I saw "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" as a child, and I'm pretty sure I'd read the book before that. I'm slowly making my way through all seven books in The Chronicles of Narnia for three reasons: 1) A producer at BBC radio has asked to interview me about the books after I wrote this post; 2) This blog purports to be a source for Christian themes and symbolism in fantasy literature, so the blog hostess must read all the books; and 3) I know I'll love all seven.
"The Magician's Nephew" was a charming tale written after "The Lion" but placed ahead of it in the line-up. It explains how Narnia came to be and features a familiar scene were Aslan the Lion sings Narnia into being.
According to Kyrie O'Connor of the IndyStar, the fifth book, "The Horse and His Boy," contains a few politically incorrect elements:
The book, first published in 1954, may never get to the screen, at least not in anything resembling its literary form. It's just too dreadful. While the book's storytelling virtues are enormous, you don't have to be a bluestocking of political correctness to find some of this fantasy anti-Arab, or anti-Eastern, or anti-Ottoman. With all its stereotypes, mostly played for belly laughs, there are moments you'd like to stuff this story back into its closet….
[T]he Calormen is not simply a bad place to be from. Worse, the people are bad — or most of them, anyway — and they're bad in pretty predictable ways. Calormen is ruled by a despotic Tisroc and a band of swarthy lords with pointy beards, turbaned heads, long robes and nasty dispositions. Calormen is dirty, hot, dull, superstitious. In truth, it's pretty unsettling. (Source)
As a product of his times and environment, C.S. Lewis wrote his books the way he saw fit, and the historical context must be taken into account. That's the purview of literary criticism.
I'm sure some people object to writers injecting the Gospel into stories or Christian bloggers (like moi!) hunting for it. After I've read "The Horse and His Boy," I'll review it and come to my own conclusion.
December 1st, 2005 at 11:10 pm
I read the whole Narnia series in the chronological order last year, and I'm beginning to work through them now in the original publication order. I recall reading "The Horse and His Boy" and thinking that it would not pass a PC test. I can't recall precisely where at the moment, but I've already come across accusations that Lewis was racist (along with a host of other sins) in the midst of all the present Narnia talk.
In any event, you'll love the whole series, and there's some great Christology in "The Horse and His Boy."
December 3rd, 2005 at 11:31 am
Thanks for commenting, Travis. I can hardly wait to read that book.
December 7th, 2005 at 2:53 pm
The Horse and His Boy is the 3rd book of the series, not the fifth. And yes, while it is very un-PC, in my opinion it was the best of all the books, for the simple fact that it dealt with ordinary characters living in Narnia.
I do think Lewis meant to represent in Calormen the millenial conflict between Christianity and Islam, and especially the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Turks were infamous for their brutality to conquered nations and peoples; the Calormens are portreyed in this same manner. I'm also sure that, as a veteran of WWI, Lewis had no lost love for people who butchered British and Australian boys at Gallipoli and in the Sinai.
December 7th, 2005 at 3:13 pm
Thanks for stopping by, icythus. The Horse and His Boy is the fifth book Lewis wrote in the seven-book series, but the books have since been re-ordered, and it is now considered the third book. Technically, you are correct.
December 7th, 2005 at 4:16 pm
The Horse and His Boy is probably the hardest for me to rank of the series, probably because our heroes only appear in passing, and so it is almost a completely different book. I must admit to experiencing a wee bit of schadenfreude when I first read it (only last year, I believe) in thinking of the wailing and gnashing of teeth it must elicit in the PC police
and I think icythus probably has a pretty good point in the book representing the millenial conflict.
my rankings break roughly into three tiers.
Tier 1: The Silver Chair; Voyage of the Dawn Treader; The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Tier 2: Prince Caspian; The Horse and His Boy
Tier 3: The Magician's Nephew; The Last Battle
Anyway, cool site, La Shawn! As a Christian, and a huge fan of fantasy fiction (though I've not read Harry Potter or even seen more than a few minutes of any of the movies while flipping channels), I'm sure I'll be a frequent visitor. Will you be discussing other books and series? I'm always looking for new things (though Lord knows, my to-read list is long enough and getting no more manageable!), especially if they have a Christological perspective or parallels.
December 8th, 2005 at 12:15 pm
The Horse and His Boy was one my favorites from childhood and remains
so to this day. Granted it is not PC, but much of what it represents of the
Islamic world is still true today. Who would want to live in hot, awful & boring Saudi
Arabia if you could escape to the United States? Sometimes the truth is not
politically correct. Actually it rarely is.
December 8th, 2005 at 12:41 pm
Calormen does bear some resemblance to the Saracens of Lewis' day. However, it should be noted that Lewis turned the entire thing on its ear. Calormen is an EMPIRE. Narnia and Archenland are the independent states with people who are considered "barbarians" by the Calormenes. The evil of the Calormen empire-building is shown in The Last Battle.
In addition, there were at least two very clear examples of heroic characters from Carlormen in the books. Aravis, the girl, even MARRIES an Archenland prince - a white man. An interracial marriage? In 1955 English literature? Highly unusual and reflective of how UN-racist Lewis was.