Timothy's review
The Chronicles of Narnia
by C.S. Lewis
You've made me question how fair I've been to Lewis' work. Acknowledging shortcomings and faults for what they are does great justice to the actual value of the Narnia series.
Oh my. I never even stopped to consider what Father Christmas said to Lucy. I was perplexed about Susan's absence because she had grown up, but I never thought much of it. Now I am! I did notice that the Calormen could be Arabs and now I am definitely sure that is what Lewis modeled them after.
Well, this doesn't change my opinion on how great the books are but it will make me read them in a very different light.
Great review!
The issue of Calormen troubled me a bit even in high school when I first read the books and as you noted, it's important realize the context in which the books are written. Regarding the god, Tash, it seems to me that Tash is not synonymous with Allah. Tash means "stone" in Turkish which would relate to him being a false idol. Also, Tash has four arms which would be more in keeping with the Hindu god, Vishnu. (Actually Vishnu is technically one of many manifestation of Brahman). Anyhow, my point is that I don't think that Calormen or Tash is explicitly a jab at Arabs or Muslims. In fact, there are some good things said regarding the Calormen.
Regarding Susan, I've heard the argument that Lewis was being misogynistic but I don't think it's as bad as some people try to make it out to be. I think it has more to do with Matthew 18:2-4: "He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
Being a mature woman didn't keep Susan from the New Narnia but her vanity and love of the world did.
The seven books included in Chronicles of Narnia derive their classic status in the fantasy genre from Lewis’ ability to create a compelling alternate world both wondrous and familiar. However, the books contain serious flaws that must relegate them to second rate in comparison with The Lord of the Rings or Ursula LeGuin’s Earthsea series. The first flaw, one that irked me as a child reader, is Lewis’ propensity to issue condescending asides to the youthful reader. Rather than draw the reader in to the author’s confidence, these serve rather to distract. Further, they do not add to the story world but merely inform the reader of the reactionary prejudices of the author (for example regarding gender). The second flaw, which I did not notice as a child, is a strong dose of anti-Muslim propaganda, featured most strongly in A Horse and His Boy, and The Last Battle. The dark-skinned Calormenes embody a catalogue of evil characteristics—slave-trading, fanatic, aggressive, treacherous, cruel—and they are clearly marked as Muslim with turbans, scimitars, and minarets. The Last Battle (the weakest story in the series) is little more than an apocalyptic scenario of the clash of civilizations between Christianity and Islam. That Lewis uses a series of children’s books to pursue a crude project of orientalist crusade is inexcusable. The anti-Islamic theme however feeds into Lewis’ main project: Christian proselytizing. In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Lewis presents a full-blown allegory of the crucifixion of Jesus. Aslan permits himself to be humiliated and sacrificed to pay for the sin of Edmund and is soon resurrected in greater glory. Susan and Lucy (paralleling the two Marys) wash his body and witness his resurrection. Thinly-veiled Christian symbols and arguments permeate the whole series and since this is nowhere openly acknowledged, The Chronicles of Narnia must be regarded as a deceitful tool of concealed proselytizing. Rather than make an open argument in favor of his convictions, Lewis cunningly creates a world of aesthetic and philosophic sensibilities intended to work at the subliminal level. Of course, all authors have agendas and children’s books frequently contain implicit behavioral and moral messages. However, Lewis has crossed the line, especially by mobilizing racial-religious antipathies to his project. If the series proselytized, for example, the ideology of Communism or a non-Christian religion in the same way, parents, teachers, and self-appointed guardians of children would never accept it. That said, these flaws detract from but do not negate the imaginative entertainment value of the Narnia books. In spite of my grave social concerns, I would let children read these books. But at an appropriate age I would initiate a discussion about racism, and religious and cultural chauvinism. Given the social conditions of the 21st century, I would ask children to try to imagine a fantasy world in which beings with different sensibilities and physical characteristics are able to tackle conflicts between them without demonizing or waging war on the other. Now THAT takes some imagination.
Timothy's review
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
Timothy's review
rating:
I went back and actually read the Chronicles of Narnia for the first time last year. (My parents read them to me when I was a kid). This is an amazing story, from one of the best English minds of the twentieth century. As a whole, this story was every bit as good as I had remembered.
That being said, however, I ran into some real problems reading this story as an adult in the 21st century. Starting with The Horse and His Boy, and culminating in The Last Battle, the issue of "Calormen" as obviously modeled on the Arab world, and their belief in the vengeful god "Tosh" as obviously modeled on the Muslim faith, is very serious indeed. I've read defenses of this--for instance, the fact that C.S. Lewis was a scholar of Medieval literature, which steeped him in a time dominated by fear of the Ottoman Empire and the ever-present threat of its overrunning Europe. Frankly, this just doesn't do it for me. At the end of the day, this story has to be read as im...more
That being said, however, I ran into some real problems reading this story as an adult in the 21st century. Starting with The Horse and His Boy, and culminating in The Last Battle, the issue of "Calormen" as obviously modeled on the Arab world, and their belief in the vengeful god "Tosh" as obviously modeled on the Muslim faith, is very serious indeed. I've read defenses of this--for instance, the fact that C.S. Lewis was a scholar of Medieval literature, which steeped him in a time dominated by fear of the Ottoman Empire and the ever-present threat of its overrunning Europe. Frankly, this just doesn't do it for me. At the end of the day, this story has to be read as im...more
You've made me question how fair I've been to Lewis' work. Acknowledging shortcomings and faults for what they are does great justice to the actual value of the Narnia series.
Oh my. I never even stopped to consider what Father Christmas said to Lucy. I was perplexed about Susan's absence because she had grown up, but I never thought much of it. Now I am! I did notice that the Calormen could be Arabs and now I am definitely sure that is what Lewis modeled them after. Well, this doesn't change my opinion on how great the books are but it will make me read them in a very different light.
Great review!
The issue of Calormen troubled me a bit even in high school when I first read the books and as you noted, it's important realize the context in which the books are written. Regarding the god, Tash, it seems to me that Tash is not synonymous with Allah. Tash means "stone" in Turkish which would relate to him being a false idol. Also, Tash has four arms which would be more in keeping with the Hindu god, Vishnu. (Actually Vishnu is technically one of many manifestation of Brahman). Anyhow, my point is that I don't think that Calormen or Tash is explicitly a jab at Arabs or Muslims. In fact, there are some good things said regarding the Calormen.Regarding Susan, I've heard the argument that Lewis was being misogynistic but I don't think it's as bad as some people try to make it out to be. I think it has more to do with Matthew 18:2-4: "He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
Being a mature woman didn't keep Susan from the New Narnia but her vanity and love of the world did.
The seven books included in Chronicles of Narnia derive their classic status in the fantasy genre from Lewis’ ability to create a compelling alternate world both wondrous and familiar. However, the books contain serious flaws that must relegate them to second rate in comparison with The Lord of the Rings or Ursula LeGuin’s Earthsea series. The first flaw, one that irked me as a child reader, is Lewis’ propensity to issue condescending asides to the youthful reader. Rather than draw the reader in to the author’s confidence, these serve rather to distract. Further, they do not add to the story world but merely inform the reader of the reactionary prejudices of the author (for example regarding gender). The second flaw, which I did not notice as a child, is a strong dose of anti-Muslim propaganda, featured most strongly in A Horse and His Boy, and The Last Battle. The dark-skinned Calormenes embody a catalogue of evil characteristics—slave-trading, fanatic, aggressive, treacherous, cruel—and they are clearly marked as Muslim with turbans, scimitars, and minarets. The Last Battle (the weakest story in the series) is little more than an apocalyptic scenario of the clash of civilizations between Christianity and Islam. That Lewis uses a series of children’s books to pursue a crude project of orientalist crusade is inexcusable. The anti-Islamic theme however feeds into Lewis’ main project: Christian proselytizing. In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Lewis presents a full-blown allegory of the crucifixion of Jesus. Aslan permits himself to be humiliated and sacrificed to pay for the sin of Edmund and is soon resurrected in greater glory. Susan and Lucy (paralleling the two Marys) wash his body and witness his resurrection. Thinly-veiled Christian symbols and arguments permeate the whole series and since this is nowhere openly acknowledged, The Chronicles of Narnia must be regarded as a deceitful tool of concealed proselytizing. Rather than make an open argument in favor of his convictions, Lewis cunningly creates a world of aesthetic and philosophic sensibilities intended to work at the subliminal level. Of course, all authors have agendas and children’s books frequently contain implicit behavioral and moral messages. However, Lewis has crossed the line, especially by mobilizing racial-religious antipathies to his project. If the series proselytized, for example, the ideology of Communism or a non-Christian religion in the same way, parents, teachers, and self-appointed guardians of children would never accept it. That said, these flaws detract from but do not negate the imaginative entertainment value of the Narnia books. In spite of my grave social concerns, I would let children read these books. But at an appropriate age I would initiate a discussion about racism, and religious and cultural chauvinism. Given the social conditions of the 21st century, I would ask children to try to imagine a fantasy world in which beings with different sensibilities and physical characteristics are able to tackle conflicts between them without demonizing or waging war on the other. Now THAT takes some imagination.