The problematic Last Battle
Jan. 10th, 2007 07:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sawylAfter listening to the earlier episodes, I thought I'd better stick with it and listen to the very last episode of The Last Battle on the radio. This reminded me why I never really liked it: it's far too preachy.
The other Narnia stories generally end with a message that's positive, whether you believe in Christianity or not: Digory struggles with his conscious to do the right thing and doing so, saves his mother; Edmund and Eustice are both changed from a unpleasant liars and bullies into a decent chap; Aravis' snotty class prejudices are taken down a peg; Jill Pole learns to stand up for herself; and so on. The Last Battle, on the other hand, ends with the idea that the afterlife is what it's all about: fine if you're a believer, but not much to enthuse about if you're not.
The other Narnia stories generally end with a message that's positive, whether you believe in Christianity or not: Digory struggles with his conscious to do the right thing and doing so, saves his mother; Edmund and Eustice are both changed from a unpleasant liars and bullies into a decent chap; Aravis' snotty class prejudices are taken down a peg; Jill Pole learns to stand up for herself; and so on. The Last Battle, on the other hand, ends with the idea that the afterlife is what it's all about: fine if you're a believer, but not much to enthuse about if you're not.
