Heroes In The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe

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Throughout British Literature the reader can see a development of common ideas and literary elements and how they have changed over time and were influenced by culture. Early British Literature was influenced greatly by society as demonstrated through the main characters, conflicts, literary devices, role of kinship, themes, and villains and heroes. These elements have evolved from the early British Literature to our modern day literature; these connections keep the reader intrigued. In British Literature one can compare the qualities of heroes in old literature to heroes in modern literature in The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe. A comparison of cultural events of the times is easily recognizable in British Literature and the reader…show more content…
Beowulf is described as “that mighty protector of men”(Allen et al. 52) when he rises as a hero to take on Grendel. Beowulf is described as an epic hero because he has supernatural elements to him: he is “greater and stronger than anyone anywhere in this world”(Allen et al. 46). Aslan is the hero in The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe and is known as, “the king. He’s the Lord of the whole wood, but not often here, you understand”(Lewis 7-8). Aslan and Beowulf are both known as protectors of people in grave need. Aslan has supernatural powers just like Beowulf demonstrates. For instance, Aslan will appear one day in Narnia when the Narnians are in distress and disappear the next, passing through worlds. Furthermore, as Mr. Beaver comments, “He’ll settle the White Queen all right”(Lewis 78) demonstrating that Aslan is the only one who could conquer the White Witch, showing he must have supernatural power or qualities. Similarly, in Beowulf, Beowulf is the only one who can save the people from Grendel, his mother, and the dragon because of his supernatural qualities. One is able to connect heroic qualities in main characters of British Literature to main characters in present day books. The reader can pull comparisons between characters who are not heroes. Edmund falls into greed for turkish delight. That leads him to betray his family and join the White Witch. Because of Edmund’s greed he falls down a dark path (Lewis 84-85). In The Canterbury Tales in The Pardoner’s Tale when the three men find the gold, they are overwhelmed with greed which leads to their downfall (Allen et al. 177-178). Furthermore these characters fall into greed, which pulls them down a dark

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