Analysis Of The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader By C.S Lewis

“There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it,” starts off C.S Lewis in his book The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, sharing a glimpse of the morals of one of his most significant characters. Lewis presents the nature of the Christian faith, particularly the themes of transformation and temptation. These themes are made evident through the lives of Eustace Scrubb, Lucy Pevensie, Edmund Pevensie, and Prince Caspian of Narnia. These complex characters picture the trials and rewards of life’s adventure, filled with both promise and peril. The theme of transformation was catered towards Eustace Scrubb’s redemption from his sinful nature while the theme of temptation was manifested particularly within the lives of Prince Caspian, Lucy Pevensie, and Edmund Pevensie as they battled with the boastful pride of life, lust of the eyes, and lust of the flesh while they made their way to the very end of the earth.

As The Voyage of the Dawn Treader begins, we are introduced to Eustace Clarence Scrubb, Edmund and Lucy’s obnoxious nine-year-old cousin. He is the kind of boy who “liked animals, especially beetles, if they were dead and pinned on a card” and read books on “exports and imports and governments and drains”, as well as books that “had pictures of grain elevators or of fat foreign children doing exercises in model schools”. He is portrayed to be an odd, insufferable brat who bosses, bullies, and makes fun of his cousins, making it his goal to make their lives miserable while they’re staying with his family. He was eventually drawn into the mystical world of Narnia, along with Edmund and Lucy, through a picture of a dragon-shaped sailing ship that hung in Lucy’s bedroom. Upon his arrival in Narnia, he was unable to get along with his companions, threatening to report them to the British Consul for kidnapping. When they arrived on the Dragon Island, Eustace wanders off to avoid doing work and later finds himself seeking shelter in a cave, not knowing that it’s a dragon’s lair filled with treasure. He consequently was overtaken by his selfish desires and greedily puts on a gold bracelet, fills his pockets with coins. He eventually falls asleep and was awaken to a very strange feeling and with great amount of pain. Not reading the right books, he initially did not realize that he was transformed into a scaly, fire-breathing dragon with the gold bracelet cutting into his flesh. Lewis explains that while he was “sleeping on a dragon’s hoard with greedy, dragonish thoughts in his heart, he had become a dragon himself”- the outer form manifesting his inner self. Although he originally feels relief for being a “terror himself now”, he was still consumed by this “appalling loneliness” in his heart and a deep longing for friendship and love. Eustace was ashamed of himself and shuddered even with the sight of his own reflection. However, he begins to see life in a new light and his “character had been rather improved by becoming a dragon” as he becomes more willing to help with their daily operations, bringing provision and warmth during cold nights. After some time spent as a dragon, Aslan, the great lion of Narnia, pays Eustace a visit one night. Aslan leads him into a garden on top of a mountain and offered him a bath. Eustace obediently follows Aslan and was told to undress before getting into the bath. He scratched himself and his “whole skin started peeling off beautifully, like it does after an illness”, but yet another layer of skin appears. He unsuccessfully tries to completely shed his skin until Aslan tells him, “you will have to let me undress you”. Out of desperation, Eustace lets Aslan undress him, ripping his skin off so deep and raw. Finally, Aslan removes the thick, dark, and knobbly looking dragon skin, bathes him, and dresses him in new clothes, turning Eustace into a boy again and “to be strictly accurate, he began to be a different boy”.

Eustace is the prime example of the power of a transformed life. His proud, greedy, selfish, unforgiving, and controlling attitude is the perfect representation of our sinful nature as human beings. Our generation seems to be distracted by, if not worship, the acts and products of the world such as fame, greed, sexual immorality, and rebellion, among other evil and physical desires. Before Eustace’s transformation, he despised the word Aslan, who is the picture of Christ in the book. Similarly, we grow to love the name of Jesus Christ after redemption. Eustace saw himself for the miserable sinner that he is and recognized his need for a Saviour only after he turned into something unpleasant. Analogous to us sinners, most of the time, it goes to the extent of hitting rock bottom until we realize the need for God. Aslan came to Eustace’s rescue, guided him through his rebirth, and dressed him with new clothes, symbolizing the birth of a new creation. Relating to 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here,” (New International Version, 2 Cor. 5.17) we cast off the outer man- the old, sinful nature- the flesh, to become a new creature in God. In one of the compelling scenes of transformation, Lewis illustrates the spiritual principle that true transformation can come only from the work of Christ in our lives, and not through our own efforts. This is especially evident when Eustace constantly tried, yet failed miserably, to shed off his dragon skin, until Aslan did it with such intensity that it convinced Eustace that the claws went straight into his heart. It is indeed true that “it is by grace we have been saved, through faith – and this is not from ourselves, it is a gift from God” (New International Version, Eph. 2.8) and “all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus”. God simply proves this to us by his faithfulness in renewing us every day, simply peeling off the layers of our worldly sins and the act reconciliation.

There are multiple scenes in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader which are clear analogues to the theme of temptation. In order to keep the peace in Narnia, Prince Caspian gathered his finest men and sailed to the East to find and fight the mysterious evil on the Dark Island. During their journey, Prince Caspian, Edmund, and Lucy were introduced to different temptations in accordance to their deepest worldly desires. Prince Caspian and Edmund were first tempted with a river which turned everything that touches its water into gold. To no surprise, they both acted upon their greedy and cruel intentions. Prince Caspian believed that whoever owned that island “would soon be the richest of all the Kings of the world”, encouraging him to claim the island as a Narnian possession. Edmund, driven by his pride and sense of position, disagreed with Prince Caspian and argued that he should have sovereign authority among them. This confrontation revealed both of their constant internal struggle with pride and insecurity. Lucy, on the other hand, came to the point where she wanted to become desirable in the eyes of the world. She was tempted with a spell that would make her unnaturally beautiful, but initially resists it when she sees Aslan’s face. However, she consequently succumbs to another spell to spy on her friends back home. When all three characters were exposed to the temptations of the flesh, Aslan briefly shows himself to them which eventually leads them back to their senses. Similar to our journey with God, we are, and we will constantly be presented with temptations driven by the desires of the flesh. Lewis successfully brings forth the real source of temptation as within oneself, supporting what Apostle James explains “but each but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death”.

In our present generation, we base our essence and we measure our worth on an unrealistic scale that is based on the rules of the world. We are too overwhelmed with the standards of beauty, success, power, and wealth this world has set for us to live up to. Often, we give in to our darkest worldly desires and “fall short of the glory of God”. But in every instance of temptation, Aslan provided deliverance for Prince Caspian, Lucy, and Edmund. Similar to our present time, the power of temptation is temporary and avoidable, reminding us that “God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it”. C.S. Lewis successfully conveys the Christian journey and faith through a series of allegorical messages, particularly the themes of transformation and temptation, that underlie the structure of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Eustace’s life of sin was eventually cut short by the redemptive power of Christ, revealing the beauty of transformation. Similarly, the lives of Prince Caspian, Edmund, and Lucy reveal the reality of our spiritual journey as they battle through temptations and temporal gain, ultimately realising that eternal values far outweigh the desires of the flesh.