The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe: Training

I'd like to return to the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe again. (I know, I'm jumping around a lot lately) So I realized in my first post about LWW, I talked about "Warrior Lessons" and everything that the Characters learned, but I didn't really talk about how that applied to our individual warrior training. SO! What I've decided to do, is review what we can learn from each characters struggle... (Again Jumping! Sorry!)
We'll start with Peter.

In the movie, it seems as though getting along with Edmund, Peter's little brother is literally impossible. Edmund is exasperating, wont do as he's told, and he keeps bothering Lucy. All of which make Peter's life much more difficult. Peter seems to be suffering from the same thing that every older sibling does. (Trust me I  know) Peter doesn't have the patience to deal with his little brother yet. (One of his faults)

SO! That is what we're discussing right now. Patience. Now I know that half of you just groaned and rolled your eyes. I deal with the same issue, so all I'm doing is putting my thoughts into words. I'm thinking that impatience comes from the repetitiveness of a little sibling (or something) that just keeps bugging you and wont stop. And it might not even be a harmful thing that they're doing, but it's the repetitiveness that bugs us. I also think that we become so used to reacting the same harmful way, that it becomes a habit. Every time the annoying thing happens we react the same way, so that soon, we don't even think about it. That's what the problem is. (In my opinion) We need to slow down each morning and just say to ourselves, "I will not blow up today." and then work extra hard to think before blowing up in your younger sibling's face. It's a difficult thing to do, but it's REALLY important to learn before we get older.

Next we have Susan.

Susan was thrown into a magical land, that she never thought existed. That shouldn't exist. She doesn't quite know what to do with herself. She doesn't know what to believe anymore. Susan has a problem with believing in the impossible. She doesn't seem to like change. She wants to believe what she's been taught her whole life. However, I must say that I really don't have a problem believing in the impossible. (Actually most Christians probably don't) This kinda became my motto (the believing in the impossible thing) when I read Job chapter 41 in the bible last year. (I HIGHLY recommend it) What I discovered was that if I'm going to call myself a Christian, I'm also saying I believe in fire breathing dragons being real. (No joke! It's all right there in the text) Of course, me being me, I got super excited... So my point is that we all need to believe in the impossible because the "impossible" is real. Whether you like it or not. (Sometimes) We need to believe that anything can happen. That mountains can move, that dragons can exist ect. ect. I would say I deal with the problem of wanting to believe in too much...But that's a different story. Songs really help me remember this. Songs like "Touch the Sky". NEVER forget to believe in the impossible! 

Next we have Edmund.

Edmund feels rejected by his family all the time. He feels like he's always the last guy. And he doesn't want to be the last guy. He wants to show his family how amazing he could be. He wants to show them up. (Mostly Peter) He wants to rule the world just to show them. He feels like he has to prove he's just as good as Peter if not better. I'd say that Ed either has a humility problem or Peter's impatience cause this. (I'd actually say it's both) As far as the humility thing goes, Edmund learns first hand what love is and how Aslan loved him and the Witch didn't. He realized how much he wanted to be loved rather than just rule the world. When Aslan forgave Edmund for everything he had done, I feel like he came back much more humble than he was. This is something that only God can show you. This has to do heavily with sin and forgiveness. (If you haven't noticed, C.S. Lewis' books are usually a parallel to something in real life) Only God can show you sin in your life and only God can show you unlimited love and forgiveness. So, my little reminder for this one would be to remember that God is the reason your here, and you should be fighting for God. Not for anything in this life. And to remember what God did for you and to be forever thankful for it. 

Next we have Lucy.

Lucy really represents the innocence of a small child that will believe in anything. She's the one that first finds Narnia, and once she's inside it, she meets Mr. Tumnus. She befriends the faun and seems to trust him. When she comes back to the real world and tries to tell her siblings about Narnia, she's horrified when they don't believe her. She doesn't understand how someone couldn't believe her. So again, this is more about believing in the impossible. Lucy is kind of the opposite of Susan. 

Last I'd like to talk about Professor Kirke.

Professor Kirke is actually Digory. The boy who is in The Magicians Nephew. He was one of the first humans to ever set foot in Narnia. He was there when Narnia was made. If you have read the Magicians Nephew, then when you're watching The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, you can't help but wonder what the Professor is thinking at certain times. For instance, there is a scene where Susan and Peter talk to the Professor about Lucy. They think she's going crazy or something and are concerned about her. The Professor on the other hand has no trouble believing in the impossible, (because he's been to Narnia) and I think that when they say "She thinks she's found a magical land. In the upstairs wardrobe." He immediately seems to think that Lucy has gotten to Narnia. He's right of course. So he tells Susan and Peter to believe her. Later at the end of the movie, he finds them in the upstairs wardrobe. He again seems to know where they've been. Kirke is a great representation of how he went on his own adventures and then grew up, but never lost his childishness. He is as playful as ever and seems just as apt to believe things as Lucy is. He knows exactly what its like to be in Narnia and never stopped believing in it. When the Pevensies got back from Narnia, I wouldn't be surprised if Kirke ended up asking them millions of questions. He probably would want to know how his old friends were faring. I'm not quite sure what I wanted to accomplish by talking about Kirke, but I suppose....Never lose your childishness. Think about all the things you love to do right now. Never stop doing them because it's not proper. Or adults/teenagers don't do that. Don't become an old person in the spirit too. Don't stop hanging out with your little brother every now and then. (Something I tend to forget) Go to late movie showings. Stay up late for a little bit longer just because you can. Dance in the rain, be a cooky person. I'd say that Kirke qualifies as a loony person. 

It's like that quote from the newest Alice and Wonderland. Alice says "Do you think I've gone around the bend?" Her dad replies "I'm afraid so...you're mad. Bonkers. Off your head. But I'll tell you a secret. All of the best people are." 

Actually I'm going to put a few of the Alice in Wonderland quotes here because there are plenty of of awesome cooky people in that movie. 

Knave of Hearts: "We're looking for a girl named Alice."

Mad Hatter: "Speaking of the queen, here's a little song we used to sing in her honor: *Sings with others* Twinkle Twinkle little bat, how I wonder where your at. Up..."

Knave of Hearts: "If you're hiding her you'll lose your heads"

Mad Hatter: "Already lost them!" 

Alice: "This is impossible"

Mad Hatter: "Only if you believe it is."

Alice: "Sometimes I believe in as many as six impossible things before breakfast."

Mad Hatter: "That is an excellent practice"

Alice: "Why is a rave like a writing desk?"

Mad Hatter: "I haven't the slightest idea."

Knave of Hearts: "You're all mad"

The March Hare: "Thanks very much!"

Lord Ascot: "Charles, have you lost your senses? This picture is impossible!" 

Charles: "Precisely. Gentlemen, the only way to achieve the impossible is to believe it's possible."

Queen: "Where is Alice?"
Mad Hatter: "I've been considering words that start with the letter 'M'. Moron, Mutiny, mmmmMalice."

Queen: "Well we're looking for an 'A' word right now. Where is Alice?"

Alice: "Who's to say what is 'proper'? What if it was agreed that 'proper' was wearing a codfish on your head. Would you wear it?"

Anywho, my point is don't loose that desire for madness that children have. Don't become a boring old person. Be that exotic old person that dances in blizzards and rain and hail.

I hope you felt that you can learn something from the characters in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. Hopefully I'll be watching the movie Prince Caspian soon and will be inspired to write about it. Till then, start going completely mad. (Can you tell I need to write about Alice in Wonderland?)

~Aloisa Quintal