Study Guide for Prince Caspian. by C. S. Lewis. Study Guide by Vicki Tillman. Sample file

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1 Study Guide for Prince Caspian by C. S. Lewis Study Guide by Vicki Tillman Copyright 2013 Vicki Tillman. Published by 7 Sisters IHH, LLC. All rights reserved Please be respectful of copyrighted material. Purchase entitles you to only one copy of the book. For additional copies, please go to for additional information, please see terms of use and privacy policy

2 Study Guide for Prince Caspian 3 Prince Caspian by C. S. Lewis Study Guide by Vicki Tillman You never outgrow the Chronicles of Narnia. No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally (and often far more) worth reading at the age of fifty except, of course, books of information. The only imaginative works we ought to grow out of are those which it would have been better not to have read at all. (Of Other Worlds: Essays and Stories, On Stories.) This Study Guide with vocabulary is appropriate for high school students of varying levels. I. Basic/Average: Look up the definition (appropriate in the context of the book) for each vocabulary word. Use the questions as a springboard for discussion with your student (or for more fun, get together with a group of students who have just read the book for a discussion group/costume party!) II. College Prep: Assign your student these questions to answer independently (using complete sentences) as he or she reads the book, and follow up with discussion. For each vocabulary word, look up the definition (appropriate in the context of the book) and write a paraphrase, or use the word in an original phrase or sentence. III. Advanced: Do the College Prep assignment + have your student create four people groups and write a page about each of the groups. Your student should describe the people group s location, appearance, habits, dress, and personality traits. After you have described the people groups, draw figures or use a computer to create people group sketches.{if you completed the Study Guide for The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, use your subcreation as a basis for this. (Subcreation means a world created by the author (the student). The subcreation description includes land and water features and ecosystems (forests, plains, deserts, etc).} If your student wishes to write a complete myth/fantasy story, more instruction is available in Advanced Guide to High School Short Story Writing: Myth/Fantasy, also by Vicki Tillman. IV. Honors: College Prep+ Advanced+ Read one of Lewis favorite books (the list is in his biography

3 Study Guide for Prince Caspian 4 Background Information: C.S. Lewis Biography The central story of my life is about nothing else I call it Joy All Joy reminds. It is never a possession, always a desire for something longer ago or further away or still about to be. Surprised by Joy. C. S. Lewis was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland on November 29, He was the younger of two sons born to Albert and Flora. They lived in a lovely, rambling old home called Little Lea that featured a vista of faraway purple mountains. These mountains figure in his stories later on in life. Although named Clive Staples, at an early age Lewis informed his family that he preferred to be called Jack. Friends and family used that name for him his entire life. Jack and his brother, Warren, were very close. Their parents encouraged their rich imaginations. One of the most important ways the Lewis family invested in imagination was reading. The Lewis family valued books, There were books in the study, books in the drawing room, books in the cloakroom, books (two deep) in the great bookcase on the landing, books in a bedroom, books piled as high as my shoulder in the cistern attic (Surprised by Joy). Jack spent many happy days reading great literature (he read Milton s Paradise Lost when he was 10 years old), exploring the rambling house, and writing imaginative stories. He often wrote about a country called Boxen where chivalrous mice fought giant cats. The hero of Boxen was a courageous mouse named Peter who wore fine clothes and spoke like a human. Jack even wrote a 700-year history of that country. Although raised in a Christian home, Lewis faith was challenged when his mother died of cancer when he was only ten years old. He had prayed for her healing, but she died and his heart was broken. In Surprised by Joy, Lewis describes the aftermath of his mother s passing, With my mother s death all settled happiness, all that was tranquil, reliable, disappeared from my life. There was to be much fun, many pleasures, great stabs of Joy; but no more of the old security. It was sea and islands now; the great continent had sunk like Atlantis. Lewis and his brother were sent to Wynard School, a school where the abuse by peer and headmaster were unbearable. Several other schools were experienced, where poor conditions and teaching style led him to abandon his faith altogether. I was at this time living, like so many Atheists in a whirl of contradictions. I maintained that God did not exist. I was also very angry with God for not existing. I was equally angry with Him for creating a world. (Surprised by Joy.)

4 Study Guide for Prince Caspian 5 Two good things came out of this time: His discovery of Norse mythology- a love that he came to share as an adult with his friend, J.R.R. Tolkien. Meeting his friend, Arthur Greeves, who next to his brother, Warren, was his dearest friend. Greeves shared his love for Norse mythology and imaginative thinking. Lewis writes in The Four Loves, Friendship is born at the moment when one man says to another What? You too?i thought that no one but myself. Because of this and other rich friendships, Lewis writes often on the topic. After much pleading with his father, Lewis was sent to live with a tutor, William T. Kirkpatrick. Kirkpatrick, a retired college president and excellent teacher who specialized in logic and philosophy, had a profound influence on Jack s thinking. Living with Kirkpatrick and his wife also restored some stability to his life. (The old professor in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is modeled after Professor Kirk.) While Lewis studied secular and atheistic ideas under Kirkpatrick, he also discovered Scottish author and pastor, George Macdonald s Phantastes, a book that baptized my imagination. (Surprised by Joy). Phantastes is an unusual sort of epic fairy tale with imaginative characters and locations. At age 18, Jack headed off to Oxford University but his studies were interrupted the next year by World War I. He served as a second lieutenant in the Third Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry. He fought on the front lines for over a year until he was wounded in chest and hands by shrapnel. After recuperation in a military hospital, he returned to his studies in London. While in training for the war, Lewis befriended E.F.C. Paddy Moore. They became close friends. Before heading to the front in France, the two made a pact that if one of them died, the remaining friend would take care of the other s family. Lewis honored that pact. Paddy s mother and sister, Maureen, needed support. Jack financially and physically invested in them (visiting and helping care for the home even sweeping and helping to make marmalade) for the rest of Mrs. Moore s life. After his graduation, Lewis was offered a position as instructor at Magdalen College, one of the thirty colleges that make up Oxford University. There he became friends with brilliant teachers, writers, and thinkers like J.R.R. Tolkien. Eventually they formed themselves into a writer s group called the Inklings that met weekly at The Eagle and Child pub to read each other s works, comment, and generally have good conversation. (Can you imagine listening to Tolkien read Lord of the Rings, or Lewis read The Screwtape Letters?) God began to draw Lewis towards him in several ways. The friends in the Inklings began to have an unexpected impact on Lewis. Several of the members of the group were Christians (Tolkien, Owen Barfield, Hugo Dyson, Neville Coghill) who openly shared their faith. Then Lewis began reading the works of C.K. Chesterton. In reading Chesterton, as in reading MacDonald, I did

5 Study Guide for Prince Caspian 6 not know what I was letting myself in for. A young man who wishes to remain a sound Atheist cannot be too careful in his reading. There are traps everywhere - Bibles laid open, millions of surprises fine nets and stratagems. God is, if I may say it, very unscrupulous. (Surprised by Joy). Lewis recorded his conversion to Christianity happened in pieces. First in 1929 came a simple, God-given moment: In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed; perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England. I did not then see what is now the most shining and obvious thing; the Divine humility which will accept a convert even on such terms. The Prodigal Son at least walked home on his own feet. But who can duly adore that Love which will open the high gates to a prodigal who is brought in kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance of escape? The words compelle intrare, compel them to come in, have been so abused by wicked men that we shudder at them; but, properly understood, they plumb the depth of the Divine mercy. The hardness of God is kinder than the softness of me, and His compulsion is our liberation. (Surprised by Joy) Then in 1931, while riding to the Whipsnade Zoo on a motorcycle with his brother another Godmoment happened: I know very well when, but hardly how, the final step was turn. I was driven to Whipsnade one sunny morning. When we set out I did not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and when we reached the zoo I did. Yet I had not exactly spent the journey in thought. Nor in great emotion. Emotional is perhaps the last word we can apply to some of the most important events. It was more like when a man, after a long sleep, still lying motionless in bed, becomes aware that he is now awake. (Surprised by Joy) At last, there came an evening in which the intellectual struggle was set to rest. Lewis had long viewed the Christian Scriptures and its stories as myth. He said that all cultures have their myths. One rainy September evening, Tolkien and Dyson came to visit Lewis at his rooms at Magdalen College. After dinner, Tolkien and Lewis took stroll down Addison s Walk at the college. Through the blustery wind and showers, they talked about myths. Lewis explained his belief that myths are false and that most civilizations had their own myths dating back before the stories in the Bible. So Tolkien explained to him, Jack, don t you understand that pagan people had a glimpse through their imaginations of the truth that was going to happen, and they tell stories about what they re longing for? And that it actually happened two thousand years ago? It s not just in somebody s mind. It s not just a story. It s a place in history. There was a man named Jesus, and plenty of literature that was non-christian testified to this, and to much of what he was like. And so this is the myth that became real. (The Magic Never Ends) Mrs. Moore and Lewis purchased a home near the college and named it The Kilns (because there

6 Study Guide for Prince Caspian 7 were old brick kilns there). Warren retired from the military and moved in with them. The Kilns were four miles from his Magdalen offices, but Lewis loved to walk (a habit learned from Professor Kirkpatrick), so he would often walk there. He also spent many of his leisure hours in walking tours of the nearby Cotswald countryside. At this time, Lewis became a serious writer. He started with books on apologetics and theology like The Pilgrim s Regress: An Allegorical Apology for Christianity, Reason and Romanticism (1933). Then he launched into fiction with the Space Trilogy in Numerous other theological books followed. Then The Chronicles of Narnia were written between 1950 and In 1942, the Oxford Socratic Club was started as a forum for discussion between Christians and non-believers about matters of faith and religion. Lewis served as president from It was popular with undergraduate students, with as many as eighty to one hundred attending the every-other-monday-night groups. Lewis and invited guests would often debate the hot topics of the day. The rhetoric skills learned from Professor Kirkpatrick were vital to his success in these events. Lewis felt that the intellectual health of Christianity was nurtured by debate with nonbelievers. Lewis released his book The Problem of Pain in It was eagerly received at that time because Britain was heavily impacted by the war. Almost every family was touched by trouble and loss. He wrote and released The Screwtape Letters during the London blitz when Hitler s forces were bombing the capital city on a regular basis (killing 7000 Londoners and injuring 9000). British citizens again loved the book and drew connections between Hitler and his forces and the devil and his minions in the book. People viewed Lewis as a source of spiritual wisdom and encouragement. During this time, the BBC turned to Lewis to help provide spiritual encouragement and scriptural teaching so that people who could not be in church (because they were in the military or had lost their church buildings among other reasons), could hear the basics of the faith and feel encouraged. Lewis was asked by J.W. Welch to do a series of talks on something like The Christian Faith As I see It- by a Layman : I am sure there is a need of a positive restatement of Christian doctrine in lay language. (C.S. Lewis in a Time of War). Thus, Lewis became a popular radio broadcaster. Throughout World War II, Lewis aired an influential radio series for the BBC Home Service (the British Broadcasting Corporation s wartime name. (After the war, this series was printed as Mere Christianity.) Lewis and other religious broadcasters felt that radio was important in maintaining British morale and health of soul. In 1956, the Carnegie Medal was awarded to Lewis for The Last Battle, the last book in The

7 Study Guide for Prince Caspian 8 Chronicles of Narnia. (A Carnegie Medal is awarded each year to an outstanding children s book.) In 1956, Lewis married Joy Davidman Gresham, an American divorcee who had come to England with her two young sons to rebuild her life. Joy was Jewish and had converted to Christianity in part from reading Lewis books. At first the marriage was civil - a formality so that she could stay in Britain. Over time they fell in love and had an official church ceremony. Unfortunately, she developed bone cancer and died four years later. Lewis wrote honestly about his grief and wrestling with God in his book A Grief Observed. Lewis continued to be a popular professor, speaker and writer until he died on November 22, 1963 (the same day President John F. Kennedy was shot). Good Readers If you are to understand C.S. Lewis, you must understand how much he loved to read. He read voraciously. He is often quoted as saying that there is never a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit him. It is said he took notes and made outlines on the inside covers of each book. Lewis was known by his friends as one of the best read men of his generation. He read vigorously all sorts of material - low brow novels to classic literature. Some of his favorite literature eras were ancient writings from the Middle Ages and before. More on Good Reading Lewis believed that what was more important than whether a book is good or bad, was whether the readers themselves are good or bad. A good reader has something in common with someone who falls in love, who fights for a moral cause, or who lives dedicated to the quest for knowledge - good reading, like all these, involves surrender. When we are in love, we surrender to our own emotions (kept pure, this means we give up our self-centeredness and think about the person we love), when fighting for a cause we surrender our comfort to the struggle, when on the quest for knowledge we surrender to wisdom (have you ever noticed you can t learn algebra unless you quit fighting and surrender to the realization that you must and will learn it?). A good reader does something similar to each of these; he enters fully into the world and opinions of others while reading the book. He allows the book to sweep him up into another world. A shallow reader will never truly experience what he reads. A good reader, on the other hand, surrenders to the book and it engages him.

8 Study Guide for Prince Caspian 9 Here are the books that influenced his life most: Phantastes by George McDonald The Aeneid byvirgil The Temple by George Herbert The Prelude by William Wordsworth The Idea of the Holy by Rudolf Otto The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius Life of Samuel Johnson by James Boswell Descent into Hell by Charles Williams Theism and Humanism by Arthur James Balfour Other favorite authors included John Bunyan, Jane Austen, William Morris, Edmund Spenser, G.K. Chesterton, and JRR Tolkein (The C.S.Lewis Encyclopedia) The Ideas Behind Prince Caspian A year after the Pevensie children s adventure to Narnia, they return in a novel about courage, chivalry and a return to old values. Here are some ideas that are integrated symbolically in the book: Old West There are many cultures in the world, past and present. Lewis did not discount cultures from the Far East, Africa, or the Americas. However, because he was a professor of ancient and medieval literature, he was most interested in western Europe. He called this the West. Lewis was intimately familiar with the thinking and culture of times past in Europe ( the Old West ). He found in this culture honesty, nobility, courage, and spirituality which have been lost in the Modern-era West. Pre-modern Era This is the time period that covers any time before the industrial revolution. Lewis was especially interested in ancient times through the medieval period. Lewis called this time in Europe, Old West. There were two divisions in this time period: the time before Christ and the time after his birth. Especially in medieval times, spirituality was highly valued (although services and rituals were considerably different in form than modern Protestantism, the medieval community revolved around the church). Modern Era The time of the machine and factory, especially mid-1800s till somewhere in the 70s. One saying

9 Study Guide for Prince Caspian 10 of the day was, You can t stop progress. In that era, only tangible things were viewed as real. Spiritual things were discounted. Manmade things were valued at the expense of nature and environment. C.S. Lewis said that modernism has a Hideous Strength (which is the name of his science fiction novel that addresses modernism). Joy One of the major quests of C.S. Lewis entire life was the quest for joy. Joy is somewhat of a combination of a yearning, desire, or longing. These point to love, zest for life, meaning, and numinous (a pervasive sense of the Supernatural; a sense of God s presence) The concept of numinous will be addressed further in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. When these are rolled up together, one has the experience of joy. We can only truly experience joy when we are Christian, because the experience of joy requires knowledge of the Joy Giver. Lewis said that here on earth we only receive the tastes of joy. When we have little tastes of joy, we are experiencing foretastes of the ultimate joy - heaven. He felt that the desire for heaven and for the joy that is experienced there, is imprinted on every person s soul. (C.S. Lewis Encyclopedia) He felt that our longing and desire for joy is labeled well by the German word Sehnsucht. This word is common to German and Scandinavian literature. In these literatures, it is given the symbol of a blue flower. (Watch in the Narnia books for random blue flowers.) The Power of Fantasy/Faery Tales Lewis felt that the power of fantasy or faery tales is the imagination. Remember - the imagination, according to Lewis is the part of the mind in charge of meaning/purpose. So when a reader uses his/her imagination while reading a highly creative story, he/she is learning about his/ her meaning or purpose. By putting his stories in a fantasy realm, he allows people to find an importance to life or lessons which are hidden by the veil of familiarity, for example: The child enjoys his cold meat (otherwise dull to him) by pretending it is buffalo, just killed with his own bow and arrow. And the child is wise. The real meat comes back to him more savory for having been dipped in a story; you might say that only then is it the real meat. (The Quotable Lewis). Meaning and Purpose