Holly Ordway: Relationship Between C. S. Lewis And J. R.
Holly Ordway focused her attention on the meaningful relationship between C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Lewis was from Belfast, Northern Ireland and J.R.R. Tolkien is from England. Both authors met at the prestigious Oxford University as professors and were part of a literary group together. Because of their deep friendship, they were able to support each other through their work and credited each other with ideas and influences. J.R.R. Tolkien was Catholic when he met C. S. Lewis, and Lewis was at the time an atheist. In Northern Ireland, an English territory, Catholics were a minority to Protestants. J.R.R. Tolkien helped C.S. Lewis to convert back to Catholicism. The Catholic faith worked really well with their bond over literature, Middle-earth,
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My grandparents immigrated from Ireland and were Catholics, so I am always interested in seeing contemporary authors and contemporary culture of their time. In addition, my dad and his sisters grew up reading works by Tolkien and Lewis, most likely because of my English/Irish heritage. So, I appreciated the familiarity and learned many new things. I was really surprised at how Holly Ordway made it seem like Lewis and Tolkien were critical of each other’s writings. Specifically, how Tolkien criticized the beginning chapters of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe because Tolkien thought it was inappropriate to put a little girl getting lured into a faun’s house in a children’s story. Although it was a strange critique, I think that we as readers should be grateful for their collaboration because we may not have these works without collaboration and constructive criticism. I also appreciate how Tolkien helped Lewis revert to Catholicism. In Northern Ireland especially, being Catholic was frowned upon and often dangerous because of the tension between Ireland and Northern Ireland. Being strong in your faith, despite adversity, is a sign of the works of God. Overall, I really appreciated Holly Ordway’s talk and am impressed by her extensive
My grandparents immigrated from Ireland and were Catholics, so I am always interested in seeing contemporary authors and contemporary culture of their time. In addition, my dad and his sisters grew up reading works by Tolkien and Lewis, most likely because of my English/Irish heritage. So, I appreciated the familiarity and learned many new things. I was really surprised at how Holly Ordway made it seem like Lewis and Tolkien were critical of each other’s writings. Specifically, how Tolkien criticized the beginning chapters of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe because Tolkien thought it was inappropriate to put a little girl getting lured into a faun’s house in a children’s story. Although it was a strange critique, I think that we as readers should be grateful for their collaboration because we may not have these works without collaboration and constructive criticism. I also appreciate how Tolkien helped Lewis revert to Catholicism. In Northern Ireland especially, being Catholic was frowned upon and often dangerous because of the tension between Ireland and Northern Ireland. Being strong in your faith, despite adversity, is a sign of the works of God. Overall, I really appreciated Holly Ordway’s talk and am impressed by her extensive