Comparing The Hobbit And The Silver Chair

The title of the Essay should be the Silver Hobbit

Use my intro, but please switch the arguments around so it's 1- England, 2-child forward writing, 3-religious influence. Then I have the beginnings of my three arguments, so just build off/expand them, and write thhe conclusion please. I also have a list of secondary sources for you to use, along with the two novels.

For the argument paragraphs, please be sure to follow the following structure: topic sentence/thesis, point, proof, analysis, point, proof, analysis, point, proof, analysis, conclusion sentance.

Intro:

World War 2 was the bloodiest event in human history. The children, parents, grandparents, and widows were in desperate need for an escape from the tragedies of global and political turmoil, and to remember the whimsy, comedy, magic, religion, and imagination that can still be found in the world. It was from this need that C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien brought forth The Silver Chair and The Hobbit to relieve the struggles of everyone before, during, and after the war. It does not come as a surprise that both friends Lewis and Tolkien took similar approaches in their rather new-age, child-forward style of writing for the time, both choosing fairytales to portray their intended messages to society rather than the more serious adult novels. It is also no shock that there are strong religious connections within both novels, as not only is Tolkien largely responsible for converting Lewis to Christianity, but both authors needed to please the largely Christian audience through often referencing many religious characters, fables, and relics. Not only did Lewis and Tolkien connect to their audience through their use of more light-hearted and childish writing styles and their numerous references to Christian elements, but they also set both novels in lands similar to, or in the case of The Silver Chair being quite literally, England, because the people of England were their main audience.

Argument 1:

It is evident in both novels that the two core settings are based off of England. Quote. In C.S. Lewis’ novel The Silver Chair, the central characters reside in England, and are transported through magic from England to Narnia. Quote book. This is a rather strategic ploy on the part of C.S. Lewis to encourage his audience to personally relate to the central characters, as they too are regular earthly humans. Quote. In the novel, Narnia is described with great detail, bearing a striking resemblance to historic periods in England quote book. By doing this, Lewis furthers the connection the reader has with the world of Narnia because of its similarities to the real world. Tolkien also uses this technique, by drawing parallels between the different societies in The Hobbit and the present human societal functions of England. Quote book.

Argument 2:

Due to the desperate global, socioeconomic, and political state at the time both The Silver Chair and The Hobbit were written, authors C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien have taken a more child-friendly approach, both to cater to the innocent minds of the children in need of distraction from the troubled world, and to deliver their intended message to their audience without it being as intense as the adult novels of the time. This occurrence in The Silver Chair has been noted by C.N. Manlove in his analysis C.S. Lewis: His Literary Achievements: “Certainly, appearing as they did when the vogue for the works of Enid Blyton was still at a peak among British children, the Narnia books came as a welcome relief for parents, librarians and educationalists who had long looked for contemporary works of literature for children which would not pander to the ‘baser literary instincts’....” (83). Through this work, Manlove has confirmed the common belief amongst scholars that Lewis’ intent with the novel was to provide his audience with easy reading material that still contained the necessary messages for an entertaining child and adult novel. Both novels are written in a very similar way stylistically quote books

Argument 3:

Both Lewis and Tolkien have been heavily influenced by religion in the writing of their novels The Silver Chair and The Hobbit, especially by Christianity. There are many references to religious texts, ideas, and physical objects throughout both novels, which play critical roles in displaying the significance of many important details within them.

religious points:

Stone words=moses stones (silver chair)

Arkenstone=holy grail (hobbit)

Aslan/Gandalf=god (both)

Citations (must use these, and if need be add more, must be credible):

Lewis, C. S. The Chronicles of Narnia: the Silver Chair. Tyndale House Publishers Inc., 2002.

Manlove, C. N. C.S. Lewis: His Literary Achievement. Winged Lion Press, 2010.

Niedbala, Amanda M. “From Hades to Heaven: Greek Mythological Influences in C. S. Lewis's The Silver Chair.” SWOSU Digital Commons, dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol24/iss3/5/.

Stevens, David, et al. J.R.R. Tolkien--the Art of the Myth-Maker. R. Reginald, 1993.