From BookJive
| « prev | next » |
|
|
| Edition: | HarperCollins (Paperback) |
| Author: | C. S. Lewis |
| Published: | September 2000 |
| Pages: | 224 |
| ISBN 10: | 0064409414 |
| New: | $2.58 (66) |
| Used: | $0.01 (147) |
| + add to my profile | |
In The Last Battle, Lewis brings The Chronicles of Narnia to an end. The book deals with the end of time in the old Narnia and sums up the series by linking the experience of the human children in Narnia with their lives in the real world.
The story begins during the reign of the last king of Narnia, King Tirian. Narnia has experienced a long period of peace and prosperity begun during the reign of King Caspian X, whose dynasty was established in Prince Caspian and confirmed by the succession of his son Rilian at the conclusion of The Silver Chair. Tirian, who is the great-grandson of the great-grandson of Rilian, is informed by a Centaur named Roonwit that strange and uncomfortable things are happening to his land and that the stars portend ominous developments.
The king's magical call for help results in a vision of a room in London where he sees an old man, an old woman, three boys, and two girls (Digory Kirke and Polly Plummer from The Magician's Nephew; Peter Pevensie, Edmund Pevensie, and Eustace Scrubb; and Lucy Pevensie and Jill Pole, respectively). The people in the room can see him also and demand to know why he's there. Although Tirian can't speak, they guess that he's from Narnia and shortly afterwards, there's the arrival of Eustace and Jill, the two children who last visited Narnia, and who rescued Prince Rilian from the enchantment of a sorceress. Meanwhile, the Calormenes, the people of the great empire to the south with long standing animosities towards Narnia, have developed internal allies in Narnia in the form of an Antichrist-figure, Shift the Ape (Caughey 2005, pp. 27), who persuades his somewhat reluctant "friend" Puzzle the Donkey to pose as Aslan by wearing the skin of a lion. Shift spreads the heresy that Aslan and the Calormene god Tash (one of the figures in the series with demonic qualities) are one and the same. The heresy causes the dwarfs and some other Narnian talking beasts to lose their faith in Aslan and their loyalty to the King. Meanwhile, Shift proceeds to sell Narnia into Calormene slavery. Tirian has only a small loyal force to fight the Calormenes, and he prepares to die in a last stand against the forces of darkness.
The Last Battle concludes with Aslan stepping in to bring Narnia to an end. Tirian, Jill, Eustace, and the few animals who are loyal fight the Calormenes; most of the other animals stay neutral for fear of invoking Aslan's wrath; and the dwarves kill members of both sides, proclaiming, "The dwarves are for the dwarves." As the battle progresses, all of the animals are killed, and Jill, Eustace, all the surviving dwarves, and Tirian are thrown into a barn where the fake Aslan is supposed to be kept. The leader of the Calormenes is also thrown in. The inside appears to be a beautiful meadow, and there they find the god Tash, much to the Calormen leader's surprise (he never truly believed in Tash). Tash takes the Calormene and leaves. Once the deity is gone, Tirian sees Peter, Edmund, Eustace, Lucy, Jill, Polly, and Digory all dressed in fine clothes standing before him (Susan, who "grew up", is said to be "no longer a friend of Narnia," and therefore is not with them). Aslan also appears and they all go to the barn's door. As they watch, all of the people and animals, including those who had previously died, gather outside the barn and are judged by Aslan. Those who have been loyal to Aslan, or to the morality upheld by Narnians, join Aslan in Aslan's country (heaven). Those who have opposed or deserted him do not pass through the door; rather, they simply turn to shadow. Talking Animals who do not enter become "dumb" animals once again and are turned into shadows like the rest. As the children watch, giant creatures (including a so-called Father Time) rise from the ground and eat all of the vegetation from Narnia, leaving it a barren wasteland, and then die. All the land is subsequently covered by an endless sea. On Aslan's orders, Peter closes the door, and they all follow the lion to a different place.
It becomes clear that nearly all those who had travelled to Narnia in previous books have been reunited in Aslan's country, where they realize that Narnia and England are linked and that they have in fact died on Earth (in a railway accident) and can enjoy an afterlife in a perfect version of Narnia. It is also revealed that Aslan's country is the real Narnia (and the real Earth by extrapolation).
