Revisiting Narnia:The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
This has always been one of my personal favorite books in the series. It is the one that seems to engage the most with the fantasy genre, and Lewis's use of seafaring narrative tropes helps to lend a sense of adventure and mystery throughout the plot.
As for story, I say that this is more of an episodic book, with mini-stories being told in every chapter or two. Structurally, it is basically every two chapters that hold a new story within the overarching Quest story. It reminds me of The Odyssey and Gulliver's Travels, and Edmund even mentions "Ulysses when he wanted to go near the Sirens." In the book, Caspian shares that he is searching out seven Lords who were his father's friends and had been lost at sea when his treacherous Uncle Miraz was the usurping 'King' of Narnia (in the story told in the previous book) and Aslan's Country in the far east across the sea.
That overall plot device holds together well, just as well as Odysseus/Ulysses wanting to return home after the war, but it is the mini-stories that are perhaps most captivating. There are the ridiculous Monopods (Duffer/Dufflepuds), the Dark Island where dreams become reality, the sleepers at the feast, the Silver Sea filled with lilies, the underwater kingdom, and more.
What struck me, especially in the early chapters, was that this is both the funniest book in the series but also a book that holds some strong messages about evil and darkness. Quite early on, the characters are captured as slaves, and Caspian very quickly sets things back to right after a short period of uncertainty among the crew. "You have lived on broken hearts all your life," Caspian chastises a particular slave trader, just after refusing to accept maddening arguments about the economic "necessity" of the slave trade.
Caspian has several shining moments throughout the book, but even he has his own moments of weakness. His character development is satisfying throughout the book, however, and he navigates the troubles admirably, for the most part, and when his own character fails him, he is restored by a personal encounter with Aslan.
For much of the book, Lucy operates as the reader's host for the voyage. We often see things alongside her from a close third-person perspective. This provides a sense of comfort and stability throughout, even in the midst of a chaotic and adventurous plot. That is not to say that she does not face problems, however. Lucy, too, has her own moments of weakness, and in some ways her struggle is much greater than in the previous books, what with her being tempted to use spells and using one to eavesdrop on a classmate and her desire to see herself being a beauty which stems out of a jealousy of Susan. Of course, Lucy is quickly restored, also by a personal encounter with Aslan. Although she is told at the end of the book that she is not to return to Narnia, her character arc in this books is satisfying enough to leave us with peace at the end of the book, and there are frequent mentions in the book of moments and memories she carried with her for the rest of her life.
The next main character is introduced on the very first page "There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it." Eustace is the source of much of the humor in the book. Lewis handles him in a curious way! He is a such a larger-than-life kind of character and so annoying at times, that Lewis occasionally ignores him for lengthy periods of time but then comes back around to listen to him opine about whatever thoughts he considers better than his shipmates. I love the scenes when he is turned into a dragon. They are some of the most hilarious and poignant scenes in the entire series and are another example to me of the way that Lewis was not simply writing allegory but using fantasy to tell parables that also work as fantasies and fairy tales. And what dragon story is not also about something else, whether fear or greed or oppression?
When Eustace is restored, it is told by a wonderful mix of perspectives, showing how everyone else reacts to the situation, showing Eustace experience a true change and literal transformation (of course, with Aslan's work), and showing how Edmund is there to comfort him and confide that he too had been a rotten sort of person the first time he visited Narnia. I'm quite certain that C.S. Lewis chose Edmund and Eustace to have names that resemble one another on purpose, and the scenes where they talk together resonate with me as a believer, a forgiven man who lives in gratitude for something I did not deserve.
Edmund's other purpose in the story seems to be to provide a stabilizing leadership role in mentoring Caspian, who certainly needs a wise and experienced voice to help steer him away from misguided decisions and back to wise choices.
And then we come to Reepicheep, that noble Talking Mouse. I actually do not want to write too much about him because I prefer to let Lewis's characterization of him speak for itself. I love his character in this book. Some of the most wondrous descriptions of the Dawn Treader's journey near the End of the World have Reepicheep at the center of them. One of my favorite sections of the book is when Reepicheep dives in the crystal clear water to confront an underwater Mer-King sort of figure, changes his mind, but then discovers that the water is pure and sweet! He exclaims the news to his shipmates and they all find glorious satisfaction in drinking the water, which also provides sustenance in lieu of food. Every time I read this book, I get thirsty for such wonderful water, and, yes, I just took a big sip and gulp of water as I paused from writing this sentence, and I long for water such as is described in the latter chapters of this book at least once a year, and perhaps as often as once a month. In the scriptures, the Lord offered Living Water, and the descriptions in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader make me think of a similar sort of drink, which satisfies and quenches a deep longing in a deep, satisfying way. Reepicheep, found that drink, and he found the horizon, then floated off on his coracle and sailed across the end of the sea towards Aslan's country. What a beautiful picture Lewis paints with his figurative language and imagery!
It almost feels like one could end the reading of the series with this book, and I wouldn't necessarily fault anyone for doing so. Yet, I still believe there is much left to be said in the remaining books, and I'll address that in my next entry! Until then, cheers matey! May the wind and current ever be in your favor!
As for story, I say that this is more of an episodic book, with mini-stories being told in every chapter or two. Structurally, it is basically every two chapters that hold a new story within the overarching Quest story. It reminds me of The Odyssey and Gulliver's Travels, and Edmund even mentions "Ulysses when he wanted to go near the Sirens." In the book, Caspian shares that he is searching out seven Lords who were his father's friends and had been lost at sea when his treacherous Uncle Miraz was the usurping 'King' of Narnia (in the story told in the previous book) and Aslan's Country in the far east across the sea.
That overall plot device holds together well, just as well as Odysseus/Ulysses wanting to return home after the war, but it is the mini-stories that are perhaps most captivating. There are the ridiculous Monopods (Duffer/Dufflepuds), the Dark Island where dreams become reality, the sleepers at the feast, the Silver Sea filled with lilies, the underwater kingdom, and more.
What struck me, especially in the early chapters, was that this is both the funniest book in the series but also a book that holds some strong messages about evil and darkness. Quite early on, the characters are captured as slaves, and Caspian very quickly sets things back to right after a short period of uncertainty among the crew. "You have lived on broken hearts all your life," Caspian chastises a particular slave trader, just after refusing to accept maddening arguments about the economic "necessity" of the slave trade.
Caspian has several shining moments throughout the book, but even he has his own moments of weakness. His character development is satisfying throughout the book, however, and he navigates the troubles admirably, for the most part, and when his own character fails him, he is restored by a personal encounter with Aslan.
For much of the book, Lucy operates as the reader's host for the voyage. We often see things alongside her from a close third-person perspective. This provides a sense of comfort and stability throughout, even in the midst of a chaotic and adventurous plot. That is not to say that she does not face problems, however. Lucy, too, has her own moments of weakness, and in some ways her struggle is much greater than in the previous books, what with her being tempted to use spells and using one to eavesdrop on a classmate and her desire to see herself being a beauty which stems out of a jealousy of Susan. Of course, Lucy is quickly restored, also by a personal encounter with Aslan. Although she is told at the end of the book that she is not to return to Narnia, her character arc in this books is satisfying enough to leave us with peace at the end of the book, and there are frequent mentions in the book of moments and memories she carried with her for the rest of her life.
The next main character is introduced on the very first page "There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it." Eustace is the source of much of the humor in the book. Lewis handles him in a curious way! He is a such a larger-than-life kind of character and so annoying at times, that Lewis occasionally ignores him for lengthy periods of time but then comes back around to listen to him opine about whatever thoughts he considers better than his shipmates. I love the scenes when he is turned into a dragon. They are some of the most hilarious and poignant scenes in the entire series and are another example to me of the way that Lewis was not simply writing allegory but using fantasy to tell parables that also work as fantasies and fairy tales. And what dragon story is not also about something else, whether fear or greed or oppression?
When Eustace is restored, it is told by a wonderful mix of perspectives, showing how everyone else reacts to the situation, showing Eustace experience a true change and literal transformation (of course, with Aslan's work), and showing how Edmund is there to comfort him and confide that he too had been a rotten sort of person the first time he visited Narnia. I'm quite certain that C.S. Lewis chose Edmund and Eustace to have names that resemble one another on purpose, and the scenes where they talk together resonate with me as a believer, a forgiven man who lives in gratitude for something I did not deserve.
Edmund's other purpose in the story seems to be to provide a stabilizing leadership role in mentoring Caspian, who certainly needs a wise and experienced voice to help steer him away from misguided decisions and back to wise choices.
And then we come to Reepicheep, that noble Talking Mouse. I actually do not want to write too much about him because I prefer to let Lewis's characterization of him speak for itself. I love his character in this book. Some of the most wondrous descriptions of the Dawn Treader's journey near the End of the World have Reepicheep at the center of them. One of my favorite sections of the book is when Reepicheep dives in the crystal clear water to confront an underwater Mer-King sort of figure, changes his mind, but then discovers that the water is pure and sweet! He exclaims the news to his shipmates and they all find glorious satisfaction in drinking the water, which also provides sustenance in lieu of food. Every time I read this book, I get thirsty for such wonderful water, and, yes, I just took a big sip and gulp of water as I paused from writing this sentence, and I long for water such as is described in the latter chapters of this book at least once a year, and perhaps as often as once a month. In the scriptures, the Lord offered Living Water, and the descriptions in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader make me think of a similar sort of drink, which satisfies and quenches a deep longing in a deep, satisfying way. Reepicheep, found that drink, and he found the horizon, then floated off on his coracle and sailed across the end of the sea towards Aslan's country. What a beautiful picture Lewis paints with his figurative language and imagery!
It almost feels like one could end the reading of the series with this book, and I wouldn't necessarily fault anyone for doing so. Yet, I still believe there is much left to be said in the remaining books, and I'll address that in my next entry! Until then, cheers matey! May the wind and current ever be in your favor!
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