C. S. Lewis

In C.S. Lewis’s An Experiment in Criticism, Lewis attempts to distinguish how good and bad readers interpret books. 'Let us try to discover how far it might be plausible to define a good book as a book which is read in one way, and a bad book as a book which is read in another” (1). Although Lewis’s essay is primarily dominated by “the many and the few,” the paramount message of the book pertains to the ego; moreover, how the literary experience heals the wound without undermining individuality.…

1.) People become friends because they find interest in one another, they become friends in accordance with their own free wills. There is nothing that compels them to become acquainted, other than the fact that it is what they both desire. C.S. Lewis on the other hand disagrees with this view and instead believes that friendship is acquired through random circumstances that involve similar likes and dislikes. He says “Friendship is born at the moment when one person says to another: ‘What! You…

C.S Lewis writes in the closing of his critical approach to Satan that “Those who do not find him abhorrent have misread the poem. They will do well to ask whether their like for Satan does not spring for enmity for God.” (Lewis 48). This seems to be a fair point, but it also ignores that in some respects Milton left open the door for a likeable Satan. His justifications and complexities are relatable to the reader. It also ignores the interpretation that if God is all-knowing then he would know…

Salvation is the overall theme of The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis. No matter what was happening to each of the ghosts they were all sinners, in desperate need of a savior. Each time they were told to trust in God and accept his free offer of eternal life. They all had different struggles to overcome though. Some couldn’t get past their own pride and others struggle with the thought of how great God’s love is. Lewis uses the ghosts to represent the many different themes developed to point toward…

people who find reading a chore. People who read like it is part of religion are part of the "few" and people who read because they need to are part of the many. When writing the book, Lewis describes us as part of the few. The condescending tone of Lewis creates controversy between the few and the many. Chapter 2: Lewis doesn't want the readers to assume that they are part of the specific group based on how they read. When reading is considered a professionalism, the importance of the…

C.S. Lewis begins his novel Mere Christianity by discussing the Law of Human Nature and various other laws that are important to his discussion. Lewis states that people must be aware of a Law or Rule of fair play or else there would be much more quarrelling among humans. This Rule or Law used to be known as the Law of Nature; however, laws of nature today will usually refer to things such as gravitation, heredity, or the laws of chemistry (Lewis, 4). The Law of Nature, when concerning issues of…

C.S. Lewis wrote many impactful books throughout his life, with Mere Christianity topping the chart. Within Mere Christianity book three, there was a key factor in the book’s success. After reading this thought provoking book the position that Lewis takes on sex peaked my interest. Book three introduces Lewis’ argument that sex in itself is not destructive, rather the perversion of sex destroys. SUMMARY In the beginning of book three in Mere Christianity Lewis discusses the difference between…

disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them” (C.S. Lewis). As one of the most influential Christian writers of all time, C.S. Lewis wrote The Screwtape Letters as a collection of 31 convicting letters from Screwtape, a senior demon, to his nephew Wormwood, a novice demon. After beginning in July of 1940, it took Lewis a little over six months to complete the letters. They were later published weekly in a gazette called The…

A Familiar Character “The Screwtape Letters” is an epistolary novel written by C.S. Lewis in 1942 from the point of view of a senior demon writing to his nephew. Primarily written with Irony and Satire, this book is more than a literary masterpiece. The Letters are thought-provoking and inspiring, in that they are an interpretive description of what the Devil is trying to do through various situations in our lives. In the letters, the human character, referred to as “The Patient”, experiences…

the faith loses its validity and becomes one of mercenary affairs instead of Godly affairs. These desires take many forms and are laced throughout C.S. Lewis’ writings Throughout The Screwtape Letters, Lewis most explicitly states the desire to bolster a cause and rally a group together as an illegitimate motive for adopting Christian ideas. Lewis makes…