"Modern ideas" addressed through Eustace and his journal

[Lady Rosalia]

If this needs to go in the general Narnian discussion group section, just tell me and I can post it there
I haven't seen any open posts discussing all the "modern ideas" depicted in Eustace and his journal entries. (Before he was dragoned, of course)
This is not to say I agree with all of Lewis' depiction of it (vegetarianism, for example) but I thought some of them were worth much further thought. Examples:
Eustace's sense of entitlement "Let me go. Let me go back. I don't like it." when he first comes aboard, (and later about the water rations), the percieved unfairness of Caspian giving his room to Lucy because she's a girl "that sort of thing is really lowering girls," and how he is convinced that his view is always correct.
As an author, I find it fascinating to see how ideas are addressed without writing essays on them in the story , and wondered what ideas everyone else has.
I'd be happy to post more, but would like to hear other folks' ideas first

[Lilygloves]

I think Lewis mostly wanted to take modern ideas and twist them in a sense to make Eustace seem more ridiculous. A lot of things Eustace may have said in his journal or to the others may have been out of spite. But I'm sure Lucy didn't mind having her own room and not sharing one with the boys. Some feminists may disagree with this, but I doubt most girls would want to share a room in that situation with a group of boys, maybe Edmund but probably not Eustace and it would be inappropriate to share a room with Caspian. Eustace's modern ideas just made him seem sillier, especially foiling his "modern" ideas with Caspian's chivalrous and sort of medieval (because of how Narnia is set up) ideas.

[waggawerewolf27]

I haven't seen any open posts discussing all the "modern ideas" depicted in Eustace and his journal entries. (Before he was dragoned, of course)
This is not to say I agree with all of Lewis' depiction of it (vegetarianism, for example) but I thought some of them were worth much further thought.

Actually the vegetarianism is the only 'modern idea' that really makes sense since it was still wartime and there would be rationing for butter, sugar, eggs, meat etc. Vegetables were supposed to be grown in one's own back yard, which was easier said than done. I agree that meat-eaters would find enforced vegetarianism fairly horrible, especially since UK hasn't a reputation for a flair for cooking.

As a matter of interest, which out of Lucy and Edmund would Eustace really prefer to share a room with? My guess is that modern ideas or no modern ideas, that Eustace didn't really want to share a room at all with anyone, and that his entry in his diary was only because he was faced with sharing a room, not only with Edmund who had his number, but also with Caspian. Otherwise, I'd expect that 'modern' ideas are mostly an import from Eustace's school.

[Lady Rosalia]

Okay! So I've read past Eustace's last journal entry in this read-through! Fascinating. As a writer, I am amazed at how effectively Lewis used the journaling format. How he managed to tell the events from Eustace's view point, and yet have you rooting for the others is amazing.
It is funny that I had wondered after reading it last time that I wondered if Caspian was Lewis's alter ego, and then I heard that some think Eustace was Lewis at a young age. Interesting!
The "entitlement" theme still stood out to me. Also, Eustace's selfishness,and unwillingness to give up almost anything was interesting. He thought he was entitled to the nicest cabin, despite the fact that really Caspian was, and yet gave up that right for a lady.
What also surprised me was how he seemed to think he was always right, and the others were ignorant, nasty to him, and Caspian a "brutal tyrant".
He was looking for resoloution in a way that did not require him taking responsibility. Examples: Running from Reepicheep to Caspian; repeated demands to be taken to the British Consul. To Reepicheep and the others, the resoloution seemed simple: Eustace must take responsibility for his actions. Can you imagine the expression on his face when Edmund and Drinian mentioned handicapping him for the duel?
Any similarities between that and the over-burdened legal system nowadays? Hmmm. Moving on...
Also, his misunderstanding the others kindness to him. (that entry where he talks about when the others asked his opinion on going on after the storm or turning back, he explains that as he had been kidnapped and brought along on this "idiotic" voyage, and it was hardly his business to get them out.)
Wasn't it also interesting that the only piece of treasure he ends up bringing back with him from the dragon's cave, he gives to the others?

[Ithilwen]

How he managed to tell the events from Eustace's view point, and yet have you rooting for the others is amazing.

I think that's mostly due to the fact that Eustace's views are rather ridiculous. A lot of people assume that, if only people could see things through our eyes, they would see the rightness of our views. But that isn't usually the case. People are often self-decieved, whether it's due to sin over which they are trying not to feel guilt, or simply because they were raised a certain way. And just because we walk in their shoes and see things through their eyes, that doesn't necessarily mean we'll be deceived the way they are. It may make us pity them more, but it won't make us agree with them. It won't hide their faults or their lack of perception.

What's more, we had a good taste of who Eustace was before he even started writing the journal entries. We found him to be very rude, inconsiderate, and snobbish. We therefore expect his point of view to be a bit twisted. And because we've met Lucy, Edmund, and Caspian before, and know of their good qualities, we'll recognize that Eustace's accusations against them do not hold up when taking their natures into account.

As for the modern ideas addressed in his diary, I think Lewis was trying to portray Eustace as a certain kind of person - a set of ideas that was prevalent or gaining notoriety in that time period. Lewis most likely disagreed with, not only those philosophies, but the air of superiority that often accompanied them.


~Riella

[Narnian_Archer]

Interesting point, Ithilwen. I also think the journal-method was a way of Lewis trying to describe Eustace as a person. I think he made Eustace to be the kind of person who would be most uncomfortable in a magical/medieval kind of world - hence his quite exaggerated modernistic viewpoints. I don't think it was so much Lewis poking fun on these "modernistic" ideas (although there was some of that too), but also his way of showing how so many people use these kinds of ideas to get their own way, or give excuses for selfish thoughts or things they want to do (like waggawerewolf27 said about Eustace not wanting to share a room with anyone) . I think that, besides showing the very drastic change that Eustace undergoes, Lewis was also showing how terribly ridiculous these ideas and viewpoints can become when they are being used without the luxuries of modern-day life (of that time) and not being discussed or read about in an encylopedia. That's not to say that all those viewpoints are ridiculous, (for example, as waggawerewolf27, said, vegetarianism might make sense considering rations and all), but a lot of them, when they are not being discussed in talk shows or magazine articles, can really sound very silly. I think that's what Lewis was trying to make some humor out of, besides, of course, his showing the extent of Eustace's change after the un-dragoning.

[Varnafinde]

I think that's what Lewis was trying to make some humor out of, besides, of course, his showing the extent of Eustace's change after the un-dragoning.

It does give a very good contrast to Eustace after the undragoning - even to Eustace the dragon, who begins to see the truth about himself, and begins to be helpful to the others, giving them rides and finding a new mast for the ship.

And Lewis seems to ridicule most of those modern ideas he has Eustace write about. Even vegetarianism, although that might be seen as a good thing - but I don't think Lewis would feel very comfortable with it

[Ithilwen]

And Lewis seems to ridicule most of those modern ideas he has Eustace write about. Even vegetarianism, although that might be seen as a good thing - but I don't think Lewis would feel very comfortable with it

Nor would he be very comfortable with the ideas that it's necessary to be a non-smoker, teetotaler, or wear special kind of underclothes. I very much doubt that Eustace and his family would approve of his meetings with the Inklings at the Eagle and Child pub. And I've heard some pretty horrifying/hilarious stories about Lewis's smoking habits. And if I'm not mistaken, uncomfortable clothes was one of his pet peeves when going to school, was it not? (It's been awhile since I've read any of Surprised by Joy.)

There were plenty of fancy philosophies out there at the time that Lewis thought rather silly. Many of them were things that he didn't exactly do himself, but didn't think they were wrong to do. He talks much about them in his other, non-fictional works. I find it a bit funny that the ones he chose to implement when creating the annoying Scrubb family were the ones that would condemn him, if true. I suppose we all do that sort of thing when writing our own novels.


~Riella

[Dernhelm_of_Rohan]

There is a possibility that hasn't been mentioned yet - Lewis was exploiting the common perception of things like being a vegetarian and a teetotaler, etc. to showcase how legalistic and selfish Eustace and his family were. Remember that a good author uses things the reader understands to teach them things they don't understand, and Lewis was a great author.

Think about it for a moment. I happen to know several teetotalers. I also know two vegetarians. I probably know someone who wears a special kind of underclothes, too, but it hasn't yet come up in casual conversation. But do any of these things make a person selfish or have an entitlement mentality? Of course not. But the stereotype is that people who do all these things do have entitlement mentality. That's one possible reason Eustace's parents are so over-the-top modern - they're meant to be a form of character hyperbole.

This doesn't detract from any of the arguments that Eustace is a horrible person before he is undragoned, or that he's a bit of a coxcomb. Personally, I can see how all of Eustace's journal entries are simply based on the fact that he is finding reasons to complain.

But the root of his selfishness needn't be because his parents are modern. Perhaps they are modern because they were selfish first.

[Narnian_Badger]

I think the "modern ideas" were used for a couple of reasons. First, The Law of Conservation of Detail. The facts about being a "non-smoker", "vegetarian", or "Plumptree's vitaminized nerve food with distilled water" are provided to show Eustace's character. It's not just that he does these things, but they completely define him: accordingly, he expects everyone else to fit in that mold.

Second, each description is used to contrast Eustace and the Narnians: Teetotal vs. spiced wine, vegetarian vs. the normal Narnian diet, "modern" ships vs. The Dawn Treader, King Caspian vs. the gov't, books about information and "fat foreign children" vs. the fantasy one finds in Narnia, and non-smoking as opposed to... um, a smoking dragon, I suppose.