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
Drinian, Edmund, Lucy, and Reepicheep continue to be the only ones who can see the Sea People as the Dawn Treader sails east. As they go farther, Caspian is surprised to see what looks at first like ice in the water but is in fact a mass of lilies. The ship continues through the lilies and for a while, white is almost all anyone can see.
As the Dawn Treader reaches the end of its journey, the light keeps increasing, representing enlightenment but also possibly death (like the light at the end of the tunnel). The beauty of the light, combined with the flowers and water continues to emphasize the splendidness of nature and God’s creation.
Themes
The water gets shallower and shallower, and the Dawn Treader is in danger of grounding. At last, Caspian announces that they have accomplished their goal. He entrusts his ship to Drinian and abdicates the throne so that he can continue to go with Reepicheep toward the World’s End in a smaller boat. Many of the crew members don’t want Caspian to go, but he insists that they must trust his judgement.
Caspian wants everything that the World’s End promises (heaven), and he’s willing to give up everything to achieve it, even his throne. This passage demonstrates the lengths a person should be willing to go to in order to seek spiritual fulfillment. Leaving behind the Dawn Treader reflects how many people seeking enlightenment leave behind material possessions.
Themes
But as the crew of the Dawn Treader continue to argue with Caspian, he remembers old promises he still has to keep to the people of Narnia. Feeling that Aslan is speaking to him, Caspian realizes that he can’t go on ahead in the boat after all. It will just be Reepicheep, Lucy, Edmund, and Eustace going on to the World’s End.
Caspian realizes that, as enticing as seeing the World’s End is, he still has people who need him back in Narnia. This represents how a Christian should focus not just on preparing for death but also on living a good life on earth.
Themes
The children are sad to leave Caspian behind, but they go ahead in the boat with Reepicheep. The boat floats on east and they see a grand country with impossibly high mountains and a sweet musical sound coming from it. They believe they’re seeing over the World’s End into Aslan’s country.
Caspian has been the children’s guide for much of the journey, and so his departure represents how now they are on their own. Unlike earlier, when Eustace ran off on Dragon Island, the children are now well-prepared to be independent.
Themes
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The boat runs aground, and the water is shallow enough to walk in. Reepicheep says he will go on forward alone and no one tries to stop him. No one hears from him ever again, but the narrator believes Reepicheep made it to Aslan’s country.
This passage seems to imply that Reepicheep has essentially died but that his death has allowed him to access the paradise of Aslan’s country. The differing fates of Caspian and Reepicheep illustrates the Christian idea that death comes at a different time for everyone, and so it’s important to be prepared.
Themes
Meanwhile, Edmund, Lucy, and Eustace wade south in the water on instinct. They come out of the water to a grassy place with trees. There a lamb by a fire invites them to have breakfast. Lucy asks if they’re headed to Aslan’s country, but the lamb says that they can only enter Aslan’s country through their own world. The lamb then reveals itself to be Aslan in disguise.
Edmund, Lucy, and Eustace’s departure from Reepicheep makes it clear that, like Caspian, they too have business left to finish in the world before they can go to the paradise of Aslan’s country. The lamb is the opposite of a lion, showing how Aslan contains multitudes, and lambs are also strongly associated with Jesus, a shepherd-like figure.
Themes
Aslan tells Lucy and Edmund that they will never come back to Narnia again because they are too old. They despair, but Aslan promises they will still see him again at some point. Aslan does not say whether or not Eustace will come back.
Lucy and Edmund learn that growing up comes with sacrifices and losing things from childhood. Because Aslan doesn’t mention Eustace, this suggests how Eustace’s attempts to reform himself so far, while successful, are not yet enough, and so Narnia still has things left to teach him.
Themes
Caspian and the crew of the Dawn Treader make it back to Ramandu’s island. The three Narnian lords on the island wake from their slumber, and Caspian eventually marries Ramandu’s daughter. Edmund, Lucy, and Eustace all make it back to the real world. Everyone compliments Eustace on how much better he has become, except Alberta, who believes that the Pevensie children have been a bad influence on him.
The ending shows how all the characters have been rewarded for their virtuous behavior. It also shows how Reepicheep’s sacrifice helped save the three sleeping lords. The story ends on a humorous note, with Alberta not liking the fact that her son has become less selfish. This hints at how, as much as the main characters have grown and found happiness, the world around them still contains sin and unhappiness.
Themes
