Of Sin And Redemption In C. S. Lewis's The Great Divorce
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In the book, The Great Divorce, we discover a story about spiritual decisions where cursed humans defend their refusal of God and His will for their life. From the beginning, the narrator finds himself in a dark and rough area, known as Grey Town (a imaginative representation of hell). This place is found empty and dirty and we see a crowd of various “ghost” souls gathering at a bus stop, so the narrator joins. We learn, later on, that these people are doomed souls on a holiday tour, and that this area is both: Purgatory for some and the outskirts of Hell for others. The narrator jumps on the bus with rude these travelers, found to be of diverse economic and social statuses. We discover that these individuals are on route to a far away place,…show more content… Lewis is mainly interested in the discussions that occur between the solid people that live in Heaven and the ghosts who are from Grey Town, on their holiday trip. Throughout this visit, our studious narrator is guided by a non-fictional man named George MacDonald; both observe this mystical land and her inhabitants. Each solid person approaches one of the ghosts with whom he or she had had relationship during their earthly lives, in effort, to persuade them to become citizens in this imaginative Heaven. Throughout these conversations, The Great Divorce focuses on sin and redemption for humanity. Specifically, he observes the shifty nature of sin - sin that praises itself as righteousness. Lead by MacDonald, the narrator watches many interviews take place between the ghostly and solid characters. Each ghost, interviewed with their solid person, is confronted with his own sin and need for redemption. Majority of the ghosts refuse to acknowledge their sin, but instead seek to justify themselves to their listeners. The ghost’s pride is all that stands between them and their eternal joy in this Heavenly place. Although, They would rather return to the Grey Land keeping their own dominion rather than to submit themselves to God and agree with His evaluation of