Plot
Where were the children exploring before their adventures began?
They were exploring the attic passage that connected the houses in their row.
How was Jadis affected by going to the wood between the worlds? How was she affected by going to Earth (two things)?
In the wood, she was severely weakened and seemed to be dying. On Earth, she was stronger and more terrible than even on Charn, but she couldn't do magic.
Who is Strawberry? How is he related to the Cabby and Fledge?
What does the statement "ends justify the means" mean?
The outcome (ends) is all that matters. You can use whatever methods (means) you want and it is moral so long as the outcome is worth it.
Who's house do Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy stay at in the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe?
Digory's house
Where did the children end up after they put on the yellow rings for the first time? What were some of the place's unusual properties (at least 2)?
They ended up in The Wood between the Worlds. The wood made them forget their past lives, there was no detectable native animal or bug life, and it was full of ponds that all led to other worlds.
When the children try to take the witch back to Charn, where do they end up instead? What happens right away and how does it happen?
They end up in an empty world. Soon after they arrive, Aslan creates and populates the world by singing.
Why is Digory sad at the beginning of the story? How does his character change throughout the book?
Bonus: Is Digory like C.S. Lewis?
His mother was dying (like Lewis'). He progresses from being selfish and like his uncle (willing to do wrong to accomplish his goals) to being brave and able to do what is right even at great personal cost.
Lewis also grew up in the same time period and place as Digory and was from a similar socioeconomic background.
Jadis was able to eat the fruit of the tree of life, why would planting that tree keep her out of Narnia?
She could not bear to be within one hundred miles of the tree because she had eaten it wrongly. It made the smell of life and joy become a smell of death and despair to her.
What happened to the tree of life apple tree Digory planted on Earth?
It was turned into the wardrobe that Lucy used to get into Narnia.
Describe the progression of the figures in the hall of images and some things they all had in common.
The rulers progressed from kind and wise to stern to harsh to cruel and happy to cruel and despairing. The figures were all very tall and lavishly dressed.
Where does the lamp post come from and where does the toffee tree come from? (why for bonus)
The witch tried to kill Aslan with the broken piece of the lamp post, but it bounced off and hit the ground and grew into a living lamp post. The children didn't have any food except toffee, so they ate most of it and planted the rest, and that grew into a toffee tree. Aslan's song was still reverberating through the ground and air, calling up new life and accelerating growth.
Who is Aslan supposed to remind us of? Give clues from this book
Jesus. In this book, he creates the world, claims the Cabby knows him from our world, loves Digory's mother more than Digory does, can freely travel between the worlds and seems to have intimate knowledge of the people and things of our world, and says he will bear the worst of the evil the son of man brought into their world. Obviously, in the LWW, he dies in Edmund's place and comes back to life
How do the characters all react differently to the first appearance of Aslan? How does this relate to John 3:18-21?
Jadis and Uncle Andrew both hate Aslan and want to kill him, Strawberry runs to him, the Cabby admires and follows him, and the children are afraid but also admire him and follow him. Those verses talk about how people either hate or love Jesus, and evil will be afraid of him because He exposes and destroys evil.
What happens to Jadis?
She becomes the white witch, kills Aslan, and is then killed by Aslan
Why did Digory ring the bell and what happened next?
He wanted to be a great explorer with an interested story (pride) and he pretended he was enchanted by the writing under the bell, which said you would go crazy wondering what would have happened if you don't ring it. The ringing got louder and louder until the palace started collapsing and Jadis woke up.
Describe, in detail, how the rings work.
The yellow rings draw you out of a world to the wood between the worlds. When in the wood, you must put on the green rings and jump into a pond to leave the wood and go to a different world.
Describe the Cabby's character. What is 'is actual name and what 'appens to 'im in the end?
Frank is brave, kind, hard working, knew Aslan as Jesus, and treats animals well. He becomes king with his wife Helen as queen
Give examples of two characters who thought that they were above morality, that it shouldn't apply to great people like themselves. How does this relate to Lex Rex and the Magna Carta?
Uncle Andrew and Jadis.
The law is king - a principle of English law enacted by the Magna Carta that put even kings under the law of the land, and ultimately recognized that even they were under the law of God.
What happened to the rings?
Digory and Polly buried them under the apple tree and eventually Edmund and Lucy dig them up and were going to try to get into Narnia when they were killed by a train crash.
Describe Charn. What happened to it?
Charn was a city in an old world with magic and ancient style technology, government, slavery, and architecture. Two tyrants fought a massive war for the right to rule the planet, which ended with Jadis saying the Deplorable word. The Deplorable word destroyed all the life on the planet except Jadis.
What quest did Aslan give to Digory and how did it almost fail?
Digory had to get an apple of life to plant to make a tree that would protect Narnia from the witch. The witch tried to tempt Digory to eat it or bring it back to his mother to heal her.
Describe Uncle Andrew's character. How did he become involved with magic? How does he (or at least our view of him) change throughout the book?
Uncle Andrew is proud, cowardly, and cruel. His fairy godmother game him a box with the dust from another world from Atlantis.
He starts out seeming very scary and powerful, but by the end is ridiculous and pathetic. At the very end, he seems pretty harmless and doesn't do magic anymore
Contrast Uncle Andrew's defense of his immoral use of the guinea pigs and Polly with Digory's refusal of Jadis' urging to use the apple to save his mother's life.
Uncle Andrew thought his goals of science and discovery were worth any cost and that nothing could be wrong for him because he was so special and was pursuing such good goals. Digory, on the other hand, realized that he could not steal the apple and break his promise to Aslan even to accomplish the very good thing of saving his mother's life. Digory realized that people cannot use evil to accomplish good, making him wiser than the learned and "wise" Uncle Andrew.
Where do we meet Mr. Tumnus in the Last Battle?
After they all die, in the true garden that was like the one Digory went to in Narnia.