Please note that today is an informal discussion of Lewis’s works, as well as our three remaining Inkling Investigation project presentations. Discussion questions and facilitation will not be graded, but are here for reference.
Texts: C. S. Lewis, The Great Divorce
Discussion Questions:
- In many ways, The Great Divorce can be seen as a parable; it articulates many of Lewis’s theological beliefs in terms of a fictional “thought experiment.” Can you think of some biblical, or literary parallels to the Lewis’s texts? What do you make of these comparisons or allusions, and how does it affect your interpretation of the “plain,” or Heaven, and the narrator’s experience of it?
- How does The Great Divorce manage the question of free will? Think about themes of Christian forgiveness, salvation, redemption, and the Miltonic phrase “better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.” What alternatives are being presented to each of the ghosts here, and what do you make of this dilemma Lewis gives us?
- Think about the symbols that Lewis employs, both in terms of the landscape and its Ghosts. Why do you think Lewis chose the individuals, or case studies as they could be seen, that he did? What sins or humans struggles of the intellect do they embody? What about the significance of place, as in Hell as “Grey Town” and Heaven as a hyper-real, full-colour “Plain”?
- Where else does Lewis show us his perspective on the afterlife he presents in The Great Divorce in terms of literary manifestations of Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory in his works of Fiction?
About Kathryn Ney
I am a Teacher Candidate in the Bachelor of Education Program (Secondary) with two teachable subjects, Social Studies and English. I graduated from the Global Stewardship Program at Capilano University in 2014 and completed a double major at UBC in English Literature Honours and History in November 2018.
During my studies at CapU, I volunteered as an English teacher with the Global Volunteer Network in Nepal and this experience first prompted me to consider a career in education. While studying at UBC, I led a Student Directed Seminar on the Inklings (Tolkien and C.S. Lewis), thus enabling me to gain experience designing syllabi and marking rubrics for peer evaluation. I am also an alumni of the UBC Arts Coop program, through which I predominantly worked as a docent and archivist in the culture and heritage industry. Some of my work during my Coop placements included developing educational programs for museums, and through this experience, I learned how to make history engaging and accessible for young people as well as for the general public. I spent the past year participating in the Odyssey Program as an English Language Assistant in small-town Quebec, during which time I gleaned extensive in-class and interpersonal experience working with both kids and young adults on their English skills. Since my return in May, I have been leading summer camps for youth focused on conservation issues and outdoor skills. This experience allowed me to share my love of nature and the environment with young people from across the province.
Ideally, after completing the BEd. program and having gained some teaching experience, I would like to find a way to combine these disciplines and interests in the form of extracurricular involvement, or otherwise to work abroad doing professional or curriculum development for teachers in developing countries.
