My Choice - Melissa Marazzi

As I think about graduating, I can’t help but look back on all my years and analyze my time spent here. I figured that I would naturally think I could have done more and could have experienced more, but this is such an easy trap to fall into – you could really say that about anything. We can always do more, it’s really a matter of if more is necessary – sometimes its not. I think what matters more is establishing a presence, being part of the environment and community that exists here. Being part of the environment, as Beldan Lane would describe, means that you are able to listen and communicate with the landscape around you, or the community around you. Then you can really experience the area and become part of it; establish a chora relationship. I think that this is a better standard to follow, rather than thinking about all the “more” you could do.

My Choice - Melissa Marazzi

I have recently finished reading through the book of Romans in the Bible. In Romans 5, Paul talks about hope. He writes “and hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.” I thought about what having hope does, to a Christian especially. It allows the person to have freedom, freedom from fear mostly. In Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, it seems that the people who are against Aslan are gripped by fear because they have no hope. They must create their own hope, in essence, while those who follow Aslan rely on the hope he provides which is sure. This is symbolic of the hope that Jesus provides. According to the Christian faith, Jesus provides His children with hope and those who follow him are able to live freely without fear.

My Choice - Melissa Marazzi

In class, we were talking about how in the movie, one of the characters says that “we read to know that we are not alone.” I can really relate to this maxim. I think one of the best things about reading a novel is when you are able to be drawn into it because of something that you related to. If we were unable to relate to the story we are reading, there would really be no sense in reading the novel in the first place. I believe that it must be quite the difficult task to write a science fiction piece. Science fiction for the most part is un-relatable – only so many people have been in space. Lewis is a master at this, however. He incorporates the best aspects that humans can connect to into his stories – such as the various human emotions that Ransom encounters when traveling to Malacandra. Being able to relate the story at hand makes the reader more focused and able to notice the details of the story; symbolism seems easier to pick on as well.

Till We Have Faces - Melissa Marazzi

As I began reading Till We Have Faces, the opening starts out with Oraul speaking rather indignantly. He talks about how he has been wronged by the gods and that he is daring the dangerous path of arguing against them. This immediately made me think of the story of Job from the Bible. Great tragedy befalls Job and he winds up losing everything he has. Indignant – and rightfully so from our perspective – he falls to the ground and demand God grant him an answer. Job loves the Lord but does not understand why He has decided that these serious of events must occur. On the other hand, Oraul seems to angry because of a wrong he believes was done to him; there does not seem to be much adoration for the gods in his case (however, I am still in the midst of reading the story, so I may not have the full picture quite yet). The two seem to be facing what humans are constantly being frustrated over, our lack of understanding for what God has in sort for us. The truth is, though, because of our limited perspective, I think, we will never be able to really understand with full clarity when a thing is occurring. Hindsight is 20-20 and foresight is essentially blind; but faith is blind, so we must walk blindly and trust in God.

Narnia-Lauren Brooks

Narnia-Lauren Brooks
Many things in Narnia confuse me but the one that I struggle with the most is when Lucy is discussing Azlan with Mr. and Mrs. Beaver. “Of course he’s not safe, but he’s good” What does that mean?? Having some sense of safety in my religion/spirituality is something that is important to me and this quote from Lewis’s’ book really confuses me. The only thing I can seem to relate it too is that he means he is not safe because he is a lion and he is something good and great but at the same time he still has sharp claws and sharp teeth. He can be good, but he can also punish you for the wrong things you do. For example when the slave girl was whipped he scratched the girl for her to realize what she had done and to realize how selfish she was being. I think it also makes him appear more human, especially to Lucy since she was present when he was killed and when he came back to life.

Favorite Character-Lauren Brooks

Favorite Character-Lauren Brooks
My favorite character from the Narnia books is Edmund. I know a lot of people don’t really like Edmund, but I think he is the child that has the most depth and realism to his character. When you look at Peter, Susan, and Lucy the only one that has a lot of depth and has a main part in the plot of the different stories is Lucy. Peter and Susan are very one dimensional and lack a lot of growth and development of Lewis’s part. When looking at Edmund you see real development due to his part in betraying his family and then in his forgiveness from Azlan. In many different books after that incident its effects are mentioned in different books, for example when the group doesn’t believe that Lucy was seeing Azlan Edmund felt especially bad about not believing her because of before when he new she was telling the truth, but refrained from letting the others know. I also like Edmund because he doesn’t have a real defining place in the lineage, Peter is the eldest, Susan is the eldest girl, and Lucy is the baby, and Edmund is just there. I think that might be part of the reason why the betrayal was so attractive to him in the first place

Vincent Farino Narnia

I found another relation to Christ and Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia book, as described by Mr. Beaver. In Narnia, there is a quote about Aslan that reveals a religious undertone. Aslan, who is symbolic as Christ, in Narnia is described by Mr. Beaver as, “Safe? Of course he isn’t safe! But he’s good." This relates to Christ in the Bible as he is described as, “A consuming fire” and “The prince of peace” (NIV). Both of these descriptions reveal the character of Christ as “not safe, but good.” I believe that those two descriptions are very powerful, and that Lewis most likely intended to describe Aslan in that way.