Lewis was inspired by multiple sources such as a large number of traditional Christian themes. He also borrowed characters and ideas from Greek and Roman mythology as well as from traditional British and Irish fairy tales freely. The series influenced the adults and children's fantasy literature after World War II profoundly. Lewis always explored the themes like religion, race and gender, which are not usually present in children’s literature, so his novels have triggered some controversy.

As a classic Christian fantasy literature, The Chronicles of Narnia actually has various kinds of relationships with The Bible. What is called Narnia is a fantastic world Lewis built in the novel. Narrating the rise and fall in the Narnia Kingdom, Lewis expressed the Christian themes such as self-abandonment, salvation and so on. Although Lewis admitted that there were many Christian figures in his novels, he didn’t like others regard The Chronicles of Narnia as a pure religion series. The main purpose to create The Chronicles of Narnia was making up interesting stories for children and made readers comprehend and execute the Christian fraternity and tolerance better. As what David Barrett once said, “The greatest contribution of Lewis is that he brought Christianity new vigour and endowed it new relevance to reality in secularization of religion. He also called for conscience and sense of duty at the crucial moment when mankind’s values are disintegrating” (2006).

In the fictional realm of Narnia, there is a fantasy world of magic. In the magic world, there are mythical beasts and talking animals. The four protagonists in the adventure are all children with various characters and they play key roles in the unfolding history of fairyland Narnia. They are children from the real world, magically transported to Narnia, and the lion Aslan call them to protect the Narnia world from evil and restore the throne to its right place there. The series include the entire history of Narnia, from its creation in The Magician’s Nephew to its final destruction in The Last Battle.

Every protagonist in the novel experienced different journey, each one follows the change from ego to thoughtfulness. Every book in the series emphasizes on growth. In The Magician’s Nephew, at first Digory is easily tempted twice, but afterwards, he can defeat temptation. In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, After siding with the White Witch and betraying his siblings, Edmund learns, in the school of suffering, how foolish he has been and how cruel The White Witch truly is. Edmund’s sincere repentance and his bravery in battle proved Edmund’s growth at last. In The Horse and His Boy, at first, Shasta and Aravis don’t like each other so much, but after their unremitting salvation to Narnia, they gradually abandon prejudice and establish trust. Besides, Bree is overconfident at first, but during the journey, he gradually droops his head. What is important in Bree’s journey is not how he goes across the desert, but how to grow from a skeptic to a believer. In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Eustace experiences three stages—estrangement, transition and true self. In Prince Caspian, overconfident Caspian turns humble after a series of frustration. All of above is the journey for the characters to seek out their true self in Narnia. That is what The Chronicles of Narnia want to convey and the thesis wants to focus on.

2 Benevolence in the Kingdom of Narnia文献综述

When talking about The Chronicles of Narnia, readers always feel joyful. Benevolence of Aslan, creatures in Narnia and children, makes the series read sweet and just like sun shining. The Chronicles of Narnia tell stories about love and responsibility. No matter the readers are children or adults, sincerity is what they have in common, for it makes up beautiful life and for it is the sun of the harmony world. Just like what Kathryn Lindskoog said in his Journey into Narnia, “The joy of dwelling mentally in Narnia is only a vivid reminder. It is a reminder of the most important and joyful things there are” (1998:viii), readers can find joy in The Chronicles of Narnia. It is Lewis that expressed kindness to perfect.