unfortunately, every time they seem to think that the situation can't get much worse, it most certainly does get worse. From the appearance of Tash, to the news that the eagle brings, to the clever lies that Shift tells the Narnians on Stable Hill, things continue to look ever more bleak for the few who are still loyal to Aslan and to Narnia. But like I've said before, Aslan has not come yet, and that is what they are all really waiting for. It is most definitely the eleventh hour at this point, and there is very little hope left.
Reflect now for just a moment that we are still reading what is widely considered to be a series for children. Up until this point, there has been some of the typical violence that one would expect out of a modern children's story, but ever since the last chapter of The Silver Chair, things have taken a much more adult-like turn. The topics that are being handled here--particularly the ones related to the deaths, or imminent deaths, of our protagonists--are incredibly advanced for the average child, and indeed, some of the topics might be rather terrifying. But in my opinion and observation, C.S. Lewis does not hold back. In some ways, this is good, because this is realistic--but in other ways, I'm just not sure it's something I would want my child of, say, five years old, to be reading. What are your thoughts, oh dedicated reader? (You do not exist. It's ok. We both know it.) And just for kicks and giggles, I'll end this post halfwa
It becomes clear to everyone that the only thing left to do is to return to Stable Hill, reveal Shift's scheme, and hope that enough Narnians join them in battle to defeat the Calormenes. Tirian insists that Eustace and Jill return to their world, but Eustace and Jill both don't want to and don't know how to return even if they wanted to. After much begging, Tirian allows them to come with him to go to battle.
During the march back to Stable Hill, Eustace and Jill speculate on what would occur to them if they were to die in battle in Narnia. Neither quite knows the answer. Eustace says that he was worried that the terrible jerk they felt on the train was a railway accident, so he was glad that they found themselves in Narnia instead.
Everyone becomes quiet as they approach Stable Hill. They take shelter in some brush just behind the stable and await the midnight meeting that occurs nightly. Their plan is to wait until the right moment, and then reveal Puzzle in his absurd lion skin getup.
The bonfire is lit, and Ginger the Cat, Shift the Ape, and Rishda the Calormene captain appear. Tirian hears Rishda whisper to Ginger to play his part well. The Talking Beasts gather and Shift begins to speak. Shift tells the Narnians that someone has dared to do something horrible--a donkey has decided to dress itself in a lion skin and pretend to be Aslan.
Tirian, Eustace, and Jill react with shock--they realize that they are telling the Narnians just enough of the truth to make their current plan impossible. They now know that if they bring Puzzle out into the open, the Narnians will likely kill him, based on what Shift has just said.
Reflection:
My guess is that this will probably be our last true plot-moving chapter of the TCON series. From here on, it's all about the final hours of Narnia, and what comes next. What this chapter does show us, of course, is the unbelievable bravery of all of the characters in this story. They say that Narnia does have that effect on people, and we're definitely seeing it now. Tirian, Eustace, Jill, Jewel, and Poggin the Dwarf all most likely realize that they are marching toward their deaths in a battle that is virtually un-winable, but they go nonetheless. And they go because despite everything, they still believe in Narnia, and therefore they still believe in Aslan.
Unfortunately, every time they seem to think that the situation can't get much worse, it most certainly does get worse. From the appearance of Tash, to the news that the eagle brings, to the clever lies that Shift tells the Narnians on Stable Hill, things continue to look ever more bleak for the few who are still loyal to Aslan and to Narnia. But like I've said before, Aslan has not come yet, and that is what they are all really waiting for. It is most definitely the eleventh hour at this point, and there is very little hope left.
Reflect now for just a moment that we are still reading what is widely considered to be a series for children. Up until this point, there has been some of the typical violence that one would expect out of a modern children's story, but ever since the last chapter of The Silver Chair, things have taken a much more adult-like turn. The topics that are being handled here--particularly the ones related to the deaths, or imminent deaths, of our protagonists--are incredibly advanced for the average child, and indeed, some of the topics might be rather terrifying. But in my opinion and observation, C.S. Lewis does not hold back. In some ways, this is good, because this is realistic--but in other ways, I'm just not sure it's something I would want my child of, say, five years old, to be reading. What are your thoughts, oh dedicated reader? (You do not exist. It's ok. We both know it.) And just for kicks and giggles, I'll end this post halfwa
Friday, October 17, 2014
The Last Battle | Chapter 8: What News the Eagle Brought
Chapter Summary:
The horrid stench is coming from a figure that is drifting through the nearby woods. Puzzle runs into the tower and Jill covers her eyes. The figure moves like smoke, but has a body like a bird and the look of a demon. As the figure passes out of sight, the sun comes back out. Tirian identifies the figure as Tash himself; Shift has called for Tash, and Tash is moving toward Stable Hill.
Everyone recovers slowly, and then a decision needs to be made. Either they will go to Stable Hill to reveal Puzzle to everyone and overthrow Shift and the Calormenes, or they will march to meet Roonwit the Centaur and the army he leads from Cair Paravel. They decide on the second option. Tirian, Eustace, and Jill remove their Calormene disguises and then they, along with Jewel, Puzzle, and Poggin, leave the tower and journey to meet Roonwit.
During that journey, Jill speaks with Jewel the Unicorn. Jewel tells Jill about all of the hundreds of thousands of years of peace in Narnia, and tells Jill about many of the historical figures of Narnia that Jill had never heard of before. Jill comes to understand that Narnia is generally a place of great peace, and that mankind only comes to Narnia when there is trouble. Jill wishes aloud that Narnia could go on forever and ever. Jewel says that this is impossible; all worlds must end, except Aslan's country.
Suddenly, the journey stops and everyone's eyes go to the sky. There is a Talking Eagle flying above them, circling in for a landing. When the eagle, named Farsight, lands he hails the King and said that he has seen two things that Tirian must know. First is that Cair Paravel is filled with dead Narnians and living Calormenes--the castle was taken from the sea the previous night. The second sight was Roonwit the Centaur, dead, with a Calormene arrow in his side. Farsight says that he was with Roonwit as he died, and Roonwit sent this message to the King: "Remember that all worlds draw to an end and that noble death is a treasure which no one is too poor to buy" (p. 489).
Tirian says that Narnia is no more.
Reflection:
There was a familiarity to the scene with Farsight the eagle that I couldn't put my finger on for a moment, and then suddenly it came to mind. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the wedding, and the warning immediately before the death eaters attack: "The Ministry has fallen. The Minister of Magic is dead. They are coming... They are coming..."
This chapter brings to us, in my opinion, the two most haunting and disturbing scenes thus far within TCON. The first is the appearance of Tash. Until this point in the series, Tash has been somewhat paralleled with the Baals that we hear about in the Bible. As a reader, we are led to believe that Tash is some sort of fictional god that the Calormenes have created for themselves--but never once are we really led to consider that Tash might actually be real. And then beyond that, even more disturbing, is that not only is Tash real, but Tash is by no means a god--Tash is actually more like a demon than anything else, the sight of whom is enough to darken the hearts (and literally, the surroundings) of anyone it comes near to.
And then, of course, the second scene comes at the end of the chapter, in which the eagle brings the news about Cair Paravel and Roonwit the Centaur. By now, the message should be clear. The Last Battle is not just about the final battle of Narnia--it is about the end of Narnia itself. Roonwit's final message to Tirian says exactly that. And we know that we can trust the words of Roonwit, because Roonwit has been reading the stars, and he knows what is coming. He is not saying that the end of Narnia might be coming--he is saying that the end of Narnia is coming, and that there is nothing wrong with a noble death within that situation.
So here we are, brought to the darkest time in Narnia. The kingdom has fallen, and traitors have overtaken it. The King is now an exile, and the prediction of the end of Narnia appears to have come to be. But still there is hope; Aslan has not yet come. We don't know where he is, but we know that when he has shown up before, things turn out for the better. But this time, we will see.
By now, you can of course see that The Last Battle is not going to follow the patterns that we have seen in the other six TCON novels. Sure, there is adventure, danger, hope, and friendship, but the plot itself is by far different from the other six novels we have read so far. As the final book in the series, this is not too surprising, but it is neat to see how C.S. Lewis has completely reconstructed the prototypical Narnian tale to bring us this final installment. Which, by the way, we are halfway through. Only 8 chapters (and therefore 8 blog posts) remain after today.
The horrid stench is coming from a figure that is drifting through the nearby woods. Puzzle runs into the tower and Jill covers her eyes. The figure moves like smoke, but has a body like a bird and the look of a demon. As the figure passes out of sight, the sun comes back out. Tirian identifies the figure as Tash himself; Shift has called for Tash, and Tash is moving toward Stable Hill.
Everyone recovers slowly, and then a decision needs to be made. Either they will go to Stable Hill to reveal Puzzle to everyone and overthrow Shift and the Calormenes, or they will march to meet Roonwit the Centaur and the army he leads from Cair Paravel. They decide on the second option. Tirian, Eustace, and Jill remove their Calormene disguises and then they, along with Jewel, Puzzle, and Poggin, leave the tower and journey to meet Roonwit.
During that journey, Jill speaks with Jewel the Unicorn. Jewel tells Jill about all of the hundreds of thousands of years of peace in Narnia, and tells Jill about many of the historical figures of Narnia that Jill had never heard of before. Jill comes to understand that Narnia is generally a place of great peace, and that mankind only comes to Narnia when there is trouble. Jill wishes aloud that Narnia could go on forever and ever. Jewel says that this is impossible; all worlds must end, except Aslan's country.
Suddenly, the journey stops and everyone's eyes go to the sky. There is a Talking Eagle flying above them, circling in for a landing. When the eagle, named Farsight, lands he hails the King and said that he has seen two things that Tirian must know. First is that Cair Paravel is filled with dead Narnians and living Calormenes--the castle was taken from the sea the previous night. The second sight was Roonwit the Centaur, dead, with a Calormene arrow in his side. Farsight says that he was with Roonwit as he died, and Roonwit sent this message to the King: "Remember that all worlds draw to an end and that noble death is a treasure which no one is too poor to buy" (p. 489).
Tirian says that Narnia is no more.
Reflection:
There was a familiarity to the scene with Farsight the eagle that I couldn't put my finger on for a moment, and then suddenly it came to mind. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the wedding, and the warning immediately before the death eaters attack: "The Ministry has fallen. The Minister of Magic is dead. They are coming... They are coming..."
This chapter brings to us, in my opinion, the two most haunting and disturbing scenes thus far within TCON. The first is the appearance of Tash. Until this point in the series, Tash has been somewhat paralleled with the Baals that we hear about in the Bible. As a reader, we are led to believe that Tash is some sort of fictional god that the Calormenes have created for themselves--but never once are we really led to consider that Tash might actually be real. And then beyond that, even more disturbing, is that not only is Tash real, but Tash is by no means a god--Tash is actually more like a demon than anything else, the sight of whom is enough to darken the hearts (and literally, the surroundings) of anyone it comes near to.
And then, of course, the second scene comes at the end of the chapter, in which the eagle brings the news about Cair Paravel and Roonwit the Centaur. By now, the message should be clear. The Last Battle is not just about the final battle of Narnia--it is about the end of Narnia itself. Roonwit's final message to Tirian says exactly that. And we know that we can trust the words of Roonwit, because Roonwit has been reading the stars, and he knows what is coming. He is not saying that the end of Narnia might be coming--he is saying that the end of Narnia is coming, and that there is nothing wrong with a noble death within that situation.
So here we are, brought to the darkest time in Narnia. The kingdom has fallen, and traitors have overtaken it. The King is now an exile, and the prediction of the end of Narnia appears to have come to be. But still there is hope; Aslan has not yet come. We don't know where he is, but we know that when he has shown up before, things turn out for the better. But this time, we will see.
By now, you can of course see that The Last Battle is not going to follow the patterns that we have seen in the other six TCON novels. Sure, there is adventure, danger, hope, and friendship, but the plot itself is by far different from the other six novels we have read so far. As the final book in the series, this is not too surprising, but it is neat to see how C.S. Lewis has completely reconstructed the prototypical Narnian tale to bring us this final installment. Which, by the way, we are halfway through. Only 8 chapters (and therefore 8 blog posts) remain after today.
Thursday, October 16, 2014
The Last Battle | Chapter 7: Mainly About Dwarfs
Chapter Summary:
Tirian approaches the group of dwarfs, who are being led by two Calormene soldiers. Tirian pretends to be a Calormene again and discovers that the dwarfs are being taken to Calormen to work in the mines (they believe, on Aslan's orders). Tirian reveals Puzzle to show that they have all been deceived. The two Calormene soliders ask Tirian for a password, and Tirian draws his sword and Eustace follows suit. Tirian and Eustace kill the two Calormene soldiers.
Tirian expects a celebration from the dwarfs, but the dwarfs are unimpressed. The dwarfs collectively tell Tirian that they don't want anything to do with Aslan. The dwarfs do not want to be fooled again, and they think that Tirian has a scheme of his own in mind--some way to use the dwarfs to his own advantage. The dwarfs won't believe that Tirian is who he says he is, and they don't believe Eustace and Jill that they are from another world either. The dwarfs march away.
Tirian, Eustace, Jill, Jewel, and Puzzle walk away sadly back toward the tower where Tirian, Eustace, and Jill had spent the previous night. Suddenly, a dwarf named Poggin catches up with them--Poggin says that he believes Tirian. This brings a small bit of hope to the group.
The group of six returns to the tower, washes up, and sleeps. The next morning over breakfast, Poggin explains to everyone that the Cat, Ginger, has taken charge of the whole scheme, and is likely responsible for the response of the dwarfs. Poggin says that he overheard Ginger and the chief Calormene, Rishda, talking on Stable Hill the other night. Their plan was to overthrow the authority of Shift based on their mutual agreement that neither Aslan nor Tash exist.
The sky clouds over, and a very foul smell takes over. Jewel jumps up and tells everyone to look, and immediately everyone is dismayed.
Reflection:
Like I discussed in the last post, the problem is way worse than Tirian could have imagined. Groupthink is not only occurring, but Tirian is also seeing the impact of gossip, confusion, chaos, and the overall fragility of faith. In Tirian's own words:
That's right. It's a parallel to the present day notion that many non-Christians speak of--that if Christians are the type of people who worship Christ, then the last thing that they would want to do is spend any time with those sorts of people. Therefore if Christians represent themselves in a negative light, guess who else they are representing in a negative light? Christ himself. Exactly. We see it every. Single. Day. The extreme, of course, are the folks such as the Westboro "church" that proclaim to be believers but are so abominably opposed to so many Biblical beliefs that one could hardly call them Christians. But that's just the extreme. Any time a Christian has given anyone an unwelcoming glance in their church--that's part of the problem. Every time a Christian has been intolerant of differences or of people who aren't exactly like them--that's part of the problem.
If I don't watch myself, I'm going to start explaining why it's impossible to be a true Christian without being a social liberal, like Jesus clearly was in his own day, but I live in Waco, TX, and I don't want to be burned at the stake.
Well, this has taken a dark turn. Not that many people are reading this, but I hesitate anyway. So, to bring things back to the TCON world, it is abundantly clear to me why the dwarfs are not immediately on board with Tirian. They have been taught to distrust the name of Aslan, and distrust they will.
Tirian approaches the group of dwarfs, who are being led by two Calormene soldiers. Tirian pretends to be a Calormene again and discovers that the dwarfs are being taken to Calormen to work in the mines (they believe, on Aslan's orders). Tirian reveals Puzzle to show that they have all been deceived. The two Calormene soliders ask Tirian for a password, and Tirian draws his sword and Eustace follows suit. Tirian and Eustace kill the two Calormene soldiers.
Tirian expects a celebration from the dwarfs, but the dwarfs are unimpressed. The dwarfs collectively tell Tirian that they don't want anything to do with Aslan. The dwarfs do not want to be fooled again, and they think that Tirian has a scheme of his own in mind--some way to use the dwarfs to his own advantage. The dwarfs won't believe that Tirian is who he says he is, and they don't believe Eustace and Jill that they are from another world either. The dwarfs march away.
Tirian, Eustace, Jill, Jewel, and Puzzle walk away sadly back toward the tower where Tirian, Eustace, and Jill had spent the previous night. Suddenly, a dwarf named Poggin catches up with them--Poggin says that he believes Tirian. This brings a small bit of hope to the group.
The group of six returns to the tower, washes up, and sleeps. The next morning over breakfast, Poggin explains to everyone that the Cat, Ginger, has taken charge of the whole scheme, and is likely responsible for the response of the dwarfs. Poggin says that he overheard Ginger and the chief Calormene, Rishda, talking on Stable Hill the other night. Their plan was to overthrow the authority of Shift based on their mutual agreement that neither Aslan nor Tash exist.
The sky clouds over, and a very foul smell takes over. Jewel jumps up and tells everyone to look, and immediately everyone is dismayed.
Reflection:
Like I discussed in the last post, the problem is way worse than Tirian could have imagined. Groupthink is not only occurring, but Tirian is also seeing the impact of gossip, confusion, chaos, and the overall fragility of faith. In Tirian's own words:
"Tirian had never dreamed that one of the results of an Ape's setting up a false Aslan would be to stop people from believing in the real one" (p. 483).Unfortunately, that is exactly what has occurred. It would be easy to blame Aslan's apparent extended absence, but what it comes down to more than that is that the dwarfs do not have the faith in Aslan that Narnians used to. And if this one isn't a parallel for you, I don't know what is: The dwarfs are less faithful to Aslan simply because the people who claim to be so faithful to Aslan are not really the type of people that the dwarfs would want to spend time with. Is this familiar yet? It should be.
That's right. It's a parallel to the present day notion that many non-Christians speak of--that if Christians are the type of people who worship Christ, then the last thing that they would want to do is spend any time with those sorts of people. Therefore if Christians represent themselves in a negative light, guess who else they are representing in a negative light? Christ himself. Exactly. We see it every. Single. Day. The extreme, of course, are the folks such as the Westboro "church" that proclaim to be believers but are so abominably opposed to so many Biblical beliefs that one could hardly call them Christians. But that's just the extreme. Any time a Christian has given anyone an unwelcoming glance in their church--that's part of the problem. Every time a Christian has been intolerant of differences or of people who aren't exactly like them--that's part of the problem.
If I don't watch myself, I'm going to start explaining why it's impossible to be a true Christian without being a social liberal, like Jesus clearly was in his own day, but I live in Waco, TX, and I don't want to be burned at the stake.
Well, this has taken a dark turn. Not that many people are reading this, but I hesitate anyway. So, to bring things back to the TCON world, it is abundantly clear to me why the dwarfs are not immediately on board with Tirian. They have been taught to distrust the name of Aslan, and distrust they will.
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
The Last Battle | Chapter 6: A Good Night's Work
Chapter Summary:
Tirian, Eustace, and Jill go to sleep for the evening, but all awaken at 9:00 in the evening to begin a night-time journey. The plan is to go to Stable Hill to rescue Jewel the Unicorn and then meet up with Roonwit the Centaur, who should be leading an army from Cair Paravel.
They leave on their short journey, with Jill leading the way as a guide. As they come to Stable Hill, very quietly, they see one single Calormene guard watching over the stable. Tirian, who is disguised as a Calormene, exits the woods, greets the solider like a Calormene, and then quickly subdues him and holds a knife to his throat. The guard tells Tirian that Jewel is behind the stable, and Tirian is able to rescue Jewel. Tirian then ties the guard to the back of the stable.
Tirian and Jewel rejoin Eustace. Eustace and Tirian realize that Jill is missing, but Jill comes back a few moments later. Jill is laughing to herself, and says that she has been inside the stable, and that she has rescued Puzzle from his situation. Puzzle came willingly, saying that he did not really enjoy being kept in the stable, but only did so because Shift had told him that it was what Aslan wanted.
Tirian prepared to kill Puzzle for his treachery, but Jill begs for Puzzle's life. Jill explains that Puzzle did not know what he was doing, and that he should be allowed to live. Tirian relents and lets Puzzle live.
The group hears dwarfs marching on a nearby road, and they move in their direction. Tirian is convinced that now that everyone will be able to see Puzzle, they will see the scheme as it is, and Shift will be overthrown by morning.
Reflection:
Well, it definitely sounds like things are moving in the right direction, thanks to the hard work of Tirian, Eustace, and Jill. Unfortunately, Tirian is missing one key item here--and that's a little more knowledge about brainwashing. Once Groupthink has occurred, it is actually incredibly difficult to persuade the group that they could possibly be incorrect, even when the initial evidence validating the idea is completely and totally refuted.
In other words, I don't think it's going to matter one darn bit that the 'Aslan' inside of the stable was really just a donkey dressed as a lion. Once Groupthink has occurred, it only strengthens when contrary evidence appears, which is a defense mechanism that the group creates to prevent feeling, well, that they were wrong (even though an outside observer can clearly tell you that they are).
This is often seen with Doomsday cults. Once Doomsday passes, every cult leader and every member comes up with an excuse as to why the Doomsday event did not occur. And it always fits in with the original superstition. It is actually very, very rare for a member of one of those cults to simply walk away from the group disgusted with themselves and the cult after the Doomsday event fails to happen. Most times, they have spent considerable time, money, and resources into believing the message of the cult leader. Some have completely abandoned their families (or had their families abandon them). Others have given up their jobs or been fired. So, they must do everything they can to justify to themselves that their original theory was correct. Because the only other option is the horrific realization that they have made a life-alteringly horrible decision, and people don't like to believe that about themselves.
I think that's what's going to happen to the Narnians. They are going to be so (subconsciously) horrified at the idea that they have been listening to a false prophet that they will somehow justify everything that they have seen. Somehow, they will work it out to believe in Shift's lies anyway. Because that's what people do when they've been collectively brainwashed into an idea and have given up so many things to believe that it's true (such as a year's supply of nuts, in the case of the squirrels). I think the only thing that's going to end the madness is the appearance of the real Aslan.
Tirian, Eustace, and Jill go to sleep for the evening, but all awaken at 9:00 in the evening to begin a night-time journey. The plan is to go to Stable Hill to rescue Jewel the Unicorn and then meet up with Roonwit the Centaur, who should be leading an army from Cair Paravel.
They leave on their short journey, with Jill leading the way as a guide. As they come to Stable Hill, very quietly, they see one single Calormene guard watching over the stable. Tirian, who is disguised as a Calormene, exits the woods, greets the solider like a Calormene, and then quickly subdues him and holds a knife to his throat. The guard tells Tirian that Jewel is behind the stable, and Tirian is able to rescue Jewel. Tirian then ties the guard to the back of the stable.
Tirian and Jewel rejoin Eustace. Eustace and Tirian realize that Jill is missing, but Jill comes back a few moments later. Jill is laughing to herself, and says that she has been inside the stable, and that she has rescued Puzzle from his situation. Puzzle came willingly, saying that he did not really enjoy being kept in the stable, but only did so because Shift had told him that it was what Aslan wanted.
Tirian prepared to kill Puzzle for his treachery, but Jill begs for Puzzle's life. Jill explains that Puzzle did not know what he was doing, and that he should be allowed to live. Tirian relents and lets Puzzle live.
The group hears dwarfs marching on a nearby road, and they move in their direction. Tirian is convinced that now that everyone will be able to see Puzzle, they will see the scheme as it is, and Shift will be overthrown by morning.
Reflection:
Well, it definitely sounds like things are moving in the right direction, thanks to the hard work of Tirian, Eustace, and Jill. Unfortunately, Tirian is missing one key item here--and that's a little more knowledge about brainwashing. Once Groupthink has occurred, it is actually incredibly difficult to persuade the group that they could possibly be incorrect, even when the initial evidence validating the idea is completely and totally refuted.
In other words, I don't think it's going to matter one darn bit that the 'Aslan' inside of the stable was really just a donkey dressed as a lion. Once Groupthink has occurred, it only strengthens when contrary evidence appears, which is a defense mechanism that the group creates to prevent feeling, well, that they were wrong (even though an outside observer can clearly tell you that they are).
This is often seen with Doomsday cults. Once Doomsday passes, every cult leader and every member comes up with an excuse as to why the Doomsday event did not occur. And it always fits in with the original superstition. It is actually very, very rare for a member of one of those cults to simply walk away from the group disgusted with themselves and the cult after the Doomsday event fails to happen. Most times, they have spent considerable time, money, and resources into believing the message of the cult leader. Some have completely abandoned their families (or had their families abandon them). Others have given up their jobs or been fired. So, they must do everything they can to justify to themselves that their original theory was correct. Because the only other option is the horrific realization that they have made a life-alteringly horrible decision, and people don't like to believe that about themselves.
I think that's what's going to happen to the Narnians. They are going to be so (subconsciously) horrified at the idea that they have been listening to a false prophet that they will somehow justify everything that they have seen. Somehow, they will work it out to believe in Shift's lies anyway. Because that's what people do when they've been collectively brainwashed into an idea and have given up so many things to believe that it's true (such as a year's supply of nuts, in the case of the squirrels). I think the only thing that's going to end the madness is the appearance of the real Aslan.
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
The Last Battle | Chapter 5: How Help Came to the King
Chapter Summary:
As soon as King Tirian awakens from his dream, two children appear in front of him (Eustace and Jill). Eustace and Jill apologize for taking so long to get to him--it has been a week on earth since King Tirian asked for help in his dream, but only ten seconds in Narnian time. Eustace and Jill untie King Tirian, and they escape the opposite direction of the stable, careful not to leave any track to follow.
During their journey, Eustace and Jill are shocked to discover that King Tirian is the seventh descendant from King Rilian, who has been dead over 200 years. Likewise, King Tirian is shocked to hear that not only are Eustace and Jill still alive, but that Peter, Edmund, and Lucy were three of the other individuals in his vision. Even more, Tirian is stunned that the other two people in his vision were Digory and Polly--the two humans who were present at the dawn of the Narnian world.
Eustace and Jill explain that after the vision, it was decided that the only way to get back to Narnia to help King Tirian was to use the magical rings that Digory and Polly had buried long ago. Peter and Edmund had successfully dug up the rings, and they all got on a train (presumably Peter and Edmund got on one, while DIgory, Polly, Lucy, Eustace, and Jill got on the other) to meet to exchange the rings. But suddenly there was a jolt, a noise, and Eustace and Jill found themselves in Narnia without having used the rings.
Eventually, King Tirian, Eustace, and Jill reach their destination--a gray, dingy tower/outpost that King Tirian had kept up in case of war or need of shelter. They arm themselves with swords and armor at the outpost, and also gather firewood and make a fire. They have a simple meal together.
Reflection:
Something does not add up here. If you're a fan of the TCON series, you already know what it is. In the vision/dream in the last chapter, we meet the seven friends of Narnia. In today's chapter, it becomes even more clear--no one is mentioning Susan. Susan was not on the train. Why Susan was not on the train is unknown to us, and probably always will be. Why she was not considered one of the seven friends of Narnia is also an unknown. But what is known is that this has significant implications for the final chapter of The Last Battle. I will not spoil it; we will come to that in a little over a week.
As for this chapter, which is a fascinating one, we get to experience the world through both King Tirian's eyes and through the eyes of the Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve who have together seen the entire world of Narnia pass before their eyes. We get to watch in awe, like Tirian, as Tirian realizes who he is talking to--people out of his world's past--who are connected to the still-living human founders of Narnia itself. I cannot imagine it would be much different than two people popping up before your eyes, telling you that they are Mark Antony and Cleopatra, and that they live in a world where Adam and Eve are still alive. Similarly, Eustace and Jill in this chapter experience the (what must be) intense feeling of the passage of time. It has only been a year, but Prince Rilian has been dead for over 200 years.
And of course, there's one last thing to mention from this chapter. Remember back to the last chapter of The Silver Chair and recall what Aslan told Eustace and Jill--that the next time that they returned to Narnia, they would be in Narnia for good. Forgot about that so soon? Is it a spoiler? Not really; you would know this already if you have been even reading along with my blog posts, much less the book itself. So there it is--Eustace and Jill will not be returning home. As for why, we will discover that soon. Until then, we carry on with the story at hand, and hope that Eustace and Jill are the solution to the Nazi-esque crisis that has overcome Narnia.
As soon as King Tirian awakens from his dream, two children appear in front of him (Eustace and Jill). Eustace and Jill apologize for taking so long to get to him--it has been a week on earth since King Tirian asked for help in his dream, but only ten seconds in Narnian time. Eustace and Jill untie King Tirian, and they escape the opposite direction of the stable, careful not to leave any track to follow.
During their journey, Eustace and Jill are shocked to discover that King Tirian is the seventh descendant from King Rilian, who has been dead over 200 years. Likewise, King Tirian is shocked to hear that not only are Eustace and Jill still alive, but that Peter, Edmund, and Lucy were three of the other individuals in his vision. Even more, Tirian is stunned that the other two people in his vision were Digory and Polly--the two humans who were present at the dawn of the Narnian world.
Eustace and Jill explain that after the vision, it was decided that the only way to get back to Narnia to help King Tirian was to use the magical rings that Digory and Polly had buried long ago. Peter and Edmund had successfully dug up the rings, and they all got on a train (presumably Peter and Edmund got on one, while DIgory, Polly, Lucy, Eustace, and Jill got on the other) to meet to exchange the rings. But suddenly there was a jolt, a noise, and Eustace and Jill found themselves in Narnia without having used the rings.
Eventually, King Tirian, Eustace, and Jill reach their destination--a gray, dingy tower/outpost that King Tirian had kept up in case of war or need of shelter. They arm themselves with swords and armor at the outpost, and also gather firewood and make a fire. They have a simple meal together.
Reflection:
Something does not add up here. If you're a fan of the TCON series, you already know what it is. In the vision/dream in the last chapter, we meet the seven friends of Narnia. In today's chapter, it becomes even more clear--no one is mentioning Susan. Susan was not on the train. Why Susan was not on the train is unknown to us, and probably always will be. Why she was not considered one of the seven friends of Narnia is also an unknown. But what is known is that this has significant implications for the final chapter of The Last Battle. I will not spoil it; we will come to that in a little over a week.
As for this chapter, which is a fascinating one, we get to experience the world through both King Tirian's eyes and through the eyes of the Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve who have together seen the entire world of Narnia pass before their eyes. We get to watch in awe, like Tirian, as Tirian realizes who he is talking to--people out of his world's past--who are connected to the still-living human founders of Narnia itself. I cannot imagine it would be much different than two people popping up before your eyes, telling you that they are Mark Antony and Cleopatra, and that they live in a world where Adam and Eve are still alive. Similarly, Eustace and Jill in this chapter experience the (what must be) intense feeling of the passage of time. It has only been a year, but Prince Rilian has been dead for over 200 years.
And of course, there's one last thing to mention from this chapter. Remember back to the last chapter of The Silver Chair and recall what Aslan told Eustace and Jill--that the next time that they returned to Narnia, they would be in Narnia for good. Forgot about that so soon? Is it a spoiler? Not really; you would know this already if you have been even reading along with my blog posts, much less the book itself. So there it is--Eustace and Jill will not be returning home. As for why, we will discover that soon. Until then, we carry on with the story at hand, and hope that Eustace and Jill are the solution to the Nazi-esque crisis that has overcome Narnia.
Monday, October 13, 2014
The Last Battle | Chapter 4: What Happened That Night
Chapter Summary:
King Tirian is taken into the woods and tied to a tree; he remains just in sight of the hill that contains the stable, but cannot hear what Shift is saying. The day turns into night, and Tirian becomes hungry and thirsty. At some point during the night, a group of about six Talking Animals bring Tirian some food and drink, which revive him greatly. The animals are convinced that everything is occurring on Aslan's orders, because they have seen him with their own eyes, and everyone else is agreeing with the statements Shift is making. The animals do not untie Tirian with fear of upsetting Aslan.
After the Talking Animals depart, Tirian sees a bonfire grow on the hill with the stable. He sees Shift talking to the crowd of animals, and then he opens the stable door. From it emerges a stiff and wobbly figure that looks like a lion, and while Tirian has never seen Aslan or any other lion, he is sure that the figure is not Aslan. After a few moments, the figure goes back into the stable, and the bonfire quickly goes out.
Tirian thinks of his great-grandfather's great-grandfather King Rilian and his father King Caspian, who were saved by children from other worlds in times of trouble in Narnia. He thinks about the four children who saved Narnia from the 100-year winter and ruled at Cair Paravel thereafter.
Tirian calls aloud to Aslan twice, but with no result. Then, Tirian calls out to the children of the other world for help. Immediately, he slips into a dream, where he sees seven people sitting around a table looking at him. The people are frightened and startled. One of the persons introduces himself as Peter, the High King of Narnia, and orders Tirian to speak. But Tirian finds that he cannot speak. As he slowly awakens, the seven people in his dream see him fade away, with no message delivered.
Reflection:
There's a lot to be said about this chapter, but some of the obvious topics are ones that I have already spoken on already. Those include the power of prayer and the importance of remembering the past so that it is not repeated. So in lieu of those excellent topics, I think it's important to look at exactly how Shift is getting away with this absurd deception that is occurring in this novel. How exactly is he so persuasive?
Well, there's actually a few things going on here. First, there's the most obvious issue of all--obedience to authority. With Shift as the leader spreading the lies around, there is no one to really challenge him. After all, he is speaking in the name of Aslan, and no one would dare do that unless Aslan was actually involved, right? I mean, if Aslan disapproved, wouldn't he intervene anyway? Thus the animals see a clever and charismatic authority figure, and they obey.
Then there's the social cue of conformity. It's easy to go along with what a group already seems to believe, while it's significantly harder to go against the grain and disagree with a crowd (especially in front of an authority figure). I would venture to guess that a majority of the Talking Animals are not really convinced that Shift is acting in honesty, but what choice do they have? To say otherwise would mean a worse situation, and they know it.
And onward we go to Groupthink. Similar to conformity, Groupthink is the idea that when a group of people who get together hold a belief, that believe is only strengthened by their being together. So, all it takes is a few outspoken Talking Animals to agree vehemently with what Shift is saying, and thus Groupthink is occurring.
And the list goes on and on. Shift is clever, and he's pulling out all of the stops. He knows exactly what to say and what to do to cause the Talking Animals to obey him and justify his reasoning. The Talking Animals that King Tirian speaks to in the middle of the night are prime examples of the power of each of these motivational/manipulation techniques. In order for the spell to break, there just needs to be one or two voices of dissent. Who will they be--that is the question.
King Tirian is taken into the woods and tied to a tree; he remains just in sight of the hill that contains the stable, but cannot hear what Shift is saying. The day turns into night, and Tirian becomes hungry and thirsty. At some point during the night, a group of about six Talking Animals bring Tirian some food and drink, which revive him greatly. The animals are convinced that everything is occurring on Aslan's orders, because they have seen him with their own eyes, and everyone else is agreeing with the statements Shift is making. The animals do not untie Tirian with fear of upsetting Aslan.
After the Talking Animals depart, Tirian sees a bonfire grow on the hill with the stable. He sees Shift talking to the crowd of animals, and then he opens the stable door. From it emerges a stiff and wobbly figure that looks like a lion, and while Tirian has never seen Aslan or any other lion, he is sure that the figure is not Aslan. After a few moments, the figure goes back into the stable, and the bonfire quickly goes out.
Tirian thinks of his great-grandfather's great-grandfather King Rilian and his father King Caspian, who were saved by children from other worlds in times of trouble in Narnia. He thinks about the four children who saved Narnia from the 100-year winter and ruled at Cair Paravel thereafter.
Tirian calls aloud to Aslan twice, but with no result. Then, Tirian calls out to the children of the other world for help. Immediately, he slips into a dream, where he sees seven people sitting around a table looking at him. The people are frightened and startled. One of the persons introduces himself as Peter, the High King of Narnia, and orders Tirian to speak. But Tirian finds that he cannot speak. As he slowly awakens, the seven people in his dream see him fade away, with no message delivered.
Reflection:
There's a lot to be said about this chapter, but some of the obvious topics are ones that I have already spoken on already. Those include the power of prayer and the importance of remembering the past so that it is not repeated. So in lieu of those excellent topics, I think it's important to look at exactly how Shift is getting away with this absurd deception that is occurring in this novel. How exactly is he so persuasive?
Well, there's actually a few things going on here. First, there's the most obvious issue of all--obedience to authority. With Shift as the leader spreading the lies around, there is no one to really challenge him. After all, he is speaking in the name of Aslan, and no one would dare do that unless Aslan was actually involved, right? I mean, if Aslan disapproved, wouldn't he intervene anyway? Thus the animals see a clever and charismatic authority figure, and they obey.
Then there's the social cue of conformity. It's easy to go along with what a group already seems to believe, while it's significantly harder to go against the grain and disagree with a crowd (especially in front of an authority figure). I would venture to guess that a majority of the Talking Animals are not really convinced that Shift is acting in honesty, but what choice do they have? To say otherwise would mean a worse situation, and they know it.
And onward we go to Groupthink. Similar to conformity, Groupthink is the idea that when a group of people who get together hold a belief, that believe is only strengthened by their being together. So, all it takes is a few outspoken Talking Animals to agree vehemently with what Shift is saying, and thus Groupthink is occurring.
And the list goes on and on. Shift is clever, and he's pulling out all of the stops. He knows exactly what to say and what to do to cause the Talking Animals to obey him and justify his reasoning. The Talking Animals that King Tirian speaks to in the middle of the night are prime examples of the power of each of these motivational/manipulation techniques. In order for the spell to break, there just needs to be one or two voices of dissent. Who will they be--that is the question.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
The Last Battle | Chapter 3: The Ape in Its Glory
Chapter Summary:
King Tirian and the Unicorn Jewel free the horse from its reigns, and the Talking Horse says that everything occurring is by order of Aslan. Just then, Calormenes nearby notice what has occurred; King Tirian and Jewel flee the scene. After fleeing, Tirian and Jewel decide that what they have done is commit murder, and that they should give themselves up to their enemies in the name of justice.
Tirian and Jewel return to their enemies, who capture them and take them to the top of a nearby hill, where there is a clearing and an ape sitting in front of a stable. The ape is Shift, and he is being called the Mouthpiece of Aslan. Tirian and Jewel are brought before him, and Shift says that he will deal with them later.
Meanwhile, Shift addresses the Talking Animals that are gathered around him. First, he directs the squirrels to increase their supply of nuts for Aslan. Then, Shift tells them several things, some of which are prompted by questions by the Talking Animals, some of which are not. Shift tells them that he is speaking for Aslan (who is apparently hidden in the stable) because Aslan says he has been too easy on them before. Shift says that he himself is a man, not an ape. Shift explains that after the work at hand, the Talking Animals will be sent to Calormene to work as laborers (and their pay will go directly to Aslan).
Finally, Shift tells the animals that the Calormene god Tash is the same as Aslan, and that Aslan is the same as Tash. A talking Cat asks Shift and a nearby Calormen to affirm that "Aslan means no more than Tash?" (p. 468) and both Shift and the Calormen affirm the statement. At this point, King Tirian cries out at Shift, calling him a liar. Immediately, three Calormen attack King Tirian and beat him into silence. Shift orders that Tirian and Jewel be taken away from him.
Reflection:
This is one of the most sad chapters in the history of TCON. This chapter shows what results when a dictator takes charge and builds a powerful regime around fear, terror, power, and mystery. There is little question in my mind that C.S. Lewis had Adolf Hitler in mind when he was writing the character of Shift. The parallels are just too clear.
Unfortunately for us, the victims of Shift are the very characters that we have come to know and love--the Talking Animals of Narnia and even the King of Narnia himself. There is great sorrow in this chapter, as Shift is denying the animals of their right to food (the squirrels, to be exact) and the images of the Talking Animals eventually being sold into slavery is unprecedented and a bleak image of what the future could hold.
Luckily, there is always hope. One thing we can count on at the moment is that Aslan is certainly not present at the moment. Where he is, we don't exactly know. And even more interesting, we also have no idea when this is in Narnia. Are we 70 years after the previous novel--after the Reign of King Caspian the Eleventh (Prince Rilian) has ended? Or are we much, much, much further in the future? I think it's the latter, myself. Regardless, there is certainly hope that Aslan can still return and set everything right before it all goes terribly wrong.
There is also hope in the Talking Cat who speaks up in the end. This passage occurs just after Shift has said that Tash is the same as Aslan, and vice versa. Here is what happens:
King Tirian and the Unicorn Jewel free the horse from its reigns, and the Talking Horse says that everything occurring is by order of Aslan. Just then, Calormenes nearby notice what has occurred; King Tirian and Jewel flee the scene. After fleeing, Tirian and Jewel decide that what they have done is commit murder, and that they should give themselves up to their enemies in the name of justice.
Tirian and Jewel return to their enemies, who capture them and take them to the top of a nearby hill, where there is a clearing and an ape sitting in front of a stable. The ape is Shift, and he is being called the Mouthpiece of Aslan. Tirian and Jewel are brought before him, and Shift says that he will deal with them later.
Meanwhile, Shift addresses the Talking Animals that are gathered around him. First, he directs the squirrels to increase their supply of nuts for Aslan. Then, Shift tells them several things, some of which are prompted by questions by the Talking Animals, some of which are not. Shift tells them that he is speaking for Aslan (who is apparently hidden in the stable) because Aslan says he has been too easy on them before. Shift says that he himself is a man, not an ape. Shift explains that after the work at hand, the Talking Animals will be sent to Calormene to work as laborers (and their pay will go directly to Aslan).
Finally, Shift tells the animals that the Calormene god Tash is the same as Aslan, and that Aslan is the same as Tash. A talking Cat asks Shift and a nearby Calormen to affirm that "Aslan means no more than Tash?" (p. 468) and both Shift and the Calormen affirm the statement. At this point, King Tirian cries out at Shift, calling him a liar. Immediately, three Calormen attack King Tirian and beat him into silence. Shift orders that Tirian and Jewel be taken away from him.
Reflection:
This is one of the most sad chapters in the history of TCON. This chapter shows what results when a dictator takes charge and builds a powerful regime around fear, terror, power, and mystery. There is little question in my mind that C.S. Lewis had Adolf Hitler in mind when he was writing the character of Shift. The parallels are just too clear.
Unfortunately for us, the victims of Shift are the very characters that we have come to know and love--the Talking Animals of Narnia and even the King of Narnia himself. There is great sorrow in this chapter, as Shift is denying the animals of their right to food (the squirrels, to be exact) and the images of the Talking Animals eventually being sold into slavery is unprecedented and a bleak image of what the future could hold.
Luckily, there is always hope. One thing we can count on at the moment is that Aslan is certainly not present at the moment. Where he is, we don't exactly know. And even more interesting, we also have no idea when this is in Narnia. Are we 70 years after the previous novel--after the Reign of King Caspian the Eleventh (Prince Rilian) has ended? Or are we much, much, much further in the future? I think it's the latter, myself. Regardless, there is certainly hope that Aslan can still return and set everything right before it all goes terribly wrong.
There is also hope in the Talking Cat who speaks up in the end. This passage occurs just after Shift has said that Tash is the same as Aslan, and vice versa. Here is what happens:
"'Excuse me,' said the Cat very politely, 'but this interests me. Does your friend from Calormen say the same?'
'Assuredly,' said the Calormene. 'The enlightened Ape--Man, I mean--is in the right. Aslan means neither less nor more than Tash.'
'Especially, Aslan means no more than Tash?' suggested the Cat.
'No more at all,' said the Calormene, looking the Cat straight in the face.
'Is that good enough for you, Ginger?' said the Ape.
'Oh certainly,' said Ginger cooly, 'Thank you very much. I only wanted to be quite clear. I think I am beginning to understand'" (p. 468).This is an interesting moment, and one that is not explained any further, in this chapter at least. I think the Talking Cat is very likely one of the few Talking Animals who really has a grasp of what is occurring. Clearly, the Cat is careful to make sure that they mean that Aslan is "no more" than Tash. I think the Cat understands that Aslan himself would never say such a thing, and therefore it is abundantly clear that Shift is a liar. But time will tell what comes of this. For now, we sit back and hope that there is a solution to the terror that has begun in Narnia. Unfortunately, history (earth history) tells us what happened if the terror is not stopped in time. We know the result too well.
Saturday, October 11, 2014
The Last Battle | Chapter 2: The Rashness of the King
Chapter Summary:
Three weeks after the previous chapter, the last King of Narnia, King Tirian, is relaxing with his friend and unicorn, Jewel. They discuss the news that they are hearing from around Narnia--that Aslan has been spotted several times by several different animals.
As they are talking, a centaur named Roonwit comes running to them, having traveled a long way to deliver news. Roonwit tells King Tirian that the centaurs have been studying the stars and are seeing terrible evil in them. Roonwit warns King Tirian also that the news of Aslan's return is also very likely a lie, because the stars always foretell Aslan's return, and they are not in the right formation at all.
As they are talking, a dryad (a tree-woman) comes running from the nearby forest, in hysterics that men are cutting down Talking Trees in Lantern Waste. As soon as the dryad delivers the message, she falls down dead--her tree has been cut down.
Despite Rootwit's warning of rashness, King Tirian and Jewel begin an immediate march toward Lantern Waste. Meanwhile, Tirian tells Roonwit to return to Cair Paravel and call together an army. On the way to Lantern Waste, Tirian and Jewel see a Talking Rat riding on a raft made of recently-felled trees floating down a river. The rat tells them that he is taking them to Calormene to sell, on Aslan's orders. Tirian and Jewel do not know what to make of this, but they realize that some horror is occurring.
Upon reaching Lantern Waste, Tirian and Jewel find a huge swath of trees already missing. They also see dozens and dozens of Calormenes cutting down trees. When Tirian and Jewel see that the Calormenes are using Talking Beasts as slave labor, they both snap. Tirian and Jewel kill the two Calormenes nearest them who are using a Talking Horse as a slave.
Reflection:
In some ways I'm reminded of the opening lines of the last of the eight Harry Potter films--"These are dark times, there is no denying. Our world has faced no greater threat than it does today."
I think this is what King Tirian and Jewel the Unicorn are feeling as they march to Lantern Waste to discover who is cutting down the Talking Trees. Here is what happens after they see the rat riding logs down the river toward Calormene, supposedly on Aslan's orders:
But of course the most significant moment of the chapter, and the moment for which the chapter is named, comes in the very last paragraph. The moment, which our narrator tells us causes a significant amount of evil in Narnia, is the one where King Tirian and Jewel kill the two Calormene men who are using a Talking Horse as a slave. It is a rash moment for the King.
But what's most concerning for the reader of this chapter should be this: If you were the King of Narnia, would you have done any differently? Your people are being abused and murdered, and you know that the individuals in front of you are responsible. Who would blame King Tirian and Jewel the Unicorn? I don't know how much blame should be placed on them. The action is rash, but the action is also not at all unprovoked or without reason. Now, let's see what comes of it.
Three weeks after the previous chapter, the last King of Narnia, King Tirian, is relaxing with his friend and unicorn, Jewel. They discuss the news that they are hearing from around Narnia--that Aslan has been spotted several times by several different animals.
As they are talking, a centaur named Roonwit comes running to them, having traveled a long way to deliver news. Roonwit tells King Tirian that the centaurs have been studying the stars and are seeing terrible evil in them. Roonwit warns King Tirian also that the news of Aslan's return is also very likely a lie, because the stars always foretell Aslan's return, and they are not in the right formation at all.
As they are talking, a dryad (a tree-woman) comes running from the nearby forest, in hysterics that men are cutting down Talking Trees in Lantern Waste. As soon as the dryad delivers the message, she falls down dead--her tree has been cut down.
Despite Rootwit's warning of rashness, King Tirian and Jewel begin an immediate march toward Lantern Waste. Meanwhile, Tirian tells Roonwit to return to Cair Paravel and call together an army. On the way to Lantern Waste, Tirian and Jewel see a Talking Rat riding on a raft made of recently-felled trees floating down a river. The rat tells them that he is taking them to Calormene to sell, on Aslan's orders. Tirian and Jewel do not know what to make of this, but they realize that some horror is occurring.
Upon reaching Lantern Waste, Tirian and Jewel find a huge swath of trees already missing. They also see dozens and dozens of Calormenes cutting down trees. When Tirian and Jewel see that the Calormenes are using Talking Beasts as slave labor, they both snap. Tirian and Jewel kill the two Calormenes nearest them who are using a Talking Horse as a slave.
Reflection:
In some ways I'm reminded of the opening lines of the last of the eight Harry Potter films--"These are dark times, there is no denying. Our world has faced no greater threat than it does today."
I think this is what King Tirian and Jewel the Unicorn are feeling as they march to Lantern Waste to discover who is cutting down the Talking Trees. Here is what happens after they see the rat riding logs down the river toward Calormene, supposedly on Aslan's orders:
"Suddenly the King leaned hard on his friend's neck and bowed his head.
'Jewel,' he said, 'what lies before us? Horrible thoughts arise in my heart. If we had died before today we should have been happy.'
'Yes,' said Jewel. 'We have lived too long. The worst thing in the world has come upon us.' They stood like that for a minute or two and then went on" (p. 463).What a very solemn moment between the King and his friend Jewel. Between everything that has already happened in this chapter alone, we shouldn't be too surprised. By this time, I suspect that they are beginning to listen to the words of Roonwit--warning them that dark, evil times are coming.
But of course the most significant moment of the chapter, and the moment for which the chapter is named, comes in the very last paragraph. The moment, which our narrator tells us causes a significant amount of evil in Narnia, is the one where King Tirian and Jewel kill the two Calormene men who are using a Talking Horse as a slave. It is a rash moment for the King.
But what's most concerning for the reader of this chapter should be this: If you were the King of Narnia, would you have done any differently? Your people are being abused and murdered, and you know that the individuals in front of you are responsible. Who would blame King Tirian and Jewel the Unicorn? I don't know how much blame should be placed on them. The action is rash, but the action is also not at all unprovoked or without reason. Now, let's see what comes of it.
The Last Battle | Chapter 1: By Caldron Pool
Going to get caught up today. Here's post 1 of 2 coming today.
Chapter Summary:
In the final days of Narnia, there lives two friends--a talking ape named Shift and a talking donkey named Puzzle. Though Shift and Puzzle are friends, Puzzle acts much more like Shift's slave, and Shift rules over Puzzle like his master. They live in the wilderness of western Narnia. One day, they are walking by Caldron Pool, and Shift sees something yellow in the water. Shift manipulates Puzzle into going into the water to retrieve the yellow thing.
Puzzle jumps in and retrieves the yellow thing from the very cold water. It is a lion skin. Shift tells the exhausted Puzzle to go to the market and get some oranges and bananas. While Puzzle does so, Shift goes home and sews together the lion skin so that it can fit like a coat onto Puzzle.
When Puzzle returns from the market, Shift manipulates Puzzle into trying on the lion skin against his will. Puzzle is concerned that he is being disrespectful to lions, and therefore to Aslan. Shift then speculates out loud that Puzzle can, with the lion skin on, pretend to be Aslan, while Shift tells Puzzle what to say.
At that moment, there is a large clap of thunder and the ground shakes as with an earthquake. This terrifies Puzzle, but Shift says that he was just about to say that if Aslan approved of this plan, he would send them a thunderclap and an earthquake.
Reflection:
This is such a peculiar way to begin a TCON novel. Now that we have come to our seventh and last beginning chapter, there are some highly notable differences between this first chapter and the others that we have seen before. Right off the bat, there's the bombshell--the first six words: "In the last days of Narnia" (p. 456). Before anything else, we know what this novel is about, and it's probably not going to be pretty. Immediately thoughts of the book of Revelation should be coming to your mind, and many of the guesses that you immediately assume are probably going to be correct. This novel is not just about the last battle, it is about the end of Narnia.
Beyond that, there's another very peculiar thing about this chapter. It is, I believe, the first chapter we have come across in which human characters are not at the forefront of the conversation. There is no Digory or Polly, no Peter, Susan, Edmund or Ludy, no Shasta or Aravis, no Caspain, no Eustace, and no Jill. The beginning of this story is about two talking animals and what happens to them on what appears to be a normal, uneventful afternoon in Narnia. What this tells us is that this story was never about the humans at all, even if the story brought humans into picture to accomplish certain tasks within Narnia. The Chronicles of Narnia is about the Talking Beasts--not the humans that come along every once in awhile to interact with them. Sure, they may be the Kings and Queens of Narnia, but the natives of the land are the Talking Animals themselves, and they are the ones who ultimately rule it, through the highest king, Aslan.
And finally, the story that the chapter opens with is not a pleasant one at all. It is one that kind of makes us wonder what is going awry in Narnia. We have a manipulative ape named Shift who goes out of his way to ensure that his friend (servant, more like) Puzzle does absolutely everything he asks. We know that Shift is bad news, and we know that Puzzle is a pushover. And we also have a pretty good idea that Aslan himself is not going to approve of what's happening in this chapter. Because indeed, we have another new feature within this chapter--for the first time, Aslan will be impersonated by an impostor. You should be thinking of Mark 13:6--"Many will come in my name, claiming 'I am he,' and will deceive many" (NIV). I think that's exactly what we are starting to see here, but time will tell.
Chapter Summary:
In the final days of Narnia, there lives two friends--a talking ape named Shift and a talking donkey named Puzzle. Though Shift and Puzzle are friends, Puzzle acts much more like Shift's slave, and Shift rules over Puzzle like his master. They live in the wilderness of western Narnia. One day, they are walking by Caldron Pool, and Shift sees something yellow in the water. Shift manipulates Puzzle into going into the water to retrieve the yellow thing.
Puzzle jumps in and retrieves the yellow thing from the very cold water. It is a lion skin. Shift tells the exhausted Puzzle to go to the market and get some oranges and bananas. While Puzzle does so, Shift goes home and sews together the lion skin so that it can fit like a coat onto Puzzle.
When Puzzle returns from the market, Shift manipulates Puzzle into trying on the lion skin against his will. Puzzle is concerned that he is being disrespectful to lions, and therefore to Aslan. Shift then speculates out loud that Puzzle can, with the lion skin on, pretend to be Aslan, while Shift tells Puzzle what to say.
At that moment, there is a large clap of thunder and the ground shakes as with an earthquake. This terrifies Puzzle, but Shift says that he was just about to say that if Aslan approved of this plan, he would send them a thunderclap and an earthquake.
Reflection:
This is such a peculiar way to begin a TCON novel. Now that we have come to our seventh and last beginning chapter, there are some highly notable differences between this first chapter and the others that we have seen before. Right off the bat, there's the bombshell--the first six words: "In the last days of Narnia" (p. 456). Before anything else, we know what this novel is about, and it's probably not going to be pretty. Immediately thoughts of the book of Revelation should be coming to your mind, and many of the guesses that you immediately assume are probably going to be correct. This novel is not just about the last battle, it is about the end of Narnia.
Beyond that, there's another very peculiar thing about this chapter. It is, I believe, the first chapter we have come across in which human characters are not at the forefront of the conversation. There is no Digory or Polly, no Peter, Susan, Edmund or Ludy, no Shasta or Aravis, no Caspain, no Eustace, and no Jill. The beginning of this story is about two talking animals and what happens to them on what appears to be a normal, uneventful afternoon in Narnia. What this tells us is that this story was never about the humans at all, even if the story brought humans into picture to accomplish certain tasks within Narnia. The Chronicles of Narnia is about the Talking Beasts--not the humans that come along every once in awhile to interact with them. Sure, they may be the Kings and Queens of Narnia, but the natives of the land are the Talking Animals themselves, and they are the ones who ultimately rule it, through the highest king, Aslan.
And finally, the story that the chapter opens with is not a pleasant one at all. It is one that kind of makes us wonder what is going awry in Narnia. We have a manipulative ape named Shift who goes out of his way to ensure that his friend (servant, more like) Puzzle does absolutely everything he asks. We know that Shift is bad news, and we know that Puzzle is a pushover. And we also have a pretty good idea that Aslan himself is not going to approve of what's happening in this chapter. Because indeed, we have another new feature within this chapter--for the first time, Aslan will be impersonated by an impostor. You should be thinking of Mark 13:6--"Many will come in my name, claiming 'I am he,' and will deceive many" (NIV). I think that's exactly what we are starting to see here, but time will tell.
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