Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Bravery
Christianity
Growing Up and Selflessness
Temptation
Summary
Analysis
Past Ramandu’s island, everything feels different: No one feels the need to eat, sleep, or talk much, and there’s always a lot of light. The water is very clear. One day, Lucy notices a little black object traveling in the water beside the boat. She realizes that it’s the Dawn Treader’s shadow, and that it’s now just the size of a shoe.
The Dawn Treader’s shadow is so small because of its proximity to the sun. The ship is now so close to the end of its journey that shadow—which could represent doubt, the unknown, or temptation—no longer holds power over the crew members.
Themes
As Lucy looks more into the clear water, she thinks she sees a road below the water. The road leads to what seems to be a large underwater city. The city is full of Sea People who ride on seahorses and stay in the shallows to avoid the dangers of the deep. When the Sea People notice the Dawn Treader, they come up toward the surface. The people have ivory skin and dark purple hair, and they look like they’ve never seen humans before.
Lucy discovers that just as her own world has portraits that functions as portals to the fantasy world of Narnia, Narnia has its own secret worlds within it. The civilization of the Sea People seems to be a type of unspoiled paradise, once again hinting at the wonders of nature (and by extension, God’s creation).
Themes
Lucy tells everyone to look at the Sea People, but Drinian warns that the sailors shouldn’t look because they’ll just fall in love with sea-women or even the sea-country as a whole and jump overboard. Just then, there’s a plop. Someone shouts “man overboard,” but in fact, it’s Reepicheep who went overboard.
Drinian pulls Reepicheep up, warning him not to tell the others about the Sea People, but Reepicheep wasn’t interested in them. He was just following the prophecy that he must go East. Drinian pulls up a bucket of water, and when Caspian tastes it, it tastes like light. Lucy tries some too, marveling at how strong it is, and then everyone else drinks from the light.
Light is often associated with God and religion, and so the light that provides nourishment for Caspian and Lucy suggests spiritual nourishment. Reepicheep’s decision to jump right into the light-filled water shows how eager he is to reach spiritual fulfillment.
Themes
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Edmund worries what will happen if The Dawn Treader actually reaches the World’s End, and where it would go if it fell off. Reepicheep speculates that perhaps that’s where Aslan’s country is, or perhaps there is no bottom and you just fall forever. Eustace tries to tell everyone that the world is round, and Caspian is amazed to learn that Eustace, Edmund, and Lucy come from a round world.
Edmund’s worries about the World’s End can also be interpreted as concerns about what happens after death. The endless pit seems to be a metaphor for the endless sleep of death, but Aslan’s country offers the possibility of paradise—like heaven.
Themes
