Novel Insights Guide To

The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe

by C. S. Lewis


The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe Guide Cover The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe CD

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TABLE OF CONTENTS


Author Biography ..................................... 1
Chapter 01 - 02 ..................................... 3
Chapter 03 - 04 ................................... 11
Chapter 05 - 06 ................................... 19
Chapter 07 - 08 ................................... 24
Chapter 09 ................................... 32
Chapter 10 - 11 ................................... 37
Chapter 12 - 13 ................................... 44
Chapter 14 ................................... 50
Chapter 15 ................................... 56
Chapter 16 - 17 ................................... 60
Vocabulary Tests ................................... 66
Test Questions ................................... 82
Vocabulary Crossword Puzzle ................................... 89
Selected Bibliography ................................. 101


Chapters 01 - 02

Four children, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy, are sent away from London during World War II in order to protect them from the bombings taking place in the city. They are sent to live with an eccentric professor residing in a large, isolated manor house. The children find the professor very old, eccentric and strange looking. They immediately decide they will be able to do anything they please, and he will be unaware of their antics. They decide they will go exploring the next day, and find what kind of wildlife there is in the surrounding area. However, they are disappointed when it is raining, and they are forced to stay inside. While exploring, they find one room that contains nothing but a large wardrobe. The older three leave the room, but Lucy decides to stay and see what is in the wardrobe. Trying to feel her way to the back of the wardrobe, she finds it impossible. She can't imagine how the wardrobe can possibly be so large, when she suddenly feels the branches of a tree rubbing against her face. She then notices a light ahead of her, and snowflakes falling. Moving away from the wardrobe and the empty room, she discovers a lamppost with a light burning in the middle of the woods. Hearing feet coming toward her, Lucy looks and sees a creature carrying an umbrella that resembles nothing she has ever seen before. He has legs like a goat, but an upper torso like a man. His face is pleasant with a pointed beard, curly hair, and two horns sticking out of his forehead. Carrying a load of packages, he is so startled at the sight of Lucy that the Faun drops all his packages.

"Good Evening," Lucy says to the Faun, but at first he does not reply. He asks if she is a Daughter of Eve. She says her name is Lucy. He asks if she is what is called a girl. She responds, "Of course I'm a girl." He then asks if she is human, and she reiterates, "Of course I'm human." He tells her he has never met a Son of Adam or Daughter of Eve. He introduces himself as Tumnus. He asks how she came into Narnia. She inquires what that is and he replies it is all the land from the lamp-post to the great castle of Cair Paravel on the eastern sea. Explaining she came through the wardrobe in the spare room, Tumnus mistakenly believes she has come from the land of Spare Oom and the city of War Drobe. Inviting her to tea, she declines at first, saying she can't stay long. After a promise of a roaring fire, toast, sardines and cake, she relents. He leads her to the entrance of a cave. Inside, Lucy finds it to be a very cozy cave, furnished with carpet, furniture and bookshelves. They have a wonderful tea, and Tumnus tells Lucy all about Narnia and what it was like before it became winter all the time. He tells her now it is always winter and never Christmas. He takes out a strange flute and begins playing, causing Lucy to fall asleep. When she awakens, she realizes she has been asleep for several hours. Tumnus begins to cry, sobbing as if his heart will break. She hands him her handkerchief, and he uses it, wrings it out and continues to cry. He tells her he is a bad Faun; he is in the pay of the White Witch. Lucy asks who she is. He explains she is the one who has made it always winter and never Christmas. She has instructed the creatures to kidnap any Son of Adam or Daughter of Eve and turn them over to her. He tells her he has been pretending to be her friend until he could get her to sleep to turn her over to the witch. Lucy convinces him not to turn her over to the White Witch, and he conveys her to the lamp-post. She allows him to keep her handkerchief, and finds her way back through the wardrobe. Hearing the voices of the others, she calls to them as she exits the wardrobe.


Suggested Activities - Chapters 01 - 02

  1. If there is a World War II museum nearby, take students to visit the exhibits, in order to allow them to experience some of the relics of this war, and help them understand why the children were sent to the country.
  2. Have students research the bombing attacks on London, and report on their findings.
  3. Ask students to illustrate one of the scenes from the story so far: the children arriving at the professor's home; the children meeting in the girls' room; the children exploring the house; Lucy finding her way through the wardrobe; Lucy with Tumnus; Lucy coming out of the wardrobe.
  4. Assign the chart on page 10, which should be filled out throughout the reading of the novel. Have the students list the creatures which support good on one side of the chart and the creatures which support the White Witch (or evil) on the other side. By the time the book reaches the climactic battle, the students should have all of the participants in the battle lined up according to their loyalty.

Review Questions - Chapters 01 - 02

  1. The setting of a book is the time and place in which it takes place. In the opening paragraph, the author reveals the time and one of the places in which he has chosen to set this book. What are they?
  2. Why are the children sent away from their home?
  3. Who lives in the house where they go to stay? Describe the Professor.
  4. Describe the house.
  5. On the second day they are there, what happens to spoil their plans?
  6. What catches Lucy's attention when she first opens the door to the wardrobe?
  7. What happens when Lucy steps into the wardrobe?
  8. What is at the back of the wardrobe?
  9. As Lucy moves away from the wardrobe door, what does she think to herself?
  10. Read Prov. 14:12. What could be wrong with her thinking?
  11. What does she find that seems out of place?
  12. Who does she meet there?
  13. Mr. Tumnus tells Lucy the name of the land she has stepped into accidentally. Of course, Narnia is the name C.S. Lewis has given to his imaginary land. If you were to make up an imaginary land, what name would you give it? Why?
  14. When Lucy awakens, what kind of emotional state does Mr. Tumnus seem to be in?
  15. What surprising confession does he make?
  16. Who is the White Witch?
  17. What does Lucy convince Mr. Tumnus to do?
  18. What does Mr. Tumnus ask Lucy?
  19. What are the two things Lucy notices as she emerges from the wardrobe?
  20. What is Lucy's concern as she re-enters the room from the wardrobe? Why?

Review Question Answers - Chapters 01 - 02

  1. The setting is World War II England.
  2. They live in London, and it is being bombed by the Germans. They are sent into the country in order to protect them from the bombs.
  3. An old Professor, his housekeeper Mrs. Macready and three servants, Ivy, Margaret and Betty. The Professor is very old with shaggy white hair and a shaggy white beard that covers his face. He is so odd-looking that Edmund has to pretend he is blowing his nose to cover the fact that he is laughing at the Professor's looks.
  4. The house is very large, with numerous stairs and passages. There are long passages and rows of doors leading into empty rooms. It was full of unexpected places, and contained such museum type exhibits that people came from far away to tour the house.
  5. It rains.
  6. When she opens the door, two mothballs drop out.
  7. She keeps feeling for the back of the wardrobe, but she cannot find it. The wardrobe seems to go on forever. Suddenly, she feels tree branches touching her face.
  8. After finding the tree branches, she finds she is in a wood at night, with snow falling and snow crunching under her feet.
  9. "I can always get back if anything goes wrong."
  10. The way that seems right to man (or in this case a girl) can lead to death. She is taking a chance which can leave her in danger.
  11. There is a lamp-post in the middle of the woods.
  12. As she is trying to figure out why there would be a lamp-post in the middle of the woods, she meets a Faun named Tumnus.
  13. Answers will vary.
  14. He is nearly hysterical with grief.
  15. His intention in bringing her to his home was to befriend her, gain her confidence, lull her to sleep, then turn her over to the White Witch.
  16. She calls herself the Queen of Narnia, but she is the one who has caused it to be always winter and never Christmas.
  17. She convinces him to accompany her to the lamp-post, where she is able to find her way back to the wardrobe and safety.
  18. He asks if he may keep her handkerchief.
  19. She hears the voices of the other children and it is still raining.
  20. She wants to reassure the others she is all right. She was in Narnia for a number of hours, so she feels they must be worried about where she has been.