Unveiling the Depths of C.S. Lewis's Narrative Techniques in The Chronicles of Narnia: Supposals, Allegories, and Symbolism

The supposition is associated with the use of a hypothesis. It involves the use of a claim which creates the need for further investigation. On the other hand, an allegory is a tool used in literature and poetry. It is associated with the use of hidden meaning left for readers to decipher. Allegories are devices used in literature and occur in the form of metaphors where the use of symbolism is highly applied to create hidden meaning and requires readers to break down and understand. C.S Lewis wrote many books. The Chronicles of Narnia is one of the most popular books. It has sold more than two million copies in the world and has been translated into two more than forty different languages. Most books of Lewis show the use of allegory where a symbolic story is narrated, but the actual meaning is not the one directly presented. The narrative, therefore, narrates a completely different story. Many of C.S Lewis and mostly the chronicles of Narnia are allegorical. He was a layman Christian and his christianly greatly influence his works. As a result, the chronicles of Narnia represent great aspects of the Christian faith that have been symbolized in various forms in the narrative of these books. The books are mostly considered as allegorical to Christ. For example, the lost kingdom needs to be taken back, and Aslan who is depicted as a lion is the rightful king and fights to retake the kingdom. At one point Aslan is killed after sacrificing himself for the sake of his people, but he later on resurrects and helps the rest of the kingdom in the fight. There are many other allegorical aspects that have been represented in these books (Allegory and Symbolism, 2017). Another example is the change in mindset for Trumpkin in Prince Caspian is allegorical of the story of Paul from the bible. Trumpkin is completely changed once he comes face to face with Aslan and he then becomes a true son of Narnia. "And I have no use for magic lions which are talking lions and don't talk, and friendly lions though they don't do us any good, and whooping big lions though nobody can see them. It's all bilge and beanstalks as far as I can see” (Lewis, 2012).

 

Despite the many viewpoints of the allegorical nature of the books by Lewis, he argues differently. Instead of allegories, Lewis considers them supposals. Supposals are not symbolic or metaphoric instead author first claims at the beginning of narrative then the story tries to make sense out of the claim as either true or false. A good example is the consideration of Aslan as an allegory of Christ. Lewis asks readers not to consider it as such. He first supposes how God would look if he manifested Himself in another world. The answer is given by the story as Aslan. God would manifest Himself as Aslan. The use of supposal in narrative opens it up to more imaginations and has little limits as to how people ought to perceive a narrative. However, an allegory carries a simple meaning and readers ought to follow that single meaning throughout the narrative (Jorgenson, 2017).

Most people find Lewis books more of supposal rather than allegories. In most cases, allegories are based on completely fictional worlds where the events and the characters correspond to this world. However, for stories such as Narnia, the world’s exists separately from one another.  There is the actual world where the children lie, and there is the world they are called upon in Narnia. The books are associated more with aspects of parallelism rather than allegory. The alien world of Narnia occurs side by side to the real world and is, therefore, not representative or symbolic of aspects of the real world. They are associated with supposing and not substituting the aspects of the real world (Jorgenson, 2017).

Chronicles of Narnia therefore, bear aspects of supposals than allegory as emphasized by Lewis but they still have elements of allegory. One of the biggest aspects of allegory is the resurrection of Aslan in The Lion and The Wardrobe. Aslan sacrifices his life for that of the people by his side. However, he soon resurrects, and this is allegorical of Jesus Christ in the Christian religion. “Yes!” said a great voice behind their backs. “It is more magic.” They looked around (Lewis, & Baynes, 2008). There, shining in the sunrise, larger than they had seen him before, shaking his mane (for it had apparently grown again) stood Aslan himself) (Lewis, & Baynes, 2008). This is just but a small part of the whole idea of C.S Lewis. He has used small aspects of allegory and symbolism but this does not make his whole narrative an allegory, and this can be seen through his supposition of a completely new world that stands side by side with the real world (WHY NARNIA ISN’T ALLEGORICAL, 2017).

In most cases, most people interpret allegory very simply and sloppy, and this makes allegory a catch-all category. This is one of the facto that has made many people speak of the stories of Narnia as allegories associated with the Christian faith. One of the most common forms of allegory published by C.J Lewis was The Pilgrim’s Regress. In most of the books especially in the chronicles of Narnia, Lewis established a disclaimer first which supposed what to expect after reading the stories. The fact that Lewis put such disclaimers in his narratives have made many ready to bent on searching for hidden meaning within the stories, and thus many fail to look at the bigger picture which is associated with lack of limit in imagination. Authors, therefore, fail to connect with the author's full intentions when reading a story. In the chronicles of Narnia, Lewis supposes, what if God had manifested Himself in a different world and how he would look and the stories bring out the answer as Aslan (WHY NARNIA ISN’T ALLEGORICAL, 2017).

The availability of a link between Aslan and a new manifestation of God and represented by Aslan in Narnia pushes readers to a single way of thought. These are all perspective people need to avoid. Reading through the chronicles of Narnia present more than just storytelling and explore more aspects of symbolism brought forward by C.S Lewis that capture readers and require discovery. The question as to whether Narnia is an allegory or not is very much debated in the world of literature. Aslan is very much an allegorical aspect of the Christian faith, but this does not mean that everything in the stories is allegorical (Jorgenson, 2017).

The Chronicles of Narnia were developed in the perspective of Lewis whose Christian faith greatly influenced his writing. Many philosophers have used the aspect of symbolism for the depiction and interpretation of the Christian faith. They include Augustine and Plato. Plato led to the development of philosophies that become the core of the Christian faith. Augustine, on the other hand, developed its interpretation of the bible. They show the influence of Christianly and how it has become influential in the society. Plato presents the allegory of the cave by philosophically explaining aspects of reality. It is also an analogy that is very allegorical of the Christian life. The allegory of the cave is filled with symbolism that can be applied to a various aspect of human life. In Christianity, it represents the world of sin. Most people focus on the shadows while confined to the cave and consider it as their true reality. But once they Christianity allows the person to escape the cave and enter into a world of light and learns about a better reality which enlightens him or her. Augustine on the other hand described the world in the form of two cities. The heavenly city and the earthly city. The earthly city is associated with living according to man and the heavenly city is associated with living according to God.

 

 C.J Lewis provides his point of view of the Christian faith in the form of allegory, supposition, and symbolism in his books, the chronicles of Narnia provide a great representation of supposing and allegory and have been used effectively by Lewis to show the aspect of Christianity (WHY NARNIA ISN’T ALLEGORICAL, 2017).

 

References

Allegory and Symbolism. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.narniaweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/583816_ch06.pdf

Jorgenson, L. (2017). Supposals And Allegories. Retrieved from https://www.theodysseyonline.com/supposals-allegories

Lewis, C. S., & Baynes, P. (2008). The lion, the witch, and the wardrobe. New York: HarperTrophy.

Lewis, C. (2012). Prince Caspian: the return to Narnia. London: The Folio Society.

 

WHY NARNIA ISN’T ALLEGORICAL. (2017). Retrieved from https://blogs.thegospelcoalition.org/gospeldrivenchurch/2017/02/23/why-narnia-isnt-allegorical/