In
the passage from pages 15-17 of The
Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis relies on his use of satire and the logical
progression of the demon’s thoughts to convey his beliefs about prayer in the
Christian life.
The passage itself is a letter from
a greater demon, Screwtape, to a lesser demon, Wormwood, in which Screwtape
teaches Wormwood how to turn “his patient” (Lewis 15) from “the Enemy” (Lewis
16) to the Devil. In this passage, C.S.
Lewis is literally playing the Devil’s advocate, though the audience knows the
passage is indeed satire because of C.S. Lewis’s own personal convictions and
religious beliefs. Lewis was a devout
Christian, and his other works of literature such as The Pilgrim’s Regress, Mere Christianity, and even the Narnia
novels reflect a worldview centered around the Christian religion, not Devil
worship, hence the satire present in the piece.
Furthermore, the passage is
structured in such a way that it flows logically. Screwtape first gives one method by which to
turn “the patient” from proper prayer to a method of prayer that will turn him
from God. He says, “The best thing,
where it is possible, is to keep the patient from the serious intention of
praying altogether” (Lewis 15). He
concedes, though, that this method doesn’t always work. The phrase, “If this fails” (Lewis 16) shows
the logical progression of thought as a second method is introduced—to “fall
back on a subtler misdirection of his intention” by “teaching them to estimate
the value of each prayer by their success in producing the desired feeling”
(Lewis 17). Screwtape’s consideration for an overarching goal with
regards to prayer and “the patient” while understanding that this method will
not always work demonstrates that Screwtape has thought through the main points
he lays forth while covering all bases with regards to prayer. Thus, a logical procession of thought
proceeds.
This logical progression of thought
placed under the pretext of satire illuminates that Lewis himself believed that
men were not properly praying, that prayer itself had become corrupted. Knowing what the audience knows about his
satirical writing style, they can then infer from the demon’s argument that
Lewis believed man was often too lazy to pray (“clever and lazy patients can be
taken in by it for quite a long time” (Lewis 16)) or focused solely on the
feeling prayer produced. What Lewis
believed prayer should be as inferred through his satire is not a means by
which man “feels” better about himself but a complete giving of soul and
thoughts to God rather than “[turning] their gaze away from Him toward
themselves” (Lewis 16).
When I read The Screwtape Letters I always understood C.S. Lewis to be attacking people were not being lazy but rather that they were misguided. Each of your quotes show this as man is focused inward rather than outward. This is just my thoughts on this passage.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read The Screwtape Letters, I always understood C.S. Lewis to be attacking people were not being lazy, but rather that they were misguided. Each of your quotes show this, as man is focused inward rather than outward. This is just my thought on this passage. C.S. Lewis wrote the piece to provoke thought within the readers on their personal beliefs and subsequently the piece is open to a lot of different takes on each of the letters. These letters are each mini lessons that are designed to help the individual grow spiritually and shed ambivalence. Being focused this way really allows everyone to form their own opinions as it effects their beliefs.
ReplyDeleteC.S. Lewis made learning feel personal yet removed just enough so as not to offend the masses. Everyone knew what a letter was and how to read one. Everyone also knows that reading someone else’s letters can be titillating and informative. These letters are about everyone, but the reader doesn’t come away feeling that they’ve been preached a sermon. His unique method was truly subtle, but very effective.
In response to the passage you chose from The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis:
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I enjoyed reading your analysis of this passage from The Screwtape Letters. I agree with you that C.S. Lewis used this passage as a means to tell his readers his views on proper prayer. I also liked how you analyzed the persuasive arguments and the flow of logic that Screwtape utilized to advise his nephew, Wormwood, in how to turn the “patient” from proper prayer.
C.S. Lewis’s diction, however, always plays a strong and primary role in his literature. C.S. Lewis’s uses words and phrases such as “parrot-like,” “vaguely devotional,” and “superficial resemblance” (Lewis 15) to describe a Christian’s false perception of prayer. These phrases all have negative connotations attached to them, along with being phrases commonly used to describe children. The negative connotations and the phrases’ connection to children clearly show the readers C.S. Lewis’s thoughts on the common faults of the prayer of those who have newly joined the Kingdom of God.
More importantly, however, the juxtaposition between the demons “putting things into [human] minds” and a demon’s best work being “done by keeping things out” (Lewis 16) revels Lewis’s most important point on correct prayer—man’s greatest enemy to proper prayer is not the demonic, as commonly believed, but the self. The use of strongly negative words such as “lazy” (Lewis 16), paired along with Screwtape’s assertion that a demon’s task relies on keeping thoughts out rather than planting outside thoughts, reveals Lewis’s belief that the newly Christian, and even beyond, all struggle, as you expertly mentioned, with focusing on God rather than self. The belief that man’s greatest obstacle is not the demons plaguing man’s spiritual lives but actually man’s own selfishness and laziness is what Lewis intends to convey to his audience and cause in them reflection and thought on their own prayer life.