bart_calendar ([info]bart_calendar) wrote,
@ 2008-05-17 00:39:00
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Entry tags:aslan, c.s. lewis, narnia, prince caspian, reepicheep

Reepicheep Vs. Aslan
I am so fucking psyched that all the initial reviews for Prince Caspian are good. Because while I loved The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, we all knew that was just preparation for the real Narnia battles.

Plus, what I love about the Caspian book is that it focuses on my favorite character, Reepicheep, and doesn't waste a lot of time on my least favorite character, Aslan.

Which brings up an argument I've gotten into with many Narnia fans: "How can you like Narnia but not like Aslan?"

The response is simple: Aslan is a dude who shows up randomly and gives ambiguous advice that rarely helps people with their real world problems. Then when they fuck up because they lack the doctorate in divinity that they would have needed to have understood what he said, he sorta looks at them and sighs. Eventually, Aslan kills every living being in Narnia because 50 idiots worship a false Aslan. And he's supposed to be an all powerful lion!

Meanwhile Reepicheep is like an inch and a half tall. Yet, he actually manages to help everyone. He fights. He gives reasonable, rational advice. He stands up for his friends and shows real courage. When it matters he sacrifices himself for the greater good.

I know that the argument to this is that Aslan is the Jesus figure and that Jesus himself gives ambiguous advice. But, Jesus did so for less than three decades. Aslan keeps coming back every two centuries or so to give dangerous advice. Plus, Jesus has yet to kill us all.

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[info]agentsteel53
2008-05-16 11:27 pm UTC (link)
I definitely wasn't a fan of Aslan, and certainly WAS a fan of Reepicheep!

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[info]bart_calendar
2008-05-16 11:31 pm UTC (link)
Me too!

Reepicheep does stuff!

Aslan just says weird shit and walks away.

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[info]agentsteel53
2008-05-16 11:39 pm UTC (link)
I always thought Aslan was pretty superfluous. About fifteen years after I first read the series, I found out that he was supposed to be Jesus. I was like "oh, right, pretty superfluous".

You can guess how much use I have for organised religion.

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[info]bart_calendar
2008-05-16 11:43 pm UTC (link)
He's not even useful as a Jesus figure. If nothing else, in the story of the Bible Jesus dies for people's sins and then goes the fuck away.

Aslan keeps showing up every 200 years or so, is never really helpful and then kills everyone!

What's worse is that during the crucification episode in the Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe it's the mice who save him. Which is why it really sucks when he lets Reepicheep kill himself for a very marginal victory at the end of the Dawn Treader.

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[info]bart_calendar
2008-05-16 11:37 pm UTC (link)
Reepicheep accomplishes more during The Voyage of the Dawn Treader than Aslan accomplishes in all seven books.

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[info]jadedone2many
2008-05-17 12:20 am UTC (link)
I recently read Prince Caspian w/Elizabeth (we were prepping to see the movie). I LOVED Reepicheep. He reminded me of myself. :)

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[info]bart_calendar
2008-05-17 12:22 am UTC (link)
Reepicheep may be my all time favorite fictional character.

Have you read The Voyage of the Dawn Treader?

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[info]jadedone2many
2008-05-17 12:38 am UTC (link)
Not yet. That's next.

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[info]jadedone2many
2008-05-17 01:55 am UTC (link)
Hmm. I'll keep that in mind. I usually do read things before I read with her to make sure the content isn't overtly sexual or violent in nature, except for the little kiddy books. You know, the old school books we read as kids in grade school - the Beverly Clearly stuff and other classics. :)

I'm about to hunt down that book "Twilight" that everyone is going on about, so I can read it before letting her read it. She wants to read it b/c my 14 year old sister & cousin have read it & said it was good (and she loves to try & follow in their footsteps!)

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[info]bart_calendar
2008-05-17 06:50 am UTC (link)
It's not that it's more violent than the rest (Narnia is a violent place) it's that the main characters (and their parents) die. It was their parents dieing that freaked my little brother out when he was a kid.

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[info]bart_calendar
2008-05-17 12:47 am UTC (link)
Cool. You'll love that and The Silver Chair.

A word to the wise, however, read The Last Battle yourself first before you read it with your child and decide if you think they can handle it. I had no problem with it when my dad read it to me when I was about 8 or 9, but my little brother when he was that age freaked the fuck out when my dad read The Last Battle to him.

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[info]charlotte_webb
2008-05-17 02:00 am UTC (link)
That's my favorite one.

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[info]bart_calendar
2008-05-17 06:54 am UTC (link)
What I like is that Dawn Treader is the last "happy" one with all of the main characters doing interesting things. He really hits his stride in it. Plus, I like the "quest" storyline.

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[info]babyblooz
2008-05-17 01:20 am UTC (link)
I think my daughter has a crush on Prince Caspian. =P Everytime she sees the preview she gets all crazy on me.

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