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Prince Caspian
Posted by Derrick
on
12:02
This was the second book I read and it is one of my favourites. I was heartily disappointed with the recent film which removed one of the best aspects of the story. In this story we see a patently not ready boy make it to be king. In the film the boy was gone, to be replaced by some hunk with many years of experience under his belt and a clear set of leadership skills. Shame on you filmmakers!
The story picks up a year after the events of LWW. We see the four children setting out to go back to school and they are mysteriously called back into Narnia. They. however, do not recognise it. It is overgrown, deserted and scary for them. Meanwhile we know that Narnia has no talking animals any more, it is ruled by a cruel race called the Telmarines. The only hope for Narnia rests in the young boy called Caspian. He escapes an assassination attempt and goes into hiding with what he discovers to be the remnants of Old Narnia. The dwarfs and talking animals (my favourites in this being the Bulgy Bear and of course the wonderful Reepicheep) join Caspian in a war against the evil king Miraz (who usurped the throne after Caspian's father died). The Pevensey children hear the tale and journey to Caspian and on their journey they learn that they are not as correct about things as they think. Lucy is the first to find Aslan and tries to convince the others but they don't believe her, preferring to trust in their own instincts. Eventually Aslan returns and all is right again. Caspian becomes king and the children return home (two of whom will not return).
Again there are numerous Christian themes in this book and I don't have the time or the inclination to name them all. For me the main one is the theme of trusting in Jesus. We see Peter and Susan and Edmund as well as Trumpkin (although he is more of an atheist character really) believing that they know best. Lucy trusts Aslan and follows him off the cliff. This helps her to share the message and leads to a gradual change in the others around her. The sad thing is, that if they had trusted Aslan straight away they would have been through a lot less difficulties. We see aspects of talking the talk but not walking the walk too. When the horn in blown some say that it will bring help but they don't really believe. What this book shows us is that it is important to have faith. Help will come (it was promised to Susan that whenever her horn was sounded help would always come).
Then there is the theme of faithfulness. Caspian's nurse and his tutor never give up hope. They keep the old traditions alive and trust that it will be ok again. Dr. Cornelius has undergone some collaborative processes in his time but his hope and his belief remain steadfast. This is an important message for us in our secularist world. We need to hold fast in the face of the onslaught of new atheist teaching. We need to be the ones who say you are wrong, this is the truth and this is what we believe in. In the words of Martin Luther, 'here I stand, I can do no other'.
Finally there is the theme of loss. Peter and Susan find out in this book that they will not be back in Narnia again. They have become too old and they need to find Aslan in their world. This is the key message for the children who grow up with these books. Aslan lives in our world and we can find him. This is perhaps the greatest thing Lewis ever did. He showed young children what Jesus was like in the form of Aslan and he points to his real identity. As a young boy I read these books and wanted to meet Aslan. As I grew up I was blessed enough to find his real identity. Meeting Jesus changed my world.
As a picture, I have chosen the one which shows the children having returned home. I sympathise with Peter here.
The story picks up a year after the events of LWW. We see the four children setting out to go back to school and they are mysteriously called back into Narnia. They. however, do not recognise it. It is overgrown, deserted and scary for them. Meanwhile we know that Narnia has no talking animals any more, it is ruled by a cruel race called the Telmarines. The only hope for Narnia rests in the young boy called Caspian. He escapes an assassination attempt and goes into hiding with what he discovers to be the remnants of Old Narnia. The dwarfs and talking animals (my favourites in this being the Bulgy Bear and of course the wonderful Reepicheep) join Caspian in a war against the evil king Miraz (who usurped the throne after Caspian's father died). The Pevensey children hear the tale and journey to Caspian and on their journey they learn that they are not as correct about things as they think. Lucy is the first to find Aslan and tries to convince the others but they don't believe her, preferring to trust in their own instincts. Eventually Aslan returns and all is right again. Caspian becomes king and the children return home (two of whom will not return).
Again there are numerous Christian themes in this book and I don't have the time or the inclination to name them all. For me the main one is the theme of trusting in Jesus. We see Peter and Susan and Edmund as well as Trumpkin (although he is more of an atheist character really) believing that they know best. Lucy trusts Aslan and follows him off the cliff. This helps her to share the message and leads to a gradual change in the others around her. The sad thing is, that if they had trusted Aslan straight away they would have been through a lot less difficulties. We see aspects of talking the talk but not walking the walk too. When the horn in blown some say that it will bring help but they don't really believe. What this book shows us is that it is important to have faith. Help will come (it was promised to Susan that whenever her horn was sounded help would always come).
Then there is the theme of faithfulness. Caspian's nurse and his tutor never give up hope. They keep the old traditions alive and trust that it will be ok again. Dr. Cornelius has undergone some collaborative processes in his time but his hope and his belief remain steadfast. This is an important message for us in our secularist world. We need to hold fast in the face of the onslaught of new atheist teaching. We need to be the ones who say you are wrong, this is the truth and this is what we believe in. In the words of Martin Luther, 'here I stand, I can do no other'.
Finally there is the theme of loss. Peter and Susan find out in this book that they will not be back in Narnia again. They have become too old and they need to find Aslan in their world. This is the key message for the children who grow up with these books. Aslan lives in our world and we can find him. This is perhaps the greatest thing Lewis ever did. He showed young children what Jesus was like in the form of Aslan and he points to his real identity. As a young boy I read these books and wanted to meet Aslan. As I grew up I was blessed enough to find his real identity. Meeting Jesus changed my world.
As a picture, I have chosen the one which shows the children having returned home. I sympathise with Peter here.
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