C.J. Lewis, writer of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a very well structured novel. Lewis sends many important messages in his writings to the reader. The characters are introduced smoothly and because of those characters, right away the important messages are being noticed. Lucy being the main character shows off strength, curiosity and she sends off this clear message of being sweet and following the rules. Her brother on the other hand has one of the largest messages in the novel. Edmund is very cocky, selfish, spiteful, and does what he wants to do whether it is right or wrong without a care about others, especially his siblings. Lewis does a fantastic job showing Edmund’s character in the beginning. Without Edmund and the problems he creates and the lessons having to be learned because of him, the book would lack the character development that made this story so great. Towards the end though, Edmund has a shift in his character because of the White Witch betraying his trust. He becomes more nice, honest, and accepting of forgiveness from his siblings that he did wrong. It is an awesome character development for this novel.
A major theme that plays throughout the novel is the negative force or power that is shown. This would be the White Witch. Edmund leaves his siblings behind and falls into fantasy with the witch. He trusts her, and basically forfeits himself to her. Other than Edmund’s character, the White Witch is the evil one of the story. She can’t be trusted; she turns on Edmund, hurts those who are protecting the children, lies, and kills easily. She also never becomes good in the end, she stays evil throughout the whole storyline without a care for the other characters. Every story has to have their “villain” and Lewis made the White Witch the perfect villain for the theme.
The stone table seems to represent a large symbol in the novel. This is like the Narnia bible, containing ten written commandments. They represent an older religion for Narnia that were put into place by the ruler before the White Witch. Although they weren’t put into place by her, they are rules that need to be followed or there will be consequences or punishments such as death from her. They represent a huge symbol because in the end, the tablet is shattered, representing a new Era for Narnia.
Overall, C.J. Lewis did an amazing job forming the structure of this book in every aspect, not just character development, themes, and symbols that have been discussed. It was a great read.
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