The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis

TOPICS AND THEMES: As you read, what topics do you notice? What is the author’s message about this topic?

Reading Schedule for The Magician’s Nephew, Fall Semester of 2025

Assignments for each week are in the next section.

Week 6 September 30 Read Chp 1 -5

Week 7 October 7 Read Chp 6-10

Week 8 October 14, Read Chp 11 to end (chp 15)

Week 9 October 21 Work on your response to literature essay

Week by Week assignments for The Magician’s Nephew

Week 6 September 30, 2025

Read Chp 1 -5

Answer Discussion Questions

Answer as many discussion questions as your grade. If you are in sixth grade, answer six questions. If you are in 7th grade answer 7 questions and so on. I recommend you copy and paste the question into a word document. You should also restate the question in the first sentence of your answer.

Everyone MUST answer question #4 & 16.

  1. IMAGERY/SENSORY DETAILS: Chp 1 & chp3 .Can you find examples of sensory details in chapter 1 or chapter 3. Sensory details are visual, auditory, touch, smell, and taste. Write these examples down. What impact do these details have on you?

  2. SUSPENSE: Chp 1. How does Lewis build suspense in the first chapter, making you wonder what is going to happen next?

  3. MOOD: Chp 1. What is the mood of the first few chapters of the book? What evidence from the book to you have to support your claim?

  4. THEME EVERYONE ANSWERS THIS QUESTION: Chp 2. What does Uncle Andrew mean by this quotation and do you agree that some people are exempt from common rules? What might be the problem if leaders believe and follow this?

    " ‘You mean that little boys ought to keep their promises. Very true: most right and proper…. But of course you must understand that rules of that sort, however excellent they may be for little boys -and servants - and women- and even people in general, can’t possibly be expected to apply to profound students and great thinkers and sage.s No, Digory. Men like me, who possess hidden wisdom are freed from common rules just as we are cut off from common pleasures. Ours… is a high and lonely destiny’” (Lewis 19).

  5. THEME: Chp 2. Diggory sees through Uncle Andrew’s lofty claims, thinking “‘All it means,’ he said to himself, ‘is that he thinks he can do anything he likes to get anything he wants’” (Lewis 20). This is called rationalization. When one creates reasons to justify ones poor choices or behavior. Do you know leaders or other people who think like Uncle Andrew thinks? Explain.

  6. CHARACTERIZATION: Chp 2. In chapter two we learn that “Diggory was disliking his Uncle more every minute….” (Lewis, 20). What makes Uncle Andrew disagreeable?

  7. CHARACTERIZATION: Chp 2. Diggory is appalled by what Uncle Andrew does to the guinea pig. He exclaims “‘It was jolly cruel thing to do’” (Lewis 21). What do we learn about Uncle Andrew’s character by his response? How does he view animals?

  8. THEME: Chp 2. The Magician’s Nephew was written in 1955, ten years after World War II inflicted grave violence on the world and most European, American, Japanese, and Chinese men between the ages of 18-30 became soldiers. Explain what Uncle Andrew is saying about generals versus soldiers here in chp 2. And what do you think about that?

    “‘Bless my soul, you’ll be telling me next that I ought to have asked the guinea-pigs’ permission before I used them! No great wisdom can be reached without sacrifice. But the idea of my going myself is ridiculous. It’s like asking a general to fight s a common soldier. Supposing I got killed, what would become of my life’s work?’” (Lewis 22).

  9. THEME: Chp 2. Diggory shouts that Uncle Andrew has no honor. What is honor?

  10. THEME: Chp 2. What does Diggory mean when he exclaims “‘[y]ou’re simply a wicked, cruel magician like the ones in teh stories. Will, I’ve never read a story in which people of that sort weren’t paid out in the end, and I bet you will be. And serve you right’” (Lewis 22).

  11. INTERPRETATION Chp 3. What do you think is the meaning of Polly and Diggory nearly forgetting everything when they are in the in-between woods?

  12. MOOD: Chp 4. How does Lewis use sensory details to create a mood of foreboding, danger, and dreariness in the new world they visit called Charn?

  13. INTERPRETATION: Chp 4. What is it about Charn that makes Polly and Diggory bicker with each other once they are there?

  14. PREDICTION: Chp 5. What do you predict is the mark of a magician that the Queen refers to when she says to Diggory, “‘You are no magician. The mark of it is not on you’” (Lewis 39).

  15. ALLUSION Chp 5. Read about the atomic bombs used by the United States on Japan at the end of World War II. How might this be like the Deplorable Word, the Queen uses to destory all living things?

  16. INTEPRETATION: Chp 5. The Queen thinks those who weren’t willing to use the Deplorable Word were “weak and soft-hearted” because they were unwilling to use this great destructive power (Lewis, 41). Do you agree? Explain. Who is stronger he who uses all the power at his disposal or he who restrains himself?

  17. THEME Chp 5. Who does this statement by the Queen remind you of? And why do you think Lewis includes TWO characters that espouse this philosophy? What is he trying to show us?

    “‘They were my people. What else were they there for but to do my will?…. I had forgotten that you are only a common boy. How should you understand reasons of State? You must learn, child, that what would be wrong for you or for any of the common people is not wrong in a great Queen such as I. The weight of the world is on our shoulders. We must be freed from all rules. Ours is high and lonely destiny’’ (Lewis 42).

Subject vs. Topic vs. Theme

Subject = sentence about the characters and conflict and is very specific to that book.

The subject of The White Camel of Fez is a boy in 11th century Morocco and his efforts to save his rare white camel and the people he meets along this journey.

Topic = one or two words that describe what a literary work is about.

Some topics in this book include: loyalty, friendship, parent-child relationships, travel, honor, sacrifice, interpretations of faith, tribal strife, human - animal interactions

Theme = argument or point the work makes about that topic.

A theme is a central message of the novel which can be stated in a sentence (not just one word). Theme answers the question: what is the author’s message about loyalty (a topic) in Johnny Tremain?

“Themes are often subject to the reader’s perception and interpretation. This means that readers may find primary and/or secondary themes in a work of literature that the author didn’t intend to convey. Therefore, theme allows for literature to remain meaningful, ‘living’ works that can be revisited and analyzed” for generations (Literary Devices: Definitions and Examples of Literary Themes).

Note: sometimes we use theme and topic interchangably. But in a literature class, when your teacher asks you to articulate a theme or write about a theme, she’s asking you for a sentence about a work’s message that can be applied to humans across time, such as “absolute power can corrupt even the most honest person.”

Examples of a subject vs. topic vs. theme vs. subject from Romeo and Juliet.

Subject: teenagers from feuding families who fall in love and are willing to sacrifice everything to be together

Topic: love

Theme: the power and urgency of romantic love can transcend cultural boundaries and family vendettas. Or the power of love and the “futility of other’s attempts to stop it” (Literary Devices: Definitions and Examples of Literary Themes).

Hamburger Paragraph Format

Bun = topic sentences with TAG (title, author, genre) and a thesis which also includes a road map. A thesis is your argument or controlling idea. A road map lists your two main ideas or parts of the story that support your thesis.

Cheese = introduce the quotation by providing context- what is happening in the novel when when this passage occurs.

Meat/Protein = the quotation or summary (evidence). Use parenthetical citations correctly like this: “Blah, blah, blah, blah,” (Sophocles 37). If you’ve already mentioned the author’s last name, you don’t need to use it in the citation.

We’re using MLA9 (Modern Language Association edition 9) format so that’s (author’s last name page number). No comma in-between last name and page number, nor before the end quotation mark in this edition of the MLA formatting guidelines.

Sample: David exclaims, “blah-blah-blah” (Sanderson 245). This passage reveals…. Or if you’ve already used the author’s last name somewhere in the essay and aren’t quoting other sources you can just insert the page number David exclaims, “blah-blah-blah” (245).

Here are a few samples directly from Purdue’s writing website, The Purdue Owl

Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (263).
Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263).

Wordsworth extensively explored the role of emotion in the creative process (263).

Both citations in the examples above, (263) and (Wordsworth 263), tell readers that the information in the sentence can be located on page 263 of a work by an author named Wordsworth. If readers want more information about this source, they can turn to the Works Cited page, where, under the name of Wordsworth, they would find the following information:

Wordsworth, William. Lyrical Ballads. Oxford UP, 1967.

Lettuce = explain how the quotation supports your thesis/claim. Use verbs that show the connection beteween the evidence and your thesis. Example: This passage reveals/ demonstrates/ shows/ illustrates/ that Samir no longer….

Bottom bun = conclusion which freshly restates your thesis/claim and if possible, includes a so-what (why this matters). Note, try to avoid the phrase “in conclusion” if you can as it feels stiff.

ANNOTATIONS

Why do I have you annotate? Because annotation makes you slow down and really think about what you are reading and think about the writer’s craft. Lots of research shows that annotating significantly improves ones understanding and recall of what we read. Remember annotating has the word NOTE in the middle of it. Annotating is NOT HIGHLIGHTING. Annotating is making notes on the text. You might also highlight an important part but if you are only highlighting you are NOT actually annotating.

What should I annotate?

  • summarize important plot developments

  • character traits and how characters change

  • important topics or themes

  • literary devices such as: similes, metaphors, personification, parallelism.

  • connections-of what does this passage remind you?

  • your reaction