The Magicians Nephew

By C.S. Lewis

The Magicians Nephew by C.S. Lewis, is the first book in the Narnia Chronicles. This book adventure begins in London around 1900. Two children, Digory Kirke and Polly Plummer, meet while playing. They decide to find fun games to play in the attic that connects the houses. By accidentally taking a wrong turn, they end up surprising Digory’s Uncle Andrew in his study.

Creative Playthings are Islands of Adventure

Digory’s uncle, happens to be a magician. He tricks Polly into touching a yellow ring with magic spells on it. When she touches the ring she vanishes. He then blackmails Digory into rescuing Polly. He gives Digory another yellow ring and two green rings, with magic spells, to help them return. On his journey, Digory is reunited with Polly in a forest with many pools of water. They discover that jumping into the water, while wearing the green rings, takes them into different universes. They decide to explore further brands of the world.

Magic Illusion, Magic Realism

In The Magician's Nephew, the children witness the making of Narnia, a magic kingdom. They have amazing adventure games, enchanted learning experiences and meet new magical beings. Upon returning to London, Digory cures his mother with an apple given to him by Aslan. He then takes the core of the apple and the magic rings and buries them in the back yard to prevent their misuse. The apple core grows into a tree which becomes the magical cupboard in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

For the Tropic of Freedom Books Finders Keepers:
What I really enjoyed, was the symbolism of the pools of water being doorways into other worlds. As children we have the sense of adventure to explore and believe in the magic of other worlds. But as we grow up, we forget. We begin to buy into the fact that the only world there is, is this one. The only life we can have, is this one.

What does Diggory's Uncle demonstrate by tricking the children into the land of pools?
What has he made possible for the children to learn?
What kind of worlds exist in each pool?
What does that indicate about the possibilities of types of the worlds, that we have, that we can exist in?

How many possibilities of life and adventure do you deny yourself?
What would you do if you had the opportunity to explore other universes?

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