You should do them in publication order on your first trip through. If you want to do "author" chronological order on a future read that's fine, but everyones very first reading of Narnia must be original publication order . The spoilers in the later books become just that in chronology order. But not in publication order. So dawn treader is no. 3 in this order, and it's my favorite. ( Magicians nephew is number 6, as it should be .)
"There was a boy named Eustace Clarence Scrub, and he almost deserved it." Definitely in the running for Best First Line in an English Language Novel. =)
I'm not entirely convinced that Eustace was dragon-ish to begin with. As a dragon, he actually made himself useful to the others -- giving them high-flying rides, plucking up a massive tree to replace their broken mast, etc. CS Lewis is a man of the 1930s. So, Eustace's talisman was an armband. Lewis was and Englishman. So, Eustace's talisman was gold. With this armband (identity, ideology, whatever) he could become something more than he used to be -- stronger, but more violent and brutish; but when it came time to his participating in their little society, he simply would not have fit. There's a lot going on in this transformation, that goes in a lot of directions. Perhaps Eustace became a soldier; perhaps he became an industrialist or a financier; but what he became, was monstrous in some dimension (the way he ate, alone) so he did not fit in a harmonious community.
I view Eustace as Paul before and after his conversion. I absolutely love how Lewis describes him trying to change himself and thinking he was making himself better but then how when Aslan got a hold of him his claws ripped him plum down to the heart. I also love that Edmund was the first person he talks with about it since Edmund had also been viewed negatively before his experience with Aslan as well. The Dawn Treader is just so awesome on so many levels. Reepicheep is my favorite character and was Lewis' favorite character as well. So much charm in him and I can identify with him greatly.
Thanks! I totally used this to teach a Sunday school of my younger relatives in summer of 2020 after we watched the movie!
You should do them in publication order on your first trip through. If you want to do "author" chronological order on a future read that's fine, but everyones very first reading of Narnia must be original publication order . The spoilers in the later books become just that in chronology order. But not in publication order. So dawn treader is no. 3 in this order, and it's my favorite. ( Magicians nephew is number 6, as it should be .)
"There was a boy named Eustace Clarence Scrub, and he almost deserved it."
Definitely in the running for Best First Line in an English Language Novel. =)
So good!
didn't know that Edmund and Lucy's cousin Eustace was nine years old during the events in the Dawn treader
Where does it say that?
Love it.
Why isn't it representing water/ocean, since the entire thing is a sea voyage?
I'm not entirely convinced that Eustace was dragon-ish to begin with. As a dragon, he actually made himself useful to the others -- giving them high-flying rides, plucking up a massive tree to replace their broken mast, etc.
CS Lewis is a man of the 1930s. So, Eustace's talisman was an armband. Lewis was and Englishman. So, Eustace's talisman was gold. With this armband (identity, ideology, whatever) he could become something more than he used to be -- stronger, but more violent and brutish; but when it came time to his participating in their little society, he simply would not have fit.
There's a lot going on in this transformation, that goes in a lot of directions. Perhaps Eustace became a soldier; perhaps he became an industrialist or a financier; but what he became, was monstrous in some dimension (the way he ate, alone) so he did not fit in a harmonious community.
I view Eustace as Paul before and after his conversion. I absolutely love how Lewis describes him trying to change himself and thinking he was making himself better but then how when Aslan got a hold of him his claws ripped him plum down to the heart. I also love that Edmund was the first person he talks with about it since Edmund had also been viewed negatively before his experience with Aslan as well. The Dawn Treader is just so awesome on so many levels. Reepicheep is my favorite character and was Lewis' favorite character as well. So much charm in him and I can identify with him greatly.