Satire and Social Criticism in C. S. Lewis' That Hideous Strength
2012 (English)Independent thesis Basic level (professional degree), 10 credits / 15 HE credits
Student thesisAlternative title
Satir och samhällskritik i C. S. Lewis Vredens tid (Swedish)
Abstract [en]
The essay at hand is a New Historicist reading of C. S. Lewis’ dystopian fantasy novel That Hideous Strength. According to New Historicist theory it is informed by many disciplines, namely, philosophy, history, literary theory, theology, social science, and psychology, and it attempts to lessen injustices of race and class. The essay examines how satire operates in the novel, focusing on its societal targets: totalitarianism, laboratory animals, and education. Lewis’ philosophical idea expressed in his “The Abolition of Man” – that a society that averts from what he calls universal, timeless, objective values will eventually lead to a loss of that which is truly humane – is a main theme of the novel as well as for this essay. Another, complementary, main theme is that a cultivation of the heart is necessary for individuals of society since childhood if society is going to stay humane.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2012. , p. 46
Keywords [en]
literary criticism, social criticism, satire, dystopia, fantasy, evil, Tower of Babel, philosophy, theology, history, social science, psychology, magnanimity, totalitarianism, laboratory animals, education
National Category
Humanities Social Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hv:diva-5162OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hv-5162DiVA, id: diva2:609909
Subject / course
English
Educational program
Teacher Traning Programme
Uppsok
Humanities, Theology
Supervisors
Examiners
2013-03-112013-03-082013-03-11Bibliographically approved