You are currently in 1-2/Class Reports  

The official class title: C.S. Lewis Key Works Class

The EST time and day class meets: 11:30-1:00 EST, Friday

Your name: EllieB

The teacher’s full name: Dr. Sharon Bridwell

The teacher’s e-mail address and bio (found on this page): http://www.pottersschool.org/tps2005/teachers.htm

 

Although it’s common knowledge C.S. Lewis was good friends with Tolkien, and most people have read and enjoyed his numerous books, (especially his popular children’s series, The Chronicles of Narnia) how much do we really know about the life of C.S. Lewis? During the past few months of class, Dr. Bridwell has shared many interesting facts about the life of this godly and brilliant man.

 

C.S. (Clives Staples) Lewis was born on November 29, 1898 in Belfast, Ireland. After his mother died in 1908, he spent most of his boyhood at unpleasant boarding schools, before he finally found a good tutor who was very influential in his life—William Kirkpatrick or “The Great Knock,” as Lewis affectionately called him. At age eighteen, Lewis joined an infantry battalion and fought in World War I. He was wounded during his service in the army, and one of his best friends, Paddy Moore, was killed and buried in France. Before Paddy Moore’s death, Paddy had asked Lewis to take care of his mother and sister if anything should happen to him. Lewis promised to look after them, and true to his word, he lived with them both and financially helped them for at least thirty years following Paddy’s death. Lewis also cared for his brother Warnie, who had a drinking problem. In spite of his numerous responsibilities, he still had time to write over thirty books during the course of his life.

 

Before the outbreak of World War I, Lewis won a scholarship to the University College of Oxford. Later he became a professor of Medieval and Renaissance Literature. From age 18 onward, he made Oxford his home. Lewis had some eccentric behaviors and foibles I had never imagined when I first pictured him. As an adult, he led a fairly boring life. He smoked and drank, and his two favorite meals included bangers and mash (sausage and mashed potatoes) and fish and chips. He loved nature and took long walks where he admired the beauty of God’s world.

In 1952, Lewis married Helen Joy Davidman. She already had a serious cancer at the time, and he married her partly to confer on her the status of British citizenship. (The authorities threatened to deport her, because she was a member of the Communist party.) None of Lewis’s friends liked Joy, for although a Christian, she was aggressive and profane. But Lewis loved her, and he grieved deeply following her death in 1960—only eight years after their marriage. C.S. Lewis died in 1963 at a surprisingly young age. He was only in his sixties. Ironically enough, John F. Kennedy’s assassination took place on the same day. In spite of his short lifespan, C.S. Lewis left behind some of the most important theology and fantasy books of the twentieth century. They have never gone out of print.

 

Print       E-mail      

AP Chemistry Section 1--RobertF American Literature--AbigailT Aviation Science--SilasR C.S. Lewis Key Works Class