Bravery
Although he is not the main character, in many ways the talking mouse Reepicheep is at the center of C. S. Lewis’s The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. He is the character most committed to sailing east on the Dawn Treader to see the World’s End, and his bravery inspires even Caspian. Reepicheep’s life philosophy, which informs the book as a whole, is that Narnians should never be afraid and always be…
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Christianity
C. S. Lewis often wrote about Christianity in both his fiction and nonfiction, and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is no exception. Rather than directly referencing God or Jesus, the novel instead uses allegories to explore religious ideas. In the world of Narnia, the talking lion Aslan is a Jesus-like figure who dies and comes back to life in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (the first book published in the series). In…
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Growing Up and Selflessness
While The Voyage of the Dawn Treader features a revolving cast of characters, everything begins with Eustace, a young boy who wants nothing to do with adventure or the people of Narnia. Eustace’s main flaws are his selfishness and his limited worldview. When he gets sold into slavery in Narnia, he throws a tantrum and demands to see the British Consul, not realizing that the world of Narnia operates according to very different rules…
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Temptation
Even the heroes of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader frequently face moments when they are tempted to do something that they know they shouldn’t. Caspian, for example, may be the fair and just king of Narnia, but even he is tempted when his crew comes across a magic lake that can turn anything to gold. Lucy too faces temptation when she opens up the Magician’s spell book and finds that it offers…
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