April 1, 2008
Closing Thoughts on the Chronicles
What is it that draws children into “Narnia”? The great adventures they are able to experience are a reflection of a brilliant mind. A man who is able to live the childhood he never was able to experience firsthand, by making these dreams come alive through his words.
It is amazing to look at C.S. Lewis’s early childhood and find some similarities between his actual world and that which he had created within Narnia. When Lewis was seven his family moved to a very large house where he and his brother would often create imaginary worlds while investigating their home. Much like the characters of Caspian and Rilian, Lewis lost his mother at the age of 10 and found it very difficult to forgive her for abandoning him. Like the characters of Edmund, Jill and Eustace, he also spent much time in boarding schools. As a young boy, similar to Caspian, he also had a tutor who brought hope into his gloomy life. In addition, many children were evacuated from London because of air raids during World War II and would stay with Lewis, including a little girl named Lucy. A little bit of truth mixed with a whole lot of imagination and you have shear brilliance.
The imagination is a wonderful tool. It can bring you to places you have never been, create people you will never meet, help you escape from a world of hurt and injustices; however, reality brings you back to the same situation you left. Perhaps Lewis enjoyed writing such stories because he could no longer hold onto the hurt he felt so deep inside and his writing helped release the pain. Whatever his reasons, he has brought much pleasure to both children and adults alike in his collection of adventures through Narnia.
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