Narnia - Melissa Marazzi

In Horse and His Boy, we see that Shasta is a very humble boy living a very meek life as a slave essentially. Towards the middle of the story, we find out that Shasta had never even seen his own face in a mirror. The boy has been worked since he was able to start and most likely had no sense of identity. If he had never even seen his own face, it would be difficult to establish a strong sense of self; he has been told what to do his whole life and can only entertain his dream of going North to Narnia himself because his father thinks it foolish. Later when he discovers that he is actually a prince, the tables turn dramatically and suddenly he has everything he could ever need. This is a prime example of the notion of “the first shall be last and the last shall be first” from the Bible. No doubt Lewis must have been influenced by this Biblical theme; the humble gain everything in the end and the proud soon fall. This is a common theme in literature and Lewis describes this result for the righteous as a true reality for those like Shasta, are obedient to doing good.