C.S. Lewis and his Deeper Magic

            Isn't it interesting how anything can be interpreted, understood, or read in more than one way? Through devices such as tone or even through word choice, the most simple saying can suddenly become a complex phrase of many meanings. Isn't it interesting that one might not be able to see that other meaning, only the surface meaning. What allows somebody to go deeper than the surface? What allows one to get to the root, from which all meanings can be easily discovered? Is it age, or culture, or maybe religion? Ambiguity in meaning is clearly found in each of these. However, this cliched use of many different meanings is most often found in something much more broad, yet on the contrary, very specific. This something is called literature. Yes, ever since man started writing, literature continues to throw puzzles at readers in the form of metaphors, allusions and allegories. C.S. Lewis" novels, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Last Battle, which are parts of The Chronicles of Narnia, were written for the imaginations and enjoyment of children. However, Lewis conceals a deeper Christian meaning in these allegories for older readers to discover. The two plots of these stories are allusions to stories told in the Bible and embody the Christian ideals that are acquired during one's youth. The characters portray qualities of Lewis himself before and after his conversion to Christianity. The characters in these two novels also clearly symbolize key characters that are introduced to readers in these Biblical stories and have become part of our faith throughout the ages. .
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             If one looks at Lewis" biographical history, one would then see that he illustrates the phases that he went through as the characters in his books. Lewis grew up in Belfast, Ireland in the late 1800s and early 1900s. He was an atheist, as were the other members of his family. This was also because it was the popular belief at the time.