Sarah Matter asked this question about The Screwtape Letters:
Why do you think C.S. Lewis chose to write the Screwtape Letters in the form, similar, to a satire? Considering C.S. Lewis is looked up to among the Christian community, how hard would it be for him to write from the evil point of view?
Michelle In my personal opinion, he chose that style because he was originally posting the letters in 'The Guardian' and that style was easiest to manage week …moreIn my personal opinion, he chose that style because he was originally posting the letters in 'The Guardian' and that style was easiest to manage week to week. You wouldn't have had to read the previous weeks to understand what that weeks said.

As for the second question, Lewis himself was disturbed with what he had written, which is why it was so very important that it was written. The two most important things in any war are knowing the terrain that is being fought upon and the enemy one is fighting. What better way to learn one's enemy than to imagine the world in their eyes? By writing from evil's perspective Lewis opens our eyes to the tactics often used by the enemy (the Devil and his demons) to entrap us. The book, and the writing of it, greatly disturbed him for how easily it came. He had very little trouble imagining the demons and their particular schemes to trip their respective humans up. It opened his own eyes to the Evil surrounding him and how easily the devil could trick and trip a mind with the most simple of thoughts. Writing from that style also allowed us as a reader not to feel as though we were sitting in a lecture about what we shouldn't do and instead let us, if we so chose, to compare our own lives with the unfortunate characters in the book.(less)
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