Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader

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Larry Wright Associate Professor R. Mullins ENG 102 B0Z3 16 April 2014 The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader Redemption Redemption is a common thread that C.S. Lewis uses to knit his message together within the characters throughout The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader. During their adventurous voyage, Eustace Scrubb, Lucy, Edmund, and Prince Caspian must each endure many trials. Only through their temptations are the children open to receive redemption by Aslan, the Great Lion. “Aslan, meaning “lion” in Turkish,” (Akdikmen 428). is a talking lion, son of the Emperor-Over-the-Sea, who is wise, compassionate, mysterious, and beloved. Although he is gentle and loving, Aslan is also powerful, dangerous and “not a tame lion.” (Lewis 182). Eustace, for example, recognized his need for redemption. The only one who could redeem him was Aslan. C.S. Lewis’s character of Aslan is parallel to Christ. He demonstrates throughout the story that salvation must be God-centered and can never work if one approaches it with a humanistic focus. As Edmund puts it, “Well – he knows me,” said Edmund. “He is the Great Lion, the son of the Emperor-beyond-the Sea, who saved me and saved Narnia.” (Lewis 117). Eustace may never have been redeemed if he had not been exposed to Narnia or Aslan or even brought into that fantastic adventure through the painting on the wall. What is redemption? By definition, redemption “is the release from legal obligation or deliverance from desperate circumstances, closely connected with a payment necessary to effect that release.” (Freedman 1114). Therefore, redemption is the act of returning something back to you by paying a price. Jesus paid the price for all sinners through his blood sacrifice. Aslan, who parallels Christ, also paid a blood price through his death, burial, and resurrection. Here,
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