This book has been reviewed by Focus on the Family’s marriage and parenting magazine. It is the fifth book in “The Chronicles of Narnia” series.
This book has been reviewed by Focus on the Family’s marriage and parenting magazine. It is the fifth book in “The Chronicles of Narnia” series.
Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie ruled the fantasy world of Narnia for many years. When they returned to the human realm, they became ordinary children again. A year has passed since they left Narnia, and the children are sitting in a railway station, waiting for the trains that will take them back to boarding school. They are suddenly pulled back into Narnia, but they don’t recognize the place at first, because they left a thriving civilization and have returned to a deserted wilderness. They find that 1,000 years of Narnian time has passed during the one year they spent in England, and Narnia is in need of their help again. Trumpkin the dwarf finds them in the ruins of their old castle, Cair Paravel, and tells them that an evil king called Miraz now rules Narnia, and his subjects are called the Telmarines. Young Prince Caspian is the rightful heir to the throne. Caspian wants to end the persecution of Narnia’s talking animals and the other magical creatures that were driven into hiding by Miraz.
Trumpkin tells Prince Caspian’s story to the Pevensies, and they all decide to travel to his aid. They have a difficult journey, which is further complicated when the children refuse to follow Lucy. She sees Aslan leading them in a different direction. When their attempts fail, they finally do follow Lucy, who leads them to the Stone Table where Aslan greets them. The girls remain with Aslan while the boys and Trumpkin to go into the Mound, a cave where Caspian’s army is staying. They discover a hag and a werewolf who are trying to convince Caspian to follow the White Witch and bring her back from the dead. Prince Caspian and Trumpkin kill the two evil creatures. Peter decides to help Caspian by offering to fight Miraz by himself. Then the winner of the fight will win the war.
Two lords of the Telmarines persuade Miraz to accept the challenge. Miraz fights Peter but is killed by his own men during the duel. A battle breaks out between the Telmarines and the Narnians. Meanwhile, Aslan’s magic restores Narnia to its former glory. When the Telmarines see him, they surrender. Aslan establishes Caspian as the king of Narnia, and the Pevensie children are sent back home to England.
Boys are called Sons of Adam and girls are called Daughters of Eve. Aslan is a mighty Lion, and his character represents Jesus Christ.
The Telmarines are the equivalent of atheists. They do not believe in Aslan or in any higher power. Doctor Cornelius says that he can use a little bit of magic, but he warns Caspian that the study of magic is not appropriate for princes. Doctor Cornelius also gives Prince Caspian a golden horn that once belonged to Queen Susan. If blown, the horn magically brings help to the user. Caspian blows the horn, which calls the four Pevensies back to Narnia.
The Old Narnians avoid the area around Cair Paravel because they believe it is haunted. Glenstorm the centaur is a prophet and can read the future in the movements of the stars. Aslan awakes the walking trees of Narnia, and the wood-gods pay homage to him. Bacchus, the god of revelry in Roman mythology, and Silenus, the god of wine in Greek mythology, are part of the festivities when Aslan returns to renew Narnia. The hag and werewolf intend to summon the White Witch and bring her back to life.
Trumpkin is an adult dwarf and he helps the Pevensies along their journey. He calls the children by their royal titles and displays fondness and respect for them.
King Miraz never cared for Caspian, but he was content to provide for him and train him as the next king until his own son was born. He no longer needed Caspian, so he decided to kill his nephew so his own child could rule Narnia.
Doctor Cornelius, Prince Caspian’s tutor, teaches him about Aslan and the Old Narnians, and he supports Caspian in his struggle to achieve his rightful place as king.
Although the Pevensies grew to adulthood in Narnia, they no longer think like adults. They behave as intelligent, older children and young teens.
Susan and Lucy see a man beating a boy with a stick. Aslan’s magic turns the man into a tree, and the boy escapes.
By Jove, sucks, and a– are used. Queer is used to denote something unusual, and gay is used to mean spirited or happy.
Most of the battle scenes are bloodless. Trumpkin cuts the hag’s head off when she attacks Doctor Cornelius. Reepicheep is badly wounded and has his tail cut off before Aslan heals him.
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Alcohol: Characters drink wine with meals.
Tobacco: Trumpkin smokes a pipe.
Literary references: The Arabian Nights is mentioned.
Producers often use a book as a springboard for a movie idea or to earn a specific rating. Because of this, a movie may differ from the novel. To better understand how this book and movie differ, compare the book review with Plugged In’s movie review for Prince Caspian.
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