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  • Essay / The theme of self-identity in the works of Cs Lewis

    The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis and The Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin address the idea that children Protagonists must follow some type of journey to defeat their respective enemies and participate in the search for their identity in the process. However, these ideas are approached in very different ways, as Lewis uses more biblical implications to suggest the synonymy of finding one's identity with rejecting sin and finding the way to Christ, while Le Guin gives a more secular spin and introspective looking. , suggesting that we must confront ourselves to discover who we really are. Focusing on the characters of Edmund, Peter, and Ged, the concept of change and turning point reflects the implications of the messages about self-identity that both authors sought to convey. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayIn The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, each of the four children goes on a journey of self-discovery by entering the kingdom of Narnia, some more obvious than others. The most obvious character who has a remarkable journey of self-discovery is Edmund. At the beginning of the novel, Edmund appears as a selfish, defiant, attention-seeking, and greedy tyrant. Certainly, many of these traits come from middle child syndrome and the effect of her relationship with Peter. Yet he constantly discourages Lucy and goes so far as to turn on his siblings for the royal title and the Turkish delights the White Witch offers him before changing his mind. He becomes consumed and defined by his desire and need for attention. Edmund is so blinded by his desire for revenge against his brother and his greed that it takes seeing the White Witch turn a group of innocent animals into stone for him to realize that she is truly evil and that she has no interest in himself or anyone else. in the heart. It was then that “Edmond, for the first time in this story, felt sorry for someone other than himself. It seemed so pitiful to think of those little stone figures sitting there every silent day and dark night, year after year, until the moss grew on them and at last even their faces crumbled. This is a major turning point in his spiritual journey as he begins to discover his true purpose and realize the error of his ways, even though it is too late for him to undo this. stadium. His redemption at the hands of Aslan speaks volumes about the author's view on the importance of forgiveness and second chances in the journey to self-discovery. If he had been condemned for his mistake, he would not have had the chance to become a noble and courageous hero or achieve his goal as the rightful king that Narnia needed him to be. Peter also shows his own evidence of growth and discovery when they encounter the lamp post while chasing the white deer. Although Susan is, by her own nature, reluctant to go beyond the vaguely familiar lamppost, Peter says, "For since we were four kings and queens in Narnia, we have never laid hands on anything noble, like battles, quests, exploits. weapons, court documents, etc., then handed over; but always what we took in hand, we always achieved. While previously Peter and Susan were cautious even to believe in and explore something unfamiliar to them, his words here show that traveling through Narnia and fighting the White Witch with Aslan has made him much more confident in their ability to overcome whatever they encounter,as well as more open-minded to the unknown. The unifying theme and overarching lesson learned throughout their time in Narnia is that of selflessness, as evidenced by the fact that the children did not choose to stay in Narnia once they felt the need to leave. Instead, they gave up a life of royalty and took with them everything they had learned about themselves into the "real world." Lewis used this story as a grand allegory for his own Christian spiritual beliefs, with symbolic figures such as Aslan and the White Witch representing good and evil respectively. He uses Edmund's plight as a metaphor to imply that resisting the traps of evil and temptation can bring any sinner onto the path of good, which is our implicit individual goal. For example, when Edmund is first introduced to the witch, her status and what she offers him appeals to him and he even finds himself defending her to Peter, saying, "What's the good part?" How do we know the Fauns are right and the Queen (yes, I know, we've been told she's a witch) is wrong? We really don't know anything either. Because he sees the potential for power (and Turkish delight) that the Witch offers, he tries to convince himself that the Witch is simply misunderstood rather than truly evil. However, once he is further exposed to the witch's ruthlessly wicked ways and the danger she imposes, he comes to his senses. It is this realization and rejection of continued involvement with the witch that allows him to be saved by Aslan. The practicality of extracting and applying the broader proposition made by a metaphor to Christian ideology depends on the reader's beliefs, but even those who are not religious can derive meaning from the suggestions made, such as rejection of temptation, selfishness and greed. a greater cause. The message revealed by Edmund is much more biblical while the message revealed by Peter, that self-discovery can come to those who are open-minded and willing to err, is a message that can be applied more universally . Although the religious connotation may appear strongly in certain moments of the story, it is still very likely that the plot can be understood alternatively or appreciated objectively for what it is (especially by children who are perhaps too young people to understand its symbolic meaning) which is what makes it a classic. In Ursula Le Guin's The Wizard of Earthsea, protagonist Ged undergoes the most dominant search for identity when he sets out to defeat a rampaging shadow only to discover that his rival all along was essentially just himself. Like Edmund, Ged begins as a brawling, proud and immature teenager. The reader sees him make several mistakes due to his need to show off his magic and prove himself to others, such as when he tries to impress the daughter of the lord of Re Albi or when he accidentally summons a spirit into his fight with Jasper. However, it is this same pride that sparks Ged's quest for identity after freeing the shadow. Driven by guilt over the fate of Roke's Archmage, this turning point takes him from loud and proud to shy and paranoid that he will make another big mistake but to find his happy medium he must learn to balance between the two sides . of himself and between what he thinks he can do and what he can actually do. With the help of Vetch's reassuring attitude, Ged realizes: "All the years and places of his brief, shattered life have come back into view and made whole again." He finally knew, after this long, bitter and lost time, who he was and where he.