I was going to write a real entry tonight, but I'm too tired. I stayed up really late last night (it was Alan's birthday and he had a mini-parTAY at his hizouse... I'll fill you all in on the details some other time) and I'm going to go to bed early. Plus, I have to get up around 7-ish tomorrow because I have orientation at UNF! Exciting! Then, of course, I have to go to work. Blah. But anywho...

Here is my term paper that I'm so proud of. I turned it in today, even though it's not due until Monday. Heh. I finished it last night because I knew I wouldn't have time to do it this weekend, and now a huge weight is lifted off my shoulders! Woohoo! I actually enjoyed writing it... is that weird? I suppose it is. But I don't care. I like stuff like this. The Chronicles of Narnia rule! Hehehe. If you haven't read any of them, go read 'em... NOW! Ha. But enough chit chat... ladies and gentlemen, I give you...

Biblical Parallels in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

C. S. Lewis� The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe tells the story of the four Pevensie children, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy, who are sent to live in the country during the air raids of World War II. They stay at the home of Professor Kirke, who has quite a large house that the children often explore. One day they stumble upon an old wardrobe in a spare room. This wardrobe leads them into a whole new world called Narnia. In Narnia there are Centaurs, Dwarves, Satyrs, even talking animals. Also in Narnia is the White Witch, who has put a curse on the land to make it always winter but never Christmas. The four children go on an adventure to find the great lion Aslan, the Kind of Narnia, and to rid the land of the White Witch. Many of Lewis� characters have religious counterparts. In C. S. Lewis� The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe symbolism is used to illustrate religious parallels to the Bible.

The setting of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the land of Narnia, where Aslan the Great Lion is King. �In Aslan, Lewis has created a highly effective correlative to Christ� (Walsh, 137). He is the creator of Narnia, and he is now returning to save his land from the White Witch. The White Witch is the antagonist, the extreme evil that has come to the otherwise perfect land of Narnia. She only desires power, and insists on calling herself the Queen of Narnia, even though she is nothing but a witch. She has put a curse on Narnia to make it always winter but never Christmas because she wants control over the land, but she does not want anyone to be happy. The four Pevensie children, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, find their way into Narnia through a wardrobe, and they have an extraordinary adventure there.

One day while they are exploring the professor�s house, they four Pevensies find a wardrobe in a spare room. The three oldest children lose interest and continue on throughout the house, but not Lucy. She steps into the wardrobe and discovers that there are trees in the wardrobe, and snow. The next moment she is standing in the middle of a snowy wood. She meets a faun who is carrying an umbrella and several packages. The faun, Mr. Tumnus, asks Lucy is she is a Daughter of Eve, a human. When she tells him yes, he invites Lucy to his home for tea, and lulls her to sleep by telling stories and playing his flute. When she wakes, Mr. Tumnus is crying. He confesses to Lucy that he was supposed to betray her to the evil White Witch, but after meeting her he could not do it. Together they sneak out of his house, and Lucy gets back to the wardrobe safely. When she comes out of the wardrobe, she realizes that no time has passed since she has been in Narnia, and her brothers and sister do not believe her story.

A few days later, during a game of hide-and-seek, Lucy goes back into the wardrobe, only this time Edmund follows her. When Edmund enters Narnia, he meets the White Witch, and she tells him she is a queen. She gives him enchanted Turkish Delight, which Edmund finishes hurriedly, but he does not know that it is enchanted, for it only makes one want more of it the more one eats. The Witch promises to give Edmund more Turkish Delight and even make him a prince of Narnia is he will bring his brother and sisters to her. She appeals first to Edmund�s greed and then to his desire for power (Glover, 138).

The next day, all four children step into the wardrobe and come to Narnia. They meet Mr. and Mrs. Beaver in the woods, and they take them to their dam. The Beavers explain to the children that they must join them on their journey to the Stone Table to see Aslan, the King of Narnia, because he is returning to the land soon. They tell them of a prophecy that says when Aslan returns the White Witch�s curse will be lifted and spring will come again. The prophecy also says that when two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve sit in the thrones at Cair Paravel the evil time will be over. The Beavers know that Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy are the four that the prophecy speaks of. Although the White Witch was able to get to Edmund, the other three children are drawn to the figure of Aslan (Stade, 260) and agree to go with the Beavers. As they are about to set off on their journey to the Stone Table, Edmund sneaks away to the White Witch�s castle. When he arrives there, the White Witch is very angry with him for returning to her without the other three, and she does not give him anymore of the promised Turkish Delight. Meanwhile, the Peter, Susan, Lucy and the Beavers have found their way to the Stone Table. After finding out what has happened to Edmund, Aslan sends out a search party to rescue him from the White Witch, and they bring him back safely. The White Witch then confronts Aslan says that Edmund belongs to her. �In her climactic encounter with the Lion, the Witch lays claim to Edmund, invoking the Deep Magic by which every traitor belongs to her as her lawful prey� (Stade, 260). Aslan and the Witch then go and speak with one another in private. When they return, the Witch leaves with a very satisfied look on her face. Aslan, however, has a sadness about him. Aslan informs his people that they must move their camp away from the Stone Table, because it will be of use to someone else that night.

That evening, Susan and Lucy notice that there is something wrong with Aslan. They watch as he leaves camp and begins to walk back toward the Stone Table. The two sisters follow him, and he allows them to walk with him for a while, but they must turn back when he says. After a bit of walking, Aslan leaves Susan and Lucy, but they remain hidden and watch him from a distance. They see the White Witch and her crew celebrating at the Stone Table. It would not have been enough to slay the Witch and rescue Edmund. A price had to be paid for his betrayal (Walsh, 142). Aslan sacrificed himself to the Witch in exchange for Edmund. The Witch�s crew ties him to the Stone Table, muzzle him and shave him. The White Witch then takes a knife and murders Aslan. She is convinced that Narnia belongs to her, and now there is nothing standing in her way of being in complete control. When the Witch and her followers leave, Susan and Lucy rush over to Aslan. Both girls are completely distraught at the sight of him lying lifeless on the Table.

The next morning when they wake, Susan and Lucy realize that Aslan�s body is gone, and the Stone Table is cracked in two. They hear a noise behind them and when they turn around they see Aslan standing before them. Aslan explains to the two girls that he had to give himself to the Witch in place of Edmund because of the Deep Magic, but there is an even Deeper Magic from before the dawn of time that the Witch did not know about. That is how he is alive today. Aslan, Susan and Lucy then join the others in battle to fight the White Witch and her followers. Good triumphs over evil, and Aslan and his army defeat the White Witch. Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy are crowned kings and queens of Narnia at the Castle of Cair Paravel, and their reign became known as the Golden Age of Narnia. Many Narnian years later, the two kings and two queens find their way back to the wardrobe that brought them there so long ago. Before they know it, they are back in Professor Kirke�s old house, and no time has passed since they first left.

In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe Lewis parallels Aslan with Jesus. Just as Jesus was crucified to save the sinners of the world, Aslan is sacrificed to save the life of Edmund. The way the Witch binds and shaves Aslan is compared to the arrest, beating, and mocking of Jesus. Jesus was resurrected on the third day after his crucifixion. Aslan also comes back to life after his death. �Aslan undergoes the great miracle of rebirth. When he is reborn, Narnia can be saved at last� (Murphy, 73). The way the Stone Table was cracked in two is paralleled to the curtain tearing in the temple after Jesus� death, as well as the stone being rolled away from his tomb. ��we progress from a love of Narnia, to a greater love of Aslan himself, to a sharp regret that there is no Aslan in this world, to a sudden realization that there actually is an Aslan in this world - our worlds interlock and Aslan and Christ are seen as one� (Hannay, 57). The White Witch is obviously paralleled with Satan. Both are evil and attempt to bring the bad side out of people. The Witch pretends to be kind to Edmund, when all she really wants is to kill him and his brother and sisters. Edmund is paralleled with Judas, Jesus� betrayer. Judas betrays Jesus to the Romans for thirty pieces of silver, and Edmund betrays his brothers and sisters for Turkish Delight and the promise of becoming a prince. �In Edmund is symbolized the self-serving self-deceptions of ordinary life, which have their inevitable consequences and can be redeemed only by the deepest magic of all� (Walsh, 142). Susan and Lucy can be compared to the two Marys who visit Jesus� tomb on the day of his resurrection. �Jesus had a large and loyal following of women; likewise, on Aslan�s last night it is the two girls who accompany him to the Stone Table and try to comfort him� (Walsh, 143). Lucy and Susan are surprised to see that Aslan is gone in the morning, just as the two Marys were to find the stone rolled away from Jesus� tomb and his body gone.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe uses symbolism to illustrate Biblical stories. Aslan dies at the hands of the White Witch to save the life of Edmund. He then triumphs over death with the help of the Deep Magic from before the dawn of time. The White Witch tries to conquer the land of Narnia, but is unsuccessful when good overcomes evil, and Aslan and his army defeat the Witch in battle. C. S. Lewis� The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is �an archetypal tale of redemption and sacrifice resembling the story of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ� (Stade, 260).