Loyalty In The Witch And The Wardrobe

The Innate Traits of Loyalty
Loyalty is a concept that has always been part of the human culture, w hether it is devotion towards one’s favourite clothing brand, to one’s sovereign government, or to one’s deity. It is a word that has been in use for centuries because of its intrinsic relevance to everyday life. From its compassionate, to its beneficial aspects, it is a natural behavior for almost every human being. Loyalty has many different connotations and can be conveyed in a wide variety of ways.
Even though loyalty has built and ruined nations, families and friendships, it is often simply described as feeling of allegiance, reliability, or trustworthiness. In fact, the Random House Thesaurus describes it as “faithfulness, fidelity, steadfastness,
The notable children's book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis displays the consequences of faulty choices based on behavioral loyalty. In the mythical land of Narnia, four children, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy are alleged to reign on the four great thrones of Narnia. However, this would mean the downfall of the White Witch. In order to stop the four children from obtaining the thrones, she tempts young, naïve Edmund. She fills his head with thoughts of becoming king, and having the most delicious sweets, if only Edmund would bring along his siblings to meet the White Witch. “He did want Turkish Delight and to be a Prince (and later a King) and to pay Peter out for calling him a beast. As for what the Witch would do with the others, he didn't want her to be particularly nice to them - certainly not to put them on the same level as himself; but he managed to believe, or to pretend he believed, that she wouldn't do anything very bad to them [...]”(Lewis 85). Edmund, being new to Narnia has only the faintest idea of the White Witch’s cruelty, thus pledging himself loyal to her for his own personal benefit, not thinking of his true opinion of the White Witch, or about the repercussions his family may face.
Yet another example of an unethical use of behavioral loyalty is in William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”. In this play, Shakespeare depicts the events of Ancient Rome and how the great Julius Caesar came to be stabbed.
During the Great Depression, two men, George Milton and Lennie Small, struggle to find work. However, Lennie Small is a monstrous man with the nescient mind of a toddler due to his mental handicap. In the 1930s, mentally challenged individuals were treated as insignificant others in society and were not allowed to be hired for work. This hindered George and Lennie, but the emotional loyalty they felt towards one another helped them surmount obstacles that only the best of friends could surmount. With the help of George, Lennie was able to get himself a job on a farm, helping him chase the common dream of all men, the American