Controversy In The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe

C.S Lewis has had a controversy over his novel The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. The major complaint most people have is that is that it is a Christian book and they do not want their children to read it. Others say this is a fanciful story for children and parents are looking for a problem. This dilemma between some reader and the author has caused the debate between literary scholars, readers, and the author on C.S Lewis’ moral message in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. C.S Lewis was bought up in a very Christian household with his brother. Worsley wrote “Ulster, conservative, Protestant, middle-class ulster, was the world into which their children were born and to which they completely belonged” (8). This society is very hard
Worsley wrote that different generations have focused on meaning in that time and culture (49). Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn is a great example of this due to its controversial nature. When this book was first written, it was censored due to the N-word being said throughout the novel, but now it is read in many school systems. Back when C.S. Lewis wrote The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe the Christian aspects were not as noticed but as society went on many people began to notice the “Christian” aspects.
Worsley also wrote that the Twenty-First century has had a resurgence of “earlier interpretations of atonement” (150). This means that the definition of what is Christian and what is moral has changed since the book was written. What was only a story in Lewis’ day could now, in this time period, be considered a work it was never written to be.
Another thought of why the purpose behind the paper is so blurred is because Christianity is so ingrained into today’s society. Foster wrote that the country is so built on Christianity that the lessons in school are chosen on Christian themes, even though not every student is Christian (117-118). Society itself has blurred the lines on where things fall in society, so literature would be the same. When trying to categorize literature, a book can fall into many different genres even though the story is exactly the
An impact on one effects the other, and literature is tied to both. Foster went on to say that culture impacts what the writer writes and since culture is shaped by the dominant religion, so is the writing (118). Due to Christianity being the dominant religion in society, the readers will find the aspects throughout many pieces of literature that the writer unintentionally put in.
Since all books are tied to the dominant religion, Foster wrote that all books are religious in nature (51). This fact is due to the triangle formed by the relationship between literature, culture, and religion. All literature is based off religion, all religion is based off culture, and culture is defined and shaped by what the masses read.
Due to this triangle, Foster writes that even people who are “not religious” and have “never lived religiously affiliated” have Christian aspects in their novels (48). The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is one novel that was more influenced by society than by the writer himself. Lewis has written Christian novels, but he has written in other genres as well, such as Science-Fiction, Nonfiction, and Fantasy. Religion had no impact on what genres he chose to write