The Great Divorce Theme Essay
The biggest theme of The Great Divorce is salvation; more specifically, ensuring one’s immortal soul reaches Heaven and not Hell through the exercising correct moral choices in life and the practice of forgiving others and seeking forgiveness for your own sins. For Lewis, Heaven and Hell are not metaphoric or ideas, they are real places. In the book, Lewis develops this by having other related themes that affect salvation like, vanity vs. pride, love, the value of ideologies, faith vs. skepticism, jealousy, anger, and forgiveness. In the book, to enter the Heaven, ghosts are told that all they need to do is accept God and let go their earlier selfish interests. Lewis shows examples of people who are to attached to their pride, like the …show more content…
This allows Lewis, to make the point that we, too, have evidence of the consequences of good and bad choices, of Heaven and Hell, all around us all the time, too, and yet that doesn’t stop the effectiveness of skeptic arguments. Jealousy and resentment are two of the biggest things to let go of to have salvation. In the book, ghosts find themselves jealous of the angels’ appearance, clothing, and status. They resent not being angels themselves, as they feel entitled to it. Jealous of how many people seem to love the angels, they resent not being so loved themselves. Finally, forgiveness is an important theme in the book. At some point in every transition between ghost and angel, forgiveness is offered. The ghosts (in transition) refuse and instead hold the narrow-minded self-identifications, egoistic arrogance and obsessions are Lewis’ accusation of man himself. The ghosts in the book cannot abandon their senses of self, no matter how wrongly constructed. For Lewis, all such refusals, are examples of wrong moral choices, choices with eternal consequences. Choose correctly, and you will go to Heaven. Choose poorly, by declining forgiveness and rejecting salvation, and the consequences are going to hell. Right is right, wrong is wrong and no amount of wishful thinking will make it
What Is The Tone Of Sam Harris Letter To A Christian Nation
1356 Words | 6 PagesIf someone lived their life by the Bible and lived what is known as a “good” life and goes to Heaven, if there really is one, they would be rewarded. However, if there was no such thing as going to Heaven and one lived their life with good morality and in a way that God would accept, you would basically just die and be “in the dark,” knowing you lived up to the right standards. On the other hand, if there really is a Heaven and one didn’t live his/her life in a good way by committing murder, stealing, or cheating on his/her significant other, they would burn in Hell. Everyone is hedging their bets by either living the “right” or “wrong” way because no one really knows if there is another life after this one besides the deceased people. I believe in God and that there is such a thing as a Heaven and Hell but have not fully read the Bible; therefore, I cannot battle with a non-believer or believer.
Summary Of Mere Christianity By C. S. Lewis
1075 Words | 5 PagesIn C.S. Lewis’, Mere Christianity he goes into depth about the concept of Universal Moral Law and what it truly means as he presents his thoughts in his rhetorical argument. C.S. Lewis seems to captivate a reader's thoughts by expressing that there is a Universal Moral Law. In addition, if there is a moral law-giver, then there must be something greater in the universe. All together, C.S. Lewis concludes that through this, there must be something beyond the universe itself. Lewis states that,“human beings, all over the earth, have this curious idea that they ought to behave in a certain way, and cannot really get rid of it.
Compare And Contrast Anne Bradstreet And Jonathan Edwards And The Puritans
1079 Words | 5 PagesSince God is just, one must follow His will and then they will have a good afterlife. One
And Then There Were None Guilt
500 Words | 2 PagesThe theme of the book was that there will always be effects of guilt on one’s conscience even if one is innocent. Ten people were headed to a mansion located on Soldier Island after they received a letter from an anonymous person. Soon after the guests arrived, they were greeted with a large dinner;
What Are Cs Lewis's Beliefs
1841 Words | 8 PagesSydney Mauch Miss Brigham Core C Comp/Lit 29 February 2016 C.S. Lewis’s Beliefs C.S. Lewis is known as one of the most influential Christian writers ever. What many do not know is he was once an atheist at one point in his life. Atheism is a belief that there is no God or gods; Christianity is the exact opposite. Christianity is the belief in the one, true God, and remembering his son, Jesus, came to die on the cross for our sins. Lewis describes a Christian as one striving to be more like Christ and allowing Him to completely take over our lives for the better.
Summary Of The Screwtape Letters By C. S. Lewis
1193 Words | 5 PagesC. S. Lewis takes an interesting stand point in this book. He takes what a normal Christian would usually think and twists it into a full 180 degrees. Not only does C. S. Lewis challenge Christians to take a different view of the spiritual battle taking place within the lives of every person but Lewis also causes their face to possibly grow. There are five main viewpoints that will be discussed and examined throughout this essay; Anthropology, Bibliology, Theology, Christology, and Soteriology.
Essay On California Divorce Laws
1134 Words | 5 PagesWhat You Need to Know about California Divorce Laws Every state has slightly differing rules that pertain to divorce, and California divorce laws are certainly no exception. It is important for all residents of the state to fully understand what the laws pertaining to divorce in California are so that if the need arises, they are best able to cope with this family crisis and move on more quickly and with less emotional distress for everyone involved. Certainly, consulting an Inland Empire divorce lawyer for these complex family matters is certainly prudent. Many resources exist to find out more about the divorce laws in the state, including the State of California’s own searchable databases, where you can find a wealth of information,
Essay 'The Wife-Beater' By Gayle Rosenwald Smith
363 Words | 2 PagesAfter reading “The Wife-Beater” by Gayle Rosenwald Smith, I immediately related her essay to “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan. Both essays focus on the power of language which made me reminisce the ways I have used my terminologies. As I was conversing with my mother in our native Spanish tongue, she brought up the word “maje” (pronounced mah-eh) a Nicaraguan slang term that can be used to call someone a friend; however, it also has a negative connotation that refers to someone being dull and foolish. The negative connotation of “maje” affects more women than men in Nicaragua because the term is mainly used by men who are male chauvinists that refer to their wives as naive or “majes.” Since Nicaraguan males tend to use “maje” to insult
The Great Divorce: A Literary Analysis
1235 Words | 5 PagesIn C. S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce, Lewis is arguing that Hell is not necessarily a place where wicked people who detest God end up; Hell is a place that offers people exactly what they want. The Great Divorce presents “the reason for Hell,” which is people choosing their own wishes over God (Gibson 110). This novel reveals that the self-imprisonment of one’s greatest dreams can lead to infernal results (Gibson 113). In The Great Divorce, Lewis uses Dantean structure, the nature of Grey Town, and the various Ghosts’ interviews to prove that to live in Hell is to receive and accept everything except God and his will.
Free Will In Dante's Divine Comedy
699 Words | 3 PagesThose in Purgatory freely chose to repent and God respects that decision. They can travel at their own pace and God helps them by making sure they cannot
Ghost Dance Summary
798 Words | 4 PagesThe poem that I chose is Ghost Dance by Sara Littlecrow-Russell. The title is something that sounded familiar to me, but the reason I chose to read this poem originally was that it told a story rather than describing something, someone, or a feeling, which had been a common theme among the poems that I had been browsing. I also knew that I wanted to recite a poem that used a more low tone rather than an upbeat one, which is something that the majority of this poem had. Subtle and major tone changes and pauses were more easily visualized for me while reading this the first few times more than some of the previous poems I had read. Finally, I had realized that the poem is something that I already had some knowledge on from another class that I had been taking during the year.
False Modesty Of Pride Analysis
263 Words | 2 PagesIn Lewis’ novel, we see human pride being cultivated as “minds endlessly revolving on themselves” (Letter 14, Lewis). Lewis argues that human pride is self-centeredness and that pride is a result of humans being consumed with themselves. Lewis highlights two sides of pride, which are “vainglory or false modesty” (Lewis). Vainglory is the arrogant side of pride. Lewis describes false modesty as “self contempt” and “the denial of the truth” (Lewis).
The Importance Of The Ghost In Hamlet
810 Words | 4 PagesThe ghost of Old Hamlet fuels “Hamlet” as gasoline fuels a car. The importance of the death of Old Hamlet appears evident, for it receives recognition in the first scene of “Hamlet.” The Ghost also appears in the first scene, but his actions remain limited throughout the play. Even though he owns a limited role, the Ghost makes a major impact on “Hamlet” through several ways. Furthermore, without the Ghost, no action would take place in the play.
The Dead By James Joyce Essay
551 Words | 3 PagesFirstly, the work can be picturing the empty being of a husband, death cannot touch him yet he cannot feel himself. The shameful conduct of the beginning of the story only adds to a hypocritical statement; in addition, he states of having uncanny feeling for his wife then shifts to an acknowledgment of the mortality of a human creature. In fact, the description the story portrays is a man who looks upon his wife with unregretful thoughts as she passes through the shed of beauty; however, he shifts through a feeling of mortality as he thinks of the brief lifespan of life. The reader can't help but feel shame upon Gabriel as he can’t give his wife the push into a peaceful life as she sleeps under a hypnotic state of exhaustion. Despite his shift, Gabriel can’t redeem himself from his present state and is lost and alone in the concept of morals and
Thesis Statement On Divorce
1033 Words | 5 PagesOutline General Statement : Happiness is not the absence of problems as life would not be that perfect without problems; they are our guidelines so have the ability to expect them and deal with them. Problem statement : One of the social problems that we are facing nowadays is Divorce .
More about The Great Divorce Theme Essay
What Is The Tone Of Sam Harris Letter To A Christian Nation
1356 Words | 6 PagesSummary Of Mere Christianity By C. S. Lewis
1075 Words | 5 PagesCompare And Contrast Anne Bradstreet And Jonathan Edwards And The Puritans
1079 Words | 5 PagesAnd Then There Were None Guilt
500 Words | 2 PagesWhat Are Cs Lewis's Beliefs
1841 Words | 8 PagesSummary Of The Screwtape Letters By C. S. Lewis
1193 Words | 5 PagesEssay On California Divorce Laws
1134 Words | 5 PagesEssay 'The Wife-Beater' By Gayle Rosenwald Smith
363 Words | 2 PagesThe Great Divorce: A Literary Analysis
1235 Words | 5 PagesFree Will In Dante's Divine Comedy
699 Words | 3 PagesGhost Dance Summary
798 Words | 4 PagesFalse Modesty Of Pride Analysis
263 Words | 2 PagesThe Importance Of The Ghost In Hamlet
810 Words | 4 PagesThe Dead By James Joyce Essay
551 Words | 3 PagesThesis Statement On Divorce
1033 Words | 5 Pages