During the course of reading the Chronicles of Narnia, some questions have been raised in my mind about greater ideas. One that I find throughout the books that continues to be compelling to me is the idea of the fear. The reason why I have found this idea so fascinating is because it resonates so deeply in my own life. When the Pevensie children are on their adventures in Narnia, they are frequently afraid. Similarly, when Digory and Polly are on their very first adventures in Narnia, they have a constant fear of the unknown. In The Horse and His Boy, the children as well as the two horses have to avoid the threat of being kidnapped. The theme continues throughout the rest of the books as well. One thing that I think is important to note is that they always feel safe when they are in with Aslan. They consistently feel secure, and are able to experience joy and fullness in his presence.
As a child, I always felt safe when my parents were around. There was no need to worry about anything because they could take care of everything. I knew I would be fed three times a day, I knew I would be safe from harm because they were invincible, and I knew that they loved me. As I grew older, these feelings of security began to fade. I think this is part of growing up and is very normal. I also think that it is rather sad, and we begin to attempt to control every aspect of our lives, because if we don’t have control, everything will collapse. This is especially true in the lives of college students. We live on our own and for the most part, are responsible for satisfying our basic needs. We buy groceries, and when we run out of food and money, we may have to skip a meal. We don’t live in a home that is safe from the fear of outside threats and crime, and as far as being loved, we have to seek out people and build relationships rather than having people automatically love us (because we are their children). Essentially, we are responsible for meeting all of our own needs and being in control at all times.
In Narnia, I think Lewis makes a point of highlighting natural human fears so that they may be explored and eventually relieved. He offers us hope and safety in the character of Aslan, and brings out human characteristics in the children- common fears that people of all ages and backgrounds experience.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Perceptions of Fairy Stories- Heidi Naylor
In the beginning of his essay “On Fairy-Stories”, Tolkien speaks about the popular view of myth, and follows with his own belief. On first reading this essay, I was stupefied; never before in my life had I been exposed to such arguments explaining the importance of fairy stories. At one point in the essay, Tolkien remarks, “Faerie contains many things besides elves and fays, and besides dwarfs, witches, trolls, giants or dragons” (42). This particular quote struck a chord with me because if I had to define what a fairy story previous to reading the words of Lewis and Tolkien throughout the semester, this is exactly what I would have defined one as.
Lewis and Tolkien, in a sense, brought fairy stories alive in my eyes. I always thought of them as stories for children, but even that belief was shaken. Tokien believed that myth helped the reader get a glimpse of the primary world and Lewis claimed that it helped people comprehend the incomprehensible. As Lewis points out in “Myth Became Fact”, “What flows to you from the myth is not truth but reality (truth is always about something, but reality is that about which truth is), and, therefore, every myth becomes the father of innumerable truths on the abstract level”. Throughout the course of this semester, my view on mythology, poetry, and all arts has changed to be more like Lewis and Tolkien’s; a change that has altered my view of the world in a positive way.
Lewis and Tolkien, in a sense, brought fairy stories alive in my eyes. I always thought of them as stories for children, but even that belief was shaken. Tokien believed that myth helped the reader get a glimpse of the primary world and Lewis claimed that it helped people comprehend the incomprehensible. As Lewis points out in “Myth Became Fact”, “What flows to you from the myth is not truth but reality (truth is always about something, but reality is that about which truth is), and, therefore, every myth becomes the father of innumerable truths on the abstract level”. Throughout the course of this semester, my view on mythology, poetry, and all arts has changed to be more like Lewis and Tolkien’s; a change that has altered my view of the world in a positive way.
Searching for Joy- Heidi Naylor
I am currently in the process of finishing Surprised By Joy. Out of all the C.S. Lewis I have done this semester, I think this has been my favorite book; or, perhaps it has just made every other reading more complete in my mind. What I love about this autobiography is his search for joy. The thoughts he has regarding longing and insatiable desire, I have never before been exposed to. He spoke of his longing of Northernness, the first time he experienced beauty, and his search for joy through reading and writing.
The funny thing about reading it all is that I have felt very similar things, just never was able to identify it all quite like he has. I’m about three-fourths of the way through it, but I can’t wait to see how it ends. Obviously he becomes a published author, yet- somehow that ending doesn’t satisfy me; I want to know the details. I want to know how he grew to think the things he did about myth and how he became a Christian. I am intrigued by his view of the world and, maybe in the process, my view will become more developed.
The funny thing about reading it all is that I have felt very similar things, just never was able to identify it all quite like he has. I’m about three-fourths of the way through it, but I can’t wait to see how it ends. Obviously he becomes a published author, yet- somehow that ending doesn’t satisfy me; I want to know the details. I want to know how he grew to think the things he did about myth and how he became a Christian. I am intrigued by his view of the world and, maybe in the process, my view will become more developed.
Taking Form- Heidi Naylor
I’ve often wondered how C.S. Lewis started writing fairy stories. He was an incredibly bright man who was well respected in the scholarly community and yet he began writing children’s stories? To answer my own question- he began writing fairy stories because it was simply the best art-form for what he had to say. In “On Stories”, Lewis explains, “just as a composer might write a Dead March not because there was a public funeral in view but became certain musical ideas that had occurred to him went best into that form” (32).
It’s amazing to me that I’ve sat through endless English classes and this idea has never seemed so clear to me as it did from reading Lewis words; It never occurred to me that maybe every creation has a “best form” that completes the creation process. And, somehow fairy stories became the best vessel for communicating what he had to say. Another example of this was with Till We Have Faces; Lewis first tried writing this in verse poetry. Regarding this, I am left with one question: how did he know that this work would be best in novel form?
It’s amazing to me that I’ve sat through endless English classes and this idea has never seemed so clear to me as it did from reading Lewis words; It never occurred to me that maybe every creation has a “best form” that completes the creation process. And, somehow fairy stories became the best vessel for communicating what he had to say. Another example of this was with Till We Have Faces; Lewis first tried writing this in verse poetry. Regarding this, I am left with one question: how did he know that this work would be best in novel form?
Myth and Motorcylces- Buddy Powers
In C.S. Lewis' Myth Became Fact, he talks about how myth stories provide the unique avenue for experiential knowledge and abstract knowledge to be received simultaneously. I would also argue that a similar phenomena happens when riding a motor cycle. A bike is not like a car. The frame of a car, the controls, even the seat create a comfortable, albeit safe, cocoon around the driver. In this sense the driver perceives traveling down the road abstractly. 70 miles an our in a car feels smooth as class with the windows up and the a/c on. But on a motorcycle, the rider is out in the elements experiencing the road. The force of the wind pulling back on your body as the speedometer climbs, the sound of the engine and tires between your legs, its an extremely intimate experience with the road. Traveling by motorcycle, is a different experience. The rider gets tired from the journey because he is out taking all the tole the motorcycle is with the wind and the road and the elements. At the same time, riding a motorcycle puts the rider in a unique position to abstract himself from the experience. Especially while taking a long journey, the rider zones into an abstract state of mind made possible by his helmet. It is essential that the helmet have a face mask both for safety reason and for the sake of philosophizing. Inside the helmet, the mind gets the same cocoon that the whole body does inside the car. However, on a motorcycle, the rider's body is in full experience and his mind is taking every moment in, or else zoning out and risking his life. While at the same time the mind is safely removed from the body by the full elements, able to observe the rest of his limbs experience and reflect upon them abstractly.
Fairy Stories and escapism
Lewis makes some really great arguments against fairy stories as escapism, believing that the real victim of wishful reverie “prefers stories about millionaires, irresistible beauties, posh hotels, palm beaches and bedroom scenes- things that really might happen” (On Stories, 38). Unlike stories that contain what cannot actually happen (Narnia, The Space Trilogy, etc), realistic fantasies create unhappiness in those who can’t have the thing the story creates a desire for.
At first, I wasn’t quite sure I agreed with Lewis’ claim, but the more I read what he had to say about this in “On Stories”, the more I started to understand. By reading realistic stories, the reader becomes vulnerable to develop desires for things that were presented within the book. Longing for success, according to Lewis, is much like a disease.
I can agree with a lot of Lewis’ conclusions and his defense of his work, but I am intrigued to know what measures whether a realistic story has created a negative longing within a person. In my own experiences, I have read realistic stories that have inspired me. What does Lewis believe about that? I know he doesn’t think “school stories for boys and girls” should not be written, but where can we draw the line? And, can a line even be drawn?
At first, I wasn’t quite sure I agreed with Lewis’ claim, but the more I read what he had to say about this in “On Stories”, the more I started to understand. By reading realistic stories, the reader becomes vulnerable to develop desires for things that were presented within the book. Longing for success, according to Lewis, is much like a disease.
I can agree with a lot of Lewis’ conclusions and his defense of his work, but I am intrigued to know what measures whether a realistic story has created a negative longing within a person. In my own experiences, I have read realistic stories that have inspired me. What does Lewis believe about that? I know he doesn’t think “school stories for boys and girls” should not be written, but where can we draw the line? And, can a line even be drawn?
The early life of C.S. Lewis- Heidi Naylor
Many people have heard of C.S. Lewis or have at least read one of his books, but probably very few know much about his life and the aspects that shaped him into the great writer/thinker that he became. As I talked about in one of my earlier entries, Lewis started creating stories with his brother from an early age. He was also prone to extreme clumsiness due to a missing joint in his thumb. These two things really set the stage for him becoming a writer, but what I was really surprised to learn was that his extensive vocabulary can be traced back to his childhood as well.
His father was a public prosecutor and had been very accustomed to public speaking long before he became a father. As Lewis describes, “Words came to [my father] and intoxicated him as they came… I can still remember such words as ‘abominable’, ‘sophisticated’, and ‘surreptitious’” (39). This early exposure to a variety of words caused Lewis to talk much like his father; he was often accused of being conceited due to the types of words he used, when in actuality, he was just using the words he had learned as a child.
Another factor that shaped Lewis into the man the public knew him as, was the focus placed on classics in his schooling. According to Lewis, this was one of the greatest aspects of his education. As he stated, “the greatest disservice we can do to education today is to teach fewer subjects. No one has time to do more than a very few things well before he is twenty, and when we force a boy to be a mediocrity in a dozen subjects we destroy his standards, perhaps for life” (113). Lewis, by focusing on fewer subjects in school, and reading the classics, allowed him to overcome mediocrity. Overall, these forces came together to create the C.S. Lewis many know and love.
His father was a public prosecutor and had been very accustomed to public speaking long before he became a father. As Lewis describes, “Words came to [my father] and intoxicated him as they came… I can still remember such words as ‘abominable’, ‘sophisticated’, and ‘surreptitious’” (39). This early exposure to a variety of words caused Lewis to talk much like his father; he was often accused of being conceited due to the types of words he used, when in actuality, he was just using the words he had learned as a child.
Another factor that shaped Lewis into the man the public knew him as, was the focus placed on classics in his schooling. According to Lewis, this was one of the greatest aspects of his education. As he stated, “the greatest disservice we can do to education today is to teach fewer subjects. No one has time to do more than a very few things well before he is twenty, and when we force a boy to be a mediocrity in a dozen subjects we destroy his standards, perhaps for life” (113). Lewis, by focusing on fewer subjects in school, and reading the classics, allowed him to overcome mediocrity. Overall, these forces came together to create the C.S. Lewis many know and love.
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