Monday, December 5, 2011

Shadowlands: A Drama by William Nicholson

Shadowlands, although not written by C. S. Lewis, was excellent! I read it over spring break, and I really really enjoyed it. It is a play written by William Nicholson that depicts Lewis' life, from when he meets Joy (his future wife) until her death later in life. It was a heart-wrenching look into the life of a man that up until now I only knew as a dedicated author and intellectual genius.

I know the play was based on the actual life of Lewis, but one thing I'm very curious about is how much of the dialogue is accurate, or how close to real life it comes. One of my favorite aspects of this play was the periodical speeches that Lewis would make standing in front of the audience. At the very end of the play, one of the last lines Lewis says is, "The pain, now. is part of the happiness, then. That's the deal." I think that is a really beautiful concept. In order to really partake of happiness we have to first understand pain. If you go through your whole life never feeling hurt, never getting sad, never feeling loss or pain, than how can you truly understand what happiness is.

We also watched the movie Shadowlands this evening. I thought they did a very good job of depicting the story, very close to what I saw as I read the play. The only part I really didn't like in the movie was when Joy got angry with Lewis and yelled at him, saying they in fact weren't friends. I don't recall that happening in the script, and I wasn't a big fan. Overall though the film was a very beautiful portrayal of one of the most difficult trials a person can go through in this life.

A Grief Observed

This was a heart-wrenching, honest portrayal of the pain that C. S. Lewis went through after the death of his wife Joy. A lot of times people think that the deepest kind of love comes from having gotten married young and spending a lifetime growing and learning together. While this definitely strengthens a relationship, its not the only way sincere love can form. When I first started taking this class, I had no idea that Lewis had ever even been married. And when I learned that he hadn't married until later in life, I figured that it must have been a marriage more of convenience than of true love. 

This book pulled down and demolished any of those thoughts I had. Lewis is so open and raw with his thoughts that it caused me to cringe at the thought of the pain he was going through. One thing that I was really impressed by was how through describing his own pain, Lewis was able to remind me of every single time I had had similar thoughts or feelings. 

I love his opening line, "No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear." He put what I was feeling so perfectly into words, that I was shocked. I think a big part of grief is suddenly feeling alone, and not knowing what the future will bring. It is the fear of the unknown that sometimes hurts the most. Fear of being alone forever, fear that life is never going to get better, fear that you will never be the same person you were before, that instead you will live as a shadow of your former self.

I really liked this book. It is the first time that you really see Jack Lewis. Rather than C. S. Lewis the author, you see Jack the man. And nothing is hidden, it is all him, raw emotions, writhing in pain and trying to make sense of a broken world.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

The Last Battle

The ending of The Last Battle is probably one of the most powerful endings to any of C.S. Lewis' books that we have read thus far. I really enjoyed it, and was actually surprised by it. I didn't realize that all of the main characters had actually died until C.S. Lewis explicitly told us.

My favorite part of The Last Battle was the overall idea that heaven was basically the creation of a 'new' Narnia. Everything that the children loved about Narnia were still a part of heaven, only now everything was brighter, happier, and a little bit better. A big part of me is afraid of the Second Coming, because I'm afraid I won't have the time on earth to accomplish everything I want to. I have a lot of big dreams and goals. I want to finish school, become a lawyer, get married, and have a family. This book helped to remind me that when the Second Coming does happen, I will be happier than imaginable. I won't even think about the things I 'missed' out on from this mortal life.

Another cool image for me through this book was the stable. I especially found it interesting that the dwarfs were put in the stable and it was a cold, dark, and frigtening place. Emeth on the other hand saw the light, found Aslan, and continued to prosper. This reminds me of many of Lewis' other books, specifically The Great Divorce, where he asserts that going to heaven or hell are all personal choices. The dwarfs didn't have the faith and were to prideful to be able to partake of the glorious state of the New Narnia. So instead they hid in the darkness, refusing to believe anyone who told them differently.

In my personal life I always hope that I can be open to other people's opinions and ideas. Pride generally comes from refusing to see the world from anyother perspective than your own.

The last thing I'll mention from this book is on the very last page. Lewis says something about how the joy and experiences we have in this life are merely a glimmer of the life to come, where we will reside in the glory of God. I think this is a beautiful concept and it helps to take away many doubts and fears that people have. I'm always amazed at how close Lewis comes to perfect Gospel principles.

Monday, November 14, 2011

The Magician's Nephew

Surprisingly I have actually read this book before, but it was so long ago that I had very little memory of the events that occurred. The Magician's Nephew is basically a story of the creation and I love the symbolism that C.S. Lewis writes into these children's books.

One thing that I find really interesting is the fact that Lewis uses children in all of his books as the main hero's/characters. There are two different reasons I can see for this. 1. The Chronicles of Narnia were written for children, so naturally children should be placed in the spotlight. or 2. Lewis is trying to give deeper meaning to the book.

While I read these books I considered the scriptural idea that we are each called to "be like little children." I like to think that the reason Lewis put the children in these books is to show that sometimes, the hero of a story, needs to be innocent and youthful. The children as main characters remind us of the kind of people we should be. Children are submissive, and we also should be submissive to the call of Christ. Perhaps this is Lewis' way of reminding us to submit to Christ's will.

Monday, November 7, 2011

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

I had even less experience with The Voyage of the Dawn Treader than I did with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I have still never seen the movie, so I am unable to make any comparisons. This was also my first time reading this book. I love how quickly this book can be read. I think it takes an incredible writer to be able to write such a symbolic novel, yet make it so user-friendly.

Honestly the religious connection in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader was a lot harder for me to see. I understand that it is a symbol of the religious journey we each take. But understanding the connections throughout the book was more difficult.

The one thing I really liked was how often Aslan showed up in different forms and on all the different islands. This was a strong reminder for me that no matter what kind of role or path I follow in life, I need Christ right next to me. When Eustace is still a dragon and is trying to shed his own skin...no matter what he does, he can't do it all on his own. It ultimately takes Aslan to help him shed his skin. And the part that comforted me was that Eustace went through pain in order to shed that skin.

As each of us are trying to become the people Christ wants us to be its going to be painful. Its going to be hard, and not always very much fun. But in the end Christ is still right there waiting for us to come out even better on the other side. It is like the "refiner's fire." We each go through different trials and hardships so that we will be ultimately worthy of Christ's love and sacrifice.

To me this is a beautiful concept, because it shows me that even when I feel like I'm struggling, God still knows my potential, and is trying me because He wants me to reach my full capacity.

The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe

Astonishingly enough I have never before read The Chronicles of Narnia and I'm pretty sure that I'm the only one in class who hasn't. I really enjoyed reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It was a lot easier to read and go through than I had originally expected . . . and I really liked the religious undertones of the book.

One thing we discussed a lot in class was how C.S. Lewis stated that this book was not an extended allegory, but rather a supposal. This basically means C.S. Lewis "supposed" that if there was a world inhabited by animals, what form would Christ come in and what kind of events would would occur. And that is where the land of Narnia was born and created.

I personally love the symbology of Aslan as the Christ figure in the land of Narnia. A lot of times I feel like the glory of Christ is lost when reading the Bible. Christ was the son of a Carpenter, a man who lived much like everyone else at the time, but the one difference was He was perfect. But there is little visual examples of Christ's glory on earth. He was scorned, he was mocked, he was hated by the people . . . it's not hard to remember the magnificence of Christ, but it's difficult to visually see this through the Bible.

This is not the case with Aslan in the land of Narnia. Aslan is a magnificent lion. The color of fur, his long mane, they are all physical characteristics of Aslan's power and grace. Throughout the book the four Pensieve children regularly speak of the greatness of Aslan and how it can barely be described. I feel like this is a really beautiful reminder that Christ is a magnificent being that not only deserves but demands our respect and love.

I have seen the movie of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and it is very similar to the book. But I would have to agree with Professor Young when he says that the movie just rushes over the most important part of the book. I was amazed at how quickly Aslan's death is passed over in the movie and how much time they give to the great battle. I understand why they did . . . fighting sells tickets . . . but it took away the mysticism of the entire story.

I really enjoyed this book, despite it being a relatively simple children's book, it still has many important lessons for everyone to learn.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Perelandra

Perelandra was ultimately a retelling of the Genesis story from a unique and other-worldy view. It was different from most adult fiction that I read. There was relatively little action and a lot of dialogue. Personally I feel that dialogue is a strong point for Lewis. He knows how to really mold a story based on characters and how to force his audience to develop their own opinions on sensitive subjects that he covers.

On thing that Lewis discusses a lot in this book is the idea of innocence. The Green Lady is the symbolic representation of innocence and youth through the story. She naively follows the commands of Maleldril and listens despite the fact that she doesn't understand the concepts behind the command. To me this shows an almost child-like trust. I know that we have often been told to become like little children throughout the scriptures, and the Green Lady is an example of this. I realize that she is also a symbol of Eve before the fall, but I feel like in my own life her childlike qualities have more pertinence.

The concept of childhood comes up a lot in this book. The Green Lady is always commenting on how young she is, but how she is getting older with everything she learns. Youthful innocence includes not necessarily understanding or comprehending everything that God does. I think this always plays a lot into faith. Faith isn't doing something because we can see the reason behind it, but rather it is blindly following God's command even when we don't know why we are.

Overall I enjoyed reading this book. At times it did get long because plot development was pretty slow. But it has a good message that is applicable and is a powerful reminder of the horrors of sin and temptation.

Lewis

In class we talked about Lewis as a scholar, critic, and teacher. I'm amazed every time I learn a little bit more about C.S. Lewis. He really was one of the most intelligent men of our age. I'm also amazed by the insight he had into the life of Christ and God and how closely it relates to many Gospel principles and ideas.

This has gotten me thinking a lot about the Holy Ghost, and how it manifests to people. I do not think that being a member of this church is a prerequisite to receiving guidance and comfort from the Holy Ghost. It's apparent to me that no man could have gotten so close to the Gospel without divine guidance. It makes me wish that Lewis had had the chance to receive the Gospel in this life. I'd be very interested to see what kind of Mormon he would have been. I can picture him as a powerful and influential speaker. I am however grateful that this church so strongly believes in work for the dead. Even though Lewis didn't have the chance during mortality, he will ultimately be able to choose wether or not to accept this Gospel. And I can only imagine the clarity he will receive.

I remember a seminary lesson where I walked into class and sitting on my chair was a big comforter from a queen sized bed. I wrapped up in it, and then our teacher related the comforter to the Holy Ghost, who is the true Comforter for each and everyone of us. I'm ridiculously grateful for the Holy Ghost, through which God works. I can't explain it with words, but the feeling of comfort is better than any physical comfort I have ever received.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Miracles

I'm going to be 100% honest, and I'm not sure that is a good thing. But the top line of my notes says, "Miracles...intellectual, abstract...personally for me kinda confusing." And that seriously sums up this book for me. I'm not totally positive what all the points that C.S. Lewis was trying to make in this book were. We talked about how Lewis's audience for this book was much more intellectual than some of the other books we've read. And I guess I'm just not all that intellectual.

I'm simply going to let you all know what my favorite part of this book was. When Lewis is talking about the nature of God I think its beautiful when he talks about God as a real person, a concrete, choosing human being with a particular character. I've never really thought about God having a unique character or personality. I've never really thought about God being happy or mad or sad. For me He has just been a constant - someone who never changes. It makes me wonder if God makes jokes, if He laughs, if He mourns when He sees us sad.

When I was younger my brother told me that he had full conversations with God. Not just asking for help or being grateful for blessings, but full on conversations. He'd tell our Heavenly Father jokes, tell Him how his day went . . . pretty much everything and anything were fair game when it came to prayer. This for me is a novelty idea. But it makes me realize that everything really is fair game for talking to God. We are meant to develop a relationship with Him . . . and what better way than cracking jokes, telling personal stories, and sharing every part of ourselves with Him?

The Weight of Glory

The Weight of Glory is an essay by C.S. Lewis that talks a lot about the afterlife and the glory we, as Christ-like beings, are meant to receive there. In it Lewis talks about 5 main promises that we will receive once we die.

1. be w/ Christ
2. be like Christ
3. receive glory
4. fed/feasted
5. receive an official position in the universe

In class we talked a lot about glory and how Lewis doesn't mean glory as in fame or pride, but rather great pleasure in the fact that we have pleased God. We talked about how we are all aiming towards the day when God will come to us and say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."

That statement is what really got me thinking during class. Maybe I haven't been analyzing Lewis's writings enough but I have been putting lots of thought into his messages and how they apply to my daily life. The word my thoughts really started focusing on was that of 'servant.' We are meant to serve God in this life, that is large part of our purpose here on earth. How can I serve God? What can I do that will be good enough for Him? And you know what I realized, there are lots of things I can do, and even though I'm just one person, my life can have an impact on others.

For instance, I could serve a full-time mission. Honestly this is something that I've been putting a lot of thought into. I also realized that motherhood in and of itself is a way of serving God. There is no larger responsibility that we as women are given then to be co-creators with God. Basically I've realized that when we follow any of God's commandments we are serving Him. Everything I do, everything you do . . . it is all getting us closer to the afterlife where we will be with God for eternity.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Mere Christianity cont'd

Book 3 of Mere Christianity was all about the way Christians should behave. I absolutely loved this book. Lewis spelled out the principles of Christianity so simply and beautifully that everyone could understand no matter their religion.

Lewis' chapter on forgiveness hit me kinda hard . . . probably because it's been a recent struggle of mine. Not only forgiving those who have hurt me, but forgiving myself for the mistakes I've made that put me in rough situations. Lewis mentions that most people think forgiveness is a "lovely" idea, until they are actually faced with the dilemma of forgiving someone. I have found this to be true. I've never understood where the difficulty in forgiving someone came from, then again I'd never had to truly forgive someone before. Once faced with the duty of forgiving I realized that forgiveness does not happen in a single moment. You don't just wake up one morning having forgiven someone who wronged you.

Lewis mentioned that the way you forgive someone is by learning to love them the same way you love yourself. You may not necessarily always like yourself or think fondly about who you are, but you always love yourself. Simply stated loving yourself means wishing good upon yourself. And thus loving those who have hurt us simply means hoping good things happen to them.

This shook my world. I realized that I could hope good things came to the people who had hurt me. I prayed that they would be happy in their new path, despite the harm they had done to me. And as I did this I learned that when you want others to be happy you come to love them, and even like them sometimes. It's hard to feel hatred towards people if you try to wish them luck at every turn.

I believe a harder part of forgiving someone is the forgetting part. I hold on to things . . . I don't easily forget. I might not think about them often, but they are always in my mind. Personally I think that there comes a moment when the wrongs people have done to us simply don't matter anymore. Truth is, the other person probably doesn't even realize the wrong they've done. By holding on to the hurt we allow it to continually effect our souls.  We just need to turn to God and ask Him to take it from us. Christ already suffered for our pain, now we just have to allow that atonement to work. I'm just grateful to Lewis, that he was able to help me learn to turn to the Lord and let go of the hurt that I had been so strongly holding on to.

Mere Christianity Books 1 and 2

Remember when you learned about tender mercies back in primary? They are the small things that God has placed in our lives so that we can be blessed. Sometimes we don't recognize them until after they happen, but sometimes we're fortunate enough to notice the tender mercies as we get to experience them. For me this C.S. Lewis class has been a tender mercy in my life. I feel like I have been learning a ton about the Gospel, even though Lewis is not a Mormon writer. It's amazing the things you learn about yourself as you read into the insights of others.

Mere Christianity is an amazing book. I have yet to read something by C.S. Lewis that I haven't absolutely fallen in love with. These first two books especially felt like a collection of addresses from the General Authorities. I think I love reading them so much because they have a very similar feel to that of the prophet.  The first book of Mere Christianity explains that there is a moral standard in this world that has been given to us from a Supreme Being and we are supposed to live up to it, but we are failing miserably. It isn't until Book 2 that Lewis suggests the existence of God and Christ.

One idea that I really liked was Lewis' exclamation that now is the time to choose what side we are on. Lewis puts a strong emphasis on the now. Now is when we must decide who we are going to be, now is when we decide who we are going to follow. I really liked this idea, because I often get caught up in the future. I spend hours upon hours thinking about how great life will be later, or how I will act later. I'm going to be a better person in the future, I'll read my scriptures daily . . . starting tomorrow. Life is busy and too often I get caught up in what I should be doing or what I will be doing rather than what I am doing. Lewis gave a strong reminder that life is to be lived now. The choices we make in the now are the choices that will be followed in the future. And the most important choice we will make is wether we should follow God or not.

Monday, September 12, 2011

The Great Divorce



Another amazing book by C.S. Lewis. Personally however I favored The Screwtape Letters. I really liked how blunt and straight forward Lewis was. I felt that in The Great Divorce there was a greater need for me to decipher Lewis’ meaning before I could comprehend the moral message trying to be made. 
My favorite thing about Lewis is that he has caused me, on more than one occasion, to do some real soul searching. It is oftentimes far to easy for me to see myself as a character in one of Lewis’ books. But it has given me a lot of insight on parts of my own life that I need to improve because of my own human weaknesses. 
One message I love that The Great Divorce tries to convey is that our life and our condition is a consequence of every choice we make. As humans we are each basically in control of our destiny. It is up to us to choose. With so much power comes great responsibility. It would be so easy to decide today to live a sinful life, allowing human pleasure and lust to take control of everything we do. But in the days, months, years, and eternities to follow we would each have to face the consequences of such a decision. In The Great Divorce God does not force men to hell. They are freely able to travel to heaven and to stay if they so choose. The pathway however isn’t always the easiest, and because of this many people would rather live in hell than be glorified with God in heaven. As the characters in the book reached heaven from hell they realized that in order to stay in heaven and become like the heavenly beings they would undergo a lot of physical pain. They could either turn around and stay the way they were, or they could push forward through the pain and become a better and more exalted person because of it. I like to apply this idea to my everyday life. I go through struggles, I have trials, I feel pain, but pain and fear can only devour and conquer me if I allow it to. If on the other hand I lean on the Lord and fight through it than my struggles will become my strengths and I will be a better person afterwards.
Another thought I had while reading this book was the idea that I shouldn’t fear the future. This book was a constant reminder that God has a plan for me, through which I can be eternally happy if I choose to be. At this point in my life, this message was a vital reminder to me that I can’t give up and stop living life. I have no reason to fear what my future holds, because my destiny rests in the hands of the only person I can ever completely trust, and that is my Heavenly Father. That is an amazing thing, and it helps me to face each day with joy and happiness. 

The Screwtape Letters



Can I just say I thought I was pretty witty with the title of this blog? It came to me in a burst of inspiration as I sat in my Honrs 303 Literature class on Tuesday. So as a part of my class I will be writing on this blog once a week in order to record my thoughts and musings as we read through a majority of the works by C.S. Lewis. For me this class is an exciting adventure because I haven't had very much exposure to C.S. Lewis. I've seen the movies, but I have never actually read any of his written works.
This week we were responsible for reading The Screwtape Letters. First off, can I just say that C.S. Lewis is an amazing writer. Even though there have been huge amounts of reading it has been a completely enjoyable experience. Every time I read something by C.S. Lewis I walk away a better person, more aware of God’s love for me. Even though C.S. Lewis is not a Mormon author, every time I open his books it has felt as if I’m opening an issue of the Ensign.
The Screwtape Letters are a series of letter (shocker!) written from the perspective of an older devil to his young nephew and apprentice. It is a satirical work but has many important values and morals that we can learn through reading it. My favorite passage was that from letter 8, which was more or less about the law of undulation. It spoke of the ups and downs that every person experiences in life, that of peaks and troughs. While the novel was generally talking about spiritual ups and downs, because of recent personal experiences I interpreted it to mean the ups and downs of a persons emotional well-being. This is one of my favorite things about the written word, meanings and truths found in books change based on the audience. Anyways, I loved this part of the book because it reminded me that everyone goes through pain and hardships, but it’s that we choose to continue to put our faith in God and move on with life that really matters. 
One other thing I really found inspiring was our discussion on love. It’s easy as a college student to feel lonely and unlovable. C.S. Lewis gives us a strong reminder that God truly loves each and everyone of us. We are each replica’s of God and He has chosen to inhabit the world with us. Another thing I enjoyed was the idea that God has created a world where we are all united under Christ, but each one of us is still a unique son or daughter of a Heavenly Father. Personally this stood out to me because in the past couple of weeks I feel like I have forgotten who I am as an individual and who I am working on becoming. Sometimes we (as human beings) get so caught up in being with other people and relying on someone else that we lose our own personal identity. I was glad for the reminder that God wants me to be a distinct person, separate but still united with others. 

For some reason I feel the need to bear my testimony. I know that God is on my side of this battle against the devil. Heavenly Father wants me to succeed, and I know that as I strive to become more Christlike and develop my discipleship more fully that Heavenly Father will bless me far beyond my ability to comprehend. I'm so grateful for the opportunity I have to attend BYU because it allows me to aline every facet of my life with the Gospel, including my academic studies. And for me, that truly is a blessing.