The Significance of Children in Narnia

562 Words3 Pages
Children: innocence embodied in a single entity. Over time, “the child” in the novel realm has developed to become a representation not only of the pure, carefree immaturity of the child but also to disclose the corrupted state of humanity and adulthood. C.S. Lewis exposes the cynical and tainted reality of adulthood through a Neverland-like world where animals talk and time is irrelevant. He reinvents the idea of the child and creates it to be a concept that is essential to harbor throughout one’s journey through adulthood. Everyone possess an inner child. Lewis is able to support that through his older characters in his novels such as Peter, Susan, and the Professor. Peter and Susan for instance are disbelieving of Lucy’s tales of Narnia, claiming that they are lies and hoaxes. Peter and Susan represent the transition from child to adult. However, by discovering Narnia, they are able to harness the child within, allowing their imagination and curiosity to run wild. In addition, the Professor signifies the ideal adult. Not only does Lewis depict him as educated and logical during his philosophical examination of Lucy’s Narnia experiences, but he also has a childish aspect to himself. By supporting Lucy’s stories of the wardrobe, one can infer that the professor himself has also witnessed the eternal wilderness of Narnia. For instance, when he ponders over the wardrobe, he tells the children that, “[he] should warn [them] that this is a very strange house, and even [he knows] very little about it” (Lewis 49) hinting that there is a likely possibility that an obscure portal to a different realm could exist there. Moreover, if Lewis is pecking at this singular idea of the inner child, what is it about children that makes them so significant to the future of adulthood? Perhaps its imagination and curiosity that children exude that makes their lifestyle so ideal.
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