Symbolism In C. S. Lewis The Great Divorce

Setting her book in a dystopian world, Lowry depicts the dark and dangerous consequence of the limitation of memory to a far more drastic extent in comparison to the world set in Pleasantville, where the potential for individuals to change and gain these vital memories is still possible. Lowry’s main character, Jonas, opens his eyes and realises the ‘flaws’ in a perfect world for the first time, when receiving the forgotten memories of humanity within the Annexe room. Despite feeling the pain ‘of a broken leg,’ to ‘feeling the coldness of snow,’ he also experiences pleasurable feelings such as going down a hill in a sleigh. However, in the end he learns to embrace all these experiences and acknowledge them as ‘being important’. In his final decision, he flees his society in ‘escaping’ and ‘returning’ the ‘memories of the past’ ‘to the people of his community’ so that they can also experience what he has.

But understanding the symbols and patterns is what makes the progression of the book more interesting. But in the story, a certain theme is present throughout the pages and that is the symbol of not giving up on what you believe in. As the story continues, we understand that Jews did not give up their faith even if it cost them their lives. Which shows the relentlessness of the Jews in their faith. Another symbol that is present in the book is the care the Jews have for other Jews.

Lewis uses the theme of free will to mainly project the decision of going to Heaven or Hell. One example of this is the conversation between Dick and the fat ghost. Dick tries to convince the fat ghost that Hell is not a great place to be, but he refuses to listen. The fat ghost believes in logical science, rejecting the doctrine of the resurrection, and even mentions that “Grey Town” is similar to Heaven. Dick uses more examples to try to convince the fat ghost to choose Heaven, by saying things like, “Christ was a very young man when he died,” or telling him that he is being provocative.

Throughout this novel, sin is shown numerous times each with a unique connection to the other, that derives a deeper meaning of the theme. An example of sin first occurs in chapter four, when the Big Ghost reconnects with a spirit named

Lewis realizes that God knows plans before we do, and he does not give us the pain to test us, but to strengthen us. A large piece of growth is proven when Lewis says, “Still there are two enormous gains…. Turned to God, my mind no longer meets that locked door; turned to H., it no longer meets that vacuum.” He recognizes that God is ultimately above all the pain and that God gave her to him for joy. He shifts away from doubt

In his memory, the tree is a “huge lone spike”(13) or an “artillery piece”(13), but when he sees it again it looks small and innocuous. Though the tree itself has not changed, Gene's perspective, which has changed over the years, is what is enabling him to face the tree without it haunting him. At the time of the incident, in his youth, the tree was a symbol of fear and forbidding. At the end of the novel, the tree has become a symbol of profound changes in perspective that time and growth can give people. “This was the tree, and it seemed to me standing there to resemble those men, the giants of your childhood, whom you encounter years later and find that they are not merely smaller in relation to your growth, but that they are absolutely smaller, shrunken by age….”(14).

Symbols in literature aren’t simply one-sided. When looked at briefly, symbols may seem to be just another simple element in a story. Although when one takes the time to really understand the symbol, it becomes another whole component. In the novel, The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls, the Glass Castle is one of the biggest symbol. Whenever Jeannette’s father, Rex, couldn’t seem to support his family in an adequate way, he brought up the Glass Castle as a promise to his children.

Janie's concept of love is far from the truth in which she discovers. Through the beginning of the book Janie sits underneath a pear tree that was holding a lot of meaning. “Page

As Janie transitions into womanhood, she gains independence from abusive relationships, and she realizes being loved the proper way is everything. Symbolic representations are used throughout the novel to convey these messages. Two of the symbols that were brought up a lot in the book are the horizon and the gloaming pear tree. The horizon symbolizes Janie's struggle to find herself. The pear tree represents Janie's youth and desire for love in Hurston's novel.

Armen Tatevossian Sesay English 8 5 April 2023 When a reader first reads The Great Divorce, written by C.S Lewis, the reader may notice it has many themes interpreted throughout the story. These many themes are what makes up the novel’s main topic and the way the reader interprets the story. The story mentions many religious ideas and fantasy-like topics which invoke the reader to dig deeper into the story and understand its many meanings. The themes of The Great Divorce, written by C.S Lewis, have ideas and theologies which coincide with the real world, the most notable themes of The Great Divorce consist of: Christianity, free will, fantasy.

shows how he was asking for God. He was desperate for answers. He was struggling to find the answers about why

The white of the bones represents purity, and their slumber indicates their eventual peaceful rest. The scorched little tree points at the sky to reproach God himself for allowing such a horrific event to take place. Nature is brought to life in order to parallel death and the otherwise idyllic setting that surrounds it.

Watching her wade waist deep into the water after a bucket and almost being pulled under, Jimmy on shore kept repeating “What are you doing”, to which Lisa finally after regaining control of her thoughts said, “I don't know,” I said, “I really don't know” (Robinson 357). It was only after Jimmy pulled her from the water and questioned her that Lisa realized the deep effect and control that the spirits were having on her life. During a rest stop on Lisa’s' journey to Vanover, Lisa subconsciously, not in cuts her wrist to make an offering to the thing in the trees. ‘I turn around in circles, offering this to the thing in the trees, waiting’ (Robinson 366). Gaining control, Lisa comes to understand how blindly she is following the spirits' messages and how it is affecting her mental well-being.

As they are presented, the symbols suggest that the result of Chris’ attempts to escape reality will end in frustration, or failure, or even in

In “The Lesson of the Falling Leaves” by Lucille Clifton, she introduces the reader to a serene piece of nature by speaking of leaves. An expressive message conveyed from the leaves is to let go. Hence, creating a form of symbolism of trust by stating, “the leaves believe such letting go is love such love is faith such faith is grace such grace is god I agree with the leaves.” Throughout the constant comparisons Clifton uses metaphors to demonstrate that each object of belief is required to believe in something else. It takes letting go of pain and insecurities to love someone completely, you have to have faith in people to love, an individual has to have faith to understand grace, and believe in grace to believe it is God.