The inquiry of this essay is to examine the expression of evil in fantasy literature with a special focus on J.K. Rowlings’ Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s stone and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, but also C.S. Lewis’ Narnia the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and Narnia the Last Battle. The purpose is to illuminate different depictions of evil in the books and reflect what these depictions can tell us about evil in our contemporary context. With this essay I want to show how world views are present in fantasy literature with a special focus on the portrayal of evil and its significance for the understanding of the narrative. I mean that the understanding and depiction of evil is a universal problem and an existential issue of relevance to world views.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis is internationally considered as one of the classics of children’s literature. The series consists of seven books, of which only the first four were translated into Afrikaans, namely Die Towenaar se Neef (The Magician’s Nephew), Die Leeu, die Heks en die Hangkas (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe), Die Perd en sy Seun (The Horse and his Boy) and Prins Kaspian (Prince Caspian). According to the publisher, Human & Rousseau, they have no intention to translate the remainder of the series. The three books that have not been translated into Afrikaans are The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair and The Last Battle. The main aim of this study is the practical translation of a selection of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The Functionalist approach of Vermeer and Nord, Toury and Chesterman’s translation norms from Descriptive Translation Studies, Venuti’s foreignisation and domestication and Klingberg’s cultural contex adaptation form the theoretical framework for both the discussion and analysis of the source text as well as the translation. The four types of translation problems as identified by Nord are used as the framework for the annotations of the translation. By doing a theoretically based translation, the connection between theory and practice is illustrated: the translator chooses a general approach and translation strategies and is consequently guided to make consistent translation choices on macro as well as micro levels. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: C.S. Lewis se Chronicles of Narnia beklee internasionaal ’n gevestigde plek in die kanon van kinder- en jeugliteratuur. Die reeks bestaan uit sewe boeke, waarvan slegs die eerste vier in Afrikaans vertaal is, naamlik Die Towenaar se Neef, Die Leeu, die Heks en die Hangkas, Die Perd en sy Seun en Prins Kaspian. Volgens die uitgewer, Human & Rousseau, word daar nie verdere vertalings van die reeks beoog nie. Die drie onvertaalde boeke in die reeks is The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair en The Last Battle. Hierdie studie fokus hoofsaaklik op die praktiese vertaling van ’n gedeelte van The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Vermeer en Nord se Funksionalisme, Toury en Chesterman se vertaalnorme uit Deskriptiewe Vertaalstudies, Venuti se vervreemding en domestikering en Klingberg se kulturele konteksaanpassing dien as teoretiese raamwerk vir sowel die bespreking en ontleding van die bronteks as die vertaling. Nord se vier tipes vertaalprobleme dien as raamwerk vir die annotasies tot die vertaling. Deur ’n teoreties gebaseerde vertaling te doen word geïllustreer hoe teorie en praktyk by mekaar aansluit: die vertaler kies ’n algemene benadering en vertaalstrategieë, en word sodoende begelei tot konsekwente vertaalbesluite op makro- en mikrovlak.

M.A. / Although a serious Christian apologist and academic writer, Clive Staples Lewis was also well known (and loved) for his fictional works. Lewis was of the opinion that one's faith and chosen profession cannot be separated and he thus aligned the two in his own writing (Schultz and West 1998: 120). Therefore, his writings reflect his Christian faith (after his conversion in 1931) and, although his Ransom (Cosmic) Trilogy (1938, 1943 and 1945), mythological work Till We Have Faces (1956) and The Chronicles of Narnia (1950-1956) are not openly theological, they all deal with figurative representations of both Christ and the Biblical devil. Many studies have explored Lewis's portrayal of Biblical truths in his fictional writing. As Christopher Mitchell pointed out in his essay entitled "Bearing the Weight of Glory," a few months before his death, Lewis stated that he was writing in order to bring about an encounter between the reader and Christ (Mills 1998: 5). While on the surface these novels are not emphatically about the battle between heaven and hell, underlying the stories is a broader message of rivalry between good and evil. A student of Lewis's, Harry Blamires, remembers Lewis saying that he went about the task of writing The Chronicles of Narnia much as he did the writing of his serious theological work, Mere Christianity (Mills 1998: 15). Much research has thus been conducted to explore Lewis's portrayal of God in his fiction, yet there has been very little research on his metaphysical perspective on Satan. His fictional novels — most notably The Chronicles of Namia — are largely allegorical and often subtly allude to the devil through the characters. It is this subtle allusion to evil, and specifically characteristics of the Biblical Satan in The Chronicles, that I would like to explore in this dissertation.

This dissertation treats the theory and practice of C. S. Lewis's theological imagination, focussing upon the imaginative use he made of his professional expertise in medieval and renaissance literature. Its approach is principally expository rather than an evaluative. Chapter One outlines the centrality of the imagination to a proper understanding of Lewis's works. Chapter Two examines Lewis's own theory of imagination and surveys how he practised it as a literary critic. We compare and contrast Lewis's theory and practice of imagination with that of his friend, the theologian, Austin Faffer. Chapter Three looks in more detail at Lewis's imaginative practice, in particular his fascination with the images supplied by the seven planets of the Ptolemaic cosmos, which he termed 'spiritual symbols of permanent value'. We analyse what he meant by 'sprit' and 'symbol'. Chapter Four introduces the main argument of the dissertation namely that these seven spiritual symbols structure the works for which Lewis is best known, the seven 'Chronicles of Narnia'. We claim to have uncovered the governing imaginative blueprint of the septet. We address Lewis's capacity for and interest in secrecy and consider why this planetary theme has remained hitherto undetected. In Chapters Five to Eleven we take the seven planets in turn and trace the use Lewis made of them through out his writings. We analyse the planetary symbolism undergirding each Chronicle and conclude each chapter with an exegesis of the Christological message of each book so understood. Chapter Twelve examines factors which motivated Lewis to focus his imaginative energies upon Ptolemaic cosmology and suggests one particular occasioning factor behind the composition of the Chronicles. In addition, we consider theological and pedagogical reasons why he kept silent about the planetary theme. We conclude by indicating certain consequences that our argument has for future readings of these seven works.

This thesis investigates the function of representations of the Orient in fantasy literature for children with a focus on The Chronicles of Narnia as exemplifying its most problematic manifestation. According to Edward Said (2003:1-2), the Orient is one of Europe’s ‘deepest and most recurring images of the Other… [which]…has helped to define Europe (or the West) as its contrasting image, idea, personality, experience.’ However, values are grouped around otherness in fantasy literature as in no other genre, facilitating what J.R.R. Tolkien (2001:58) identifies as Recovery, the ‘regaining of a clear view… [in order that] the things seen clearly may be freed from the drab blur of triteness or familiarity.’ In Chapter One, it is argued that this gives the way the genre deals with spaces and identities characterized as Oriental, which in Western stories are themselves vested with qualities of strangeness, a peculiar significance. Specifically, new ways of perceiving the function of representations of the Other are explored in the genre of fantasy. Edward Said’s concept of imaginative geographies is then introduced and the significance of this concept in light of the fictional spaces of fantasy is explored. Next, fantasy’s links to representations of the Orient in Romance literature are explained, and the way in which these representations are determined by the heritage of Orientalist discourse is examined. Finally, the issue of children’s literature as colonial space and the implications of this in a fantasy framework are discussed. Chapter Two begins by introducing C.S. Lewis and explaining the ideology at work in The Chronicles of Narnia. The order in which The Chronicles should be approached is then established, and the construction of identity in the first three of The Chronicles is examined. Chapter Three focuses on The Horse and His Boy, the book in which the pseudo-Oriental space of Calormen most prominently figures. Chapter Four is devoted to the last two books of The Chronicles with emphasis on the role played by the Other in the destruction of Narnia in The Last Battle. In Chapter Five, I sum up the essential problems of representing the Orient as illustrated by my study of The Chronicles of Narnia. Representations of the Orient in The Chronicles are compared with pseudo-Oriental constructions in Castle in the Air, by Diana Wynne Jones, Emperor Mage and The Woman Who Rides Like A Man by Tamora Pierce and both Voices and The Earthsea Quartet by Ursula K. Le Guin. The similarities and differences evident in the representations of the Orient in all these works are traced and the implications of them are explored. Le Guin in particular is noted as an author who demonstrates some ways to break free of Orientalist paradigms of identity. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / English / Unrestricted

The author of this study explored the works of C.S. Lewis as well as memoirs and scholarship concerning his work to illustrate his transformational leadership. Works reviewed included Lewis's fiction, such as his science fiction trilogy and his children's series, The Chronicles of Narnia, as well as his works of nonfiction, such as essays that addressed social issues. The secondary aim for the author of this study was to determine whether the transformational qualities Lewis exhibited also existed in his characters. Transformational leadership served as the conceptual framework for the descriptive explanatory qualitative design. Essentially the study analyzed the primary works of Lewis and subsequent scholarship through the lens of transformational leadership. Data collected included document review, interviews with Lewis scholars, and observations. Synthesis of the data revealed that Lewis possessed the 4 qualities of transformational leadership established by Bass (1985). Derived from a blended evaluation of scholarship, observational data, and interview responses, findings indicated that Lewis exhibited the 4 qualities of transformational leadership: Idealized influence, Inspirational Motivation, Intellectual Stimulation, and Individual Consideration. In addition, Lewis created a transformational leader in Aslan from The Chronicles of Narnia and depicted pseudotransformational leadership in both his science fiction trilogy and The Chronicles of Narnia. The author of this study explored a contextual and historical view of Lewis as a veteran of World War I and a voice of hope during World War II. During the period pseudotransformational leadership existed in the reality of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime and echoed in the literature of Lewis in the N.I.C.E. organization from the science fiction trilogy and Shift from The Chronicles of Narnia. Recommendations for further study encourage future scholars to expand the roster of transformational leaders to include artists and thinkers and to examine various aspects of Lewis yet needing research.

The thesis is focused on finding the philosophical dimension of a story, with respect to stories for children. It is also concerned with the variable possibilities how to use stories in the Philosophy for Children dialogue. Using the knowledge of literally science and using the articles about the role of story in Philosophy for Children, the thesis elaborates the definition of the philosophical dimension of story. Its further attempt is to suggest general method how to seize the philosophical dimension of every possible story for the purpose of philosophical dialogue with children. The suggested method is applied on the stories The Little prince by A. Saint-Exupery and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis in the last part of the thesis.

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Since the publication of the book The Screwtape Letters in 1942, ‘C. S. Lewis’ has been a widely recognized name in both Britain and the United States. The significance of the writings of this scholar of medieval literature, Christian apologist and author of the children’s books The Chronicles of Narnia, while widely recognized, has not previously been investigated. Using a wide range of sources, including archival material, book reviews, monographs, articles and interviews, this dissertation examines the reception of Lewis in Britain and America, comparatively, from within his lifetime until the recent past. To do so, the methodology borrows from the history of the book and history of reading fields, and writes the biography of Lewis’s Mere Christianity and The Chronicles of Narnia. By contextualizing the writing of these works in the 1940s and 1950s, the evolution of Lewis’s respective platforms in Britain and America and these works’ reception across the twentieth century, this project contributes to the growing body of work that interrogates the print culture of Christianity. Extensive secondary reading, moreover, permitted the investigation of cultural, intellectual, social and religious factors informing Lewis’s reception, the existence of Lewis devotees in America and the lives of Mere Christianity and The Chronicles of Narnia in particular. By paying close attention to the historical conditions of authorship, publication and reception, while highlighting similarities and contrasts between Britain and America, this dissertation provides a robust account of how and why Lewis became one of the most successful Christian authors of the twentieth century.