Clarisse: Welcome back, one and all!
Angeli: Hello everyone! I’m very excited to dive into chapters 3 and 4! 😀
Eliza: Eyooo everybody!!
Aaron: Hello all! We return to the final book in The Chronicles of Narnia, although I don’t return as I wasn’t here last week.
Clarisse: The last chapter ended in a somewhat stress-inducing cliffhanger. Tirian and Jewel attack the Calormenes to free the Talking Horse.
Angeli: Yes, although they were obviously outnumbered ;-;
Eliza: And then they have to be attacked afterwards too! So much of the stuff that’s happening is so messed up…
Clarisse: And, apparently, it’s “all by [Aslan’s] orders.” The conversation that Tirian and Jewel have after they escape is very interesting. If you were in that situation, would you have believed that it was really Aslan?
Eliza: Honestly, it would’ve been really scary. But I think, like the other Narnians, I’d also be in doubt but… probably too afraid to disobey until I was sure. Because what if, right?
Angeli: Yes, same. The whole situation is confusing and full of doubt, so I’d be really unsure. And I am sure that it must’ve been really confusing for Tirian and Jewel, as well as the other Talking Beasts.
Aaron: Think of it. They, unlike us, have never met Aslan. As such they have no idea what he is really like so I honestly am not super surprised that they were confused. We know that it is against his character, but they have no evidence to base that concept on.
Eliza: Yup. And this just makes it extra upsetting for us. And this part… “‘Do you think I care if Aslan dooms me to death?’ said the King. ‘That would be nothing, nothing at all. Would it not be better to be dead than to have this horrible fear that Aslan has come and is not like the Aslan we have believed in and longed for? It is as if the sun rose one day and were a black sun.’ ‘I know,’ said Jewel. ‘Or as if you drank water and it were dry water.’”
Clarisse: Depressing. :(((
Angeli: Yup.
Aaron: Yes, very depressing. Also, foreshadowing.
Eliza: Yeah :((( and Jewel’s later line when he insists he goes with Tirian to surrender: “If we ever loved one another, let me go with you now. If you are dead and if Aslan is not Aslan, what life is left for me?”
Clarisse: Yep. After this, Tirian and Jewel surrender themselves to the Calormenes, and they finally get to face Shift.
Aaron: I personally think this a really, Really REALLY STUPID idea. They do not know if this is all some plot. They haven’t seen Aslan. They don’t know that this isn’t some conspiracy between a few Narnians and the Calormenes. They know next to nothing. This decision is all based on word-of-mouth and what they can see (the destruction of the lantern waste). They even think that something is not right.
Clarisse: I agree that it’s a stupid idea. But I never really questioned it while reading because the talking animals in the previous books were never malicious or evil, and Tirian and Jewel were already shown to be prone to make “rash” decisions.
Eliza: Yes… they were always trustworthy and honest creatures.
Clarisse: They even repeatedly point that out in Prince Caspian! However, it does make Shift all the more annoying haha.
Aaron: Yes, but the Centaur said that “men and beasts lie” that doesn’t mean that all of them do, it just means some do and it only takes one to form a deceitful plan. However, that said, Lewis does do a good job making it seem relatively natural.
Angeli: Yes, I agree.
Eliza: Agreed. And when the King and Jewel arrive at the hilltop, bound and resigned, that groan of dismay pierced me right in the heart (even if I couldn’t actually hear it!! Lewis whyyyy) :(((
Clarisse: At that point they all knew that they were doomed. And I know we’ve talked about this before, but Shift is very clever with his lies. It’s so incredibly frustrating to me as a reader because while some things are unknown to us, we still know more than the characters — Shift being a manipulative liar is one of those definite things.
Angeli: Yes, it’s so frustrating. Although Shift has those little moments where he has a slip of the tongue.
Eliza: And I hate everything that Shift says in this moment… First about the nuts… stupid, selfish, fat little ape! And that thing about how it’s all the talking beasts’ fault that they’re being sold off into slavery (no one believes the ape about the payment thing…), and the thing about him being a man (it’s so disgusting, almost like a person who pretends they are a different skin color).
Clarisse: And to top it off, there’s the “Tash is Aslan” thing.
Angeli: That has to be one of the most disrespectful things ever done to Aslan and his name.
Eliza: It’s heresy!
Clarisse: Ironically I’d say it’s also offensive to Tash, because it’s made very clear that Tash and Aslan are completely separate entities (? I’m sorry I actually don’t know what Tash is for sure).
Aaron: I would agree. They are separate and I would have to say that I think that in Narnia, Tash is a real being, just as Aslan is a real being. Otherwise, I think that Aslan would not have spoken of Tash in The Horse and His boy.
Clarisse: He is! But I mean, what exactly is he? Is he like a fallen angel (like Morgoth or Sauron in The Lord of the Rings)? It’s not very clear — I think we could definitely talk about this more in later chapters when we have a little more information about Tash.
Eliza: Satan? A false god?
Angeli: Most likely, I think. We only know of Tash’s appearance.
Aaron: We only know that he and Aslan are opposites and that “good” done in Tash’s name is rendered service to Aslan and “evil done in Aslan’s name is rendered service to Tash. Also, we find that Tash is “horrible” and yet also somewhat “respected” if that is the right word by Aslan because Aslan lets Tash be and allows him to do what he wants within his limits. Also, tash seems to be deity of some sort because he is worshipped and it seems that Alsan thinks that oaths and sacrifices made to him do matter and are real oaths and sacrifices.
Angeli: Ooooh.
Clarisse: Yes. Tash is very murky territory, mostly, especially this early in the book.
Eliza: Yup. But that lamb’s questions was very good anyhow… Despite it being just a child, I’m sure that they’re much wiser than that ape ever will be. Oh, the wisdom of a child!
Clarisse: Moving on, however, let’s return to the King. Who is tied up to a tree. The talking animals who bring him supper always melt my heart. It shows that despite the confusing and trying times, some people (or animals) can still be kind and selfless.
Eliza: I am glad that despite all the darkness, light still manages to shine through. It is truly very Narnian of them.
Angeli: Yes. Also, is it just me or does this scene remind you of the Crucifixion?
Clarisse: It does! There are a few similarities. And the Talking Mice being there actually made me think of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, when they removed the ropes that bound Aslan.
Angeli: Yes, that too!
Eliza: Oooh, I didn’t notice that!
Clarisse: Is it just me or would the book have gone in an entirely different direction if these characters knew what a real lion looked like? Haha. Lewis keeps on explaining that they had never seen a “common lion.” If they had, would they have known that the Aslan they were seeing was fake?
Eliza: I know, right? So much trouble could’ve been avoided… But it seems that, even to begin with in LWW, Lions weren’t that common a species.
Angeli: Yeah, I noticed that too.
Clarisse: To be fair I don’t know of any lions in our world that live in an area as cold and forest-y as Narnia.
Eliza: Also, I’m sure this is obvious, but I really can’t stop thinking about Revelations. I mean, the end of the world and all, and also the thing about not being fooled by false gods and people just saying they’re Jesus echoes very loudly in my head every time I read this.
Angeli: Yes!!! I was also thinking about the Book of Revelation when I was reading this.
Clarisse: True, the entire book is the Narnian equivalent of Revelation.
Eliza: Which just makes complete sense as to why it’s a rather disturbing and kind of terrifying book compared to all the other Narnia ones.
Angeli: That’s true.
Clarisse: Gahh, this scene where Tirian remembers all the past adventures from the other Narnia books and cries out to Aslan is so… moving. I remember actually tearing up listening to the audio play version of this. Aside from the raw emotion coming from Tirian, the way he travels back through all the stories makes the reader remember all the journeys they’ve gone through with those characters.
Eliza: I know right??? I think I might have, too. It’s so beautiful and so… real. I’m sure all of us have had those moments where we just want to cry out to God (and do). I remember learning last Sunday about how Faith and Hope cannot exist without the other, and this moment is a very good example of it.
Angeli: I agree. This scene with Tirian is just so relatable.
Aaron: It’s also nice to see, as always, ties back the the past of Narnia. It makes the world seem more tied together and also provides a sense of reality. We learn the history of our world so it is only fitting that Narnians should do the same.
Clarisse: Okay, but the dream. I would say this scene was like a fever dream — but it technically is a sort of dream/vision. It was so exciting reading it from Tirian’s perspective because Lewis never confirms who the people are but you know, even when he doesn’t.
Eliza: I know, right! This part was so exciting! And we get so many implications from just seeing this—such as how they actually started spending time together because they are all friends of Narnia. It’s like a council of some sort!
Clarisse: I always feel like screaming when Peter finally says his name, but that’s when the chapter ends.
Eliza: WHYYYYYYYY. This book has got to have the worst cliffhangers ever. At the very least, they are the worst cliffhangers Lewis ever gave.
Angeli: Haha, yes! I love how we got to see the others. I missed them, lol.
Clarisse: “That waking was about the worst moment he had ever had in his life.” What a terrible way to end the chapter, haha.
Aaron: Terrifying. And to think that I have to sleep shortly. 😱 But yeah, Lewis, WHY?! Please, cease the cliffhangers. Some people do have to sleep.
Eliza: I may or may not have read a bit of the next chapter because that was how awful it was. But unfortunately, that’s for us to discuss next week…
Angeli: Lol same. I couldn’t wait so I just had to peek for some bits of the next few chapters, hehe.
Clarisse: Yes… another week of painful waiting… well, I guess we’ll have to see what happens next week. See you!
Aaron: Until next week, when we will once again return to Narnia!
Angeli: Yes! See you guys next time! :DD
Eliza: Bookworms, out!™
Bookworms and Bluestockings 