Screwtape Letter Essay

Lewis's book, The Screwtape Letters, has shown me many challenges in which I go through in my everyday life. These challenge levels range from simple stuff that can just happen at my house to serious stuff outside in the world. One of the more simple challenges that this book provides insight to, occurs in chapter three. That chapter focuses on something as simple as making your mother upset. It goes into depth about how he can talk or act a certain way to make her upset with him. In doing this, Screwtape and Wormwood want the human to become isolated from his mom. One of the more serious challenges that is featured in the book is the continual evaluation of the Church and Christianity. The chapters dealing with these issues are chapters one, two, four, and eight. All of these chapters selected had issues or evaluations dealing with the Church or Christianity in a negative

The letters utilize reoccurring literary devices utilized throughout the letters, two of the most prevalent are satire and irony. The Screwtape Letters are infused with Irony, through statements that the readers see and comprehend as see as what is most commonly perceived in human culture. Especially when the two refer to the person whom Wormworth is trying to assimilate to his ways, as his “patient” when conventionally people think of a patient as someone you are trying to help not hinder, in this case, as well as Screwtape referring to God as deceitful and disloyal while he and Wormworth are not even loyal to one another, and followed the teachings of Satan, the leader of deceit. He uses satire throughout the entire format of the 31 letters. experienced devil is helping the younger one become better at what they do.

The demons that lurk around each and every one of us, in the darkness and shadows, can use things like reality or bad influences and many other ways to get in their “patient’s” head. The demons can’t even use the same things that God uses, to get to us; the demons just use it in an evil way. In The Screwtape letters, all of these pains plus many more pains are used to lure “Patients” towards the darkness. In the Gospel of Matthew, we are warned about demons and other false teachings, “beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they ravening wolves” (Matthew 7:15).

Man was created in the image of God, but given free thought. With free thought came the thoughts and ability to sin. It does not matter what religious back ground that you come from or even if you are religious at all, it is easy to see that the world view characterization of human nature is accurate. When looking at resources or evidence that human nature has a tendency to sin all you have to do is turn on the television. The images and stories that we see on the news and through social media are not some recent events. We have been sinning since the creation of mankind, and with the world social unrest and current event mankind dies not look like they are going to stop.

The wormwood plant can make a person feel one way, and so deceives them into believing that the way they feel under its influence is enjoyable. However, the wormwood plant causes destruction to both the mind and the body. In the same way, Wormwood would deceive a person into thinking that sinning is enjoyable and has lasting benefits. In reality, sin leads to death. Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to man, but in the end it leads to death.”

Have you ever wondered how demons try and lead us away from God and begin to sin? In the Screwtape Letters C.S Lewis shows us how a demon named Screwtape guides his nephew Wormwood on how to make sure their “patient” stays away from Christianity. The Screwtape Letters is an Epistolary novel that was written during World War II. In this novel God is considered “The Enemy” and Satan is “Our Father.” The main characters in this novel are Wormwood, Screwtape, and the patient. Screwtape is a demon who writes his nephew Wormwood from hell. Screwtape teaches his nephew the different steps of keeping his “patient” away from God. Humans are called patients by demons because they are trying to lead humans away from God. In this novel we don’t really

Lewis refers to God, Satan and Hell many different ways. When mentioning God, he uses the term “The Enemy” which in our minds, would normally be in reference to Satan. He also refers to him as “The Father Above,” and to Satan as “Our Father Below” and “High Command.” Hell is referred to as “Our Father’s House.” “Screwtape Letters” is written with this context because it is from the point of view of a demon who goes by the name of Screwtape. This is satirical, it is the opposite of the way we would normally think. In our minds, we think of God as “High Command,” and as Our Father, not as “The

In the bible Eve ate the forbidden fruit and tempting Adam to do the same and they took pleasure in the fact they disobeyed God. Similar to how Augustine took pleasure in simply knowing him stealing the pears was wrong. It wasn’t the act of stealing the pears, it was his “sole gratification in them was my own sin, which I was pleased to enjoy.”

For example Screwtape tells Wormwood to do everything in his power to keep his patient from regular communion with God, and to convince the patient that being busy in life and ministry is an acceptable excuse not to spend regular time in prayer. If you can get him to rationalize that because he offers short prayers to God throughout the day, he doesn’t need to have a dedicated and disciplined time of prayer. If you can get him to the point where he tells people he prayed for them, without actually praying for them, even better. This example tells me that having a dedicated time to pray is something Satin doesn't want. This is just one of many instances where I recognise Satan's deception. “Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts,...Your affectionate uncle, Screwtape.” This quote shows Satan's subtle deceptions when Screwtape is telling Wormwood to slowly bring his patient to sin. I’ve seen this happen at times in my life where one month I was very consistent with devoting time with God in prayer and scripture and then the next not being as consistent because I began prioritizing other things over

Could anyone feel sympathy for a groveling, sly demon? The demons did have a hard job, but it was a despicable job of choice. In The Screwtape Letters, by C.S. Lewis, Screwtape busily instructs his nephew, Wormwood, who scrambles to trip up his “patient,” and bring the man to hell. Throughout the book, everyone should plainly realize that neither Screwtape nor Wormwood deserved pity or sympathy in the least. The first reason for this is that the demons’ malevolence revealed itself plainly in the book. Secondly the demons’ hate for all that is good and innocent reared its ugly head, snarling in the reader’s face. Finally, the pitiable, vile, cruel plans of the demons wiped out any lingering sympathetic feelings in the reader. The demons were purely cruelty.

-Sex: Evil, lust, seduction, temptation, danger. Evil has been related to sex ever since the serpent tempted Eve.

Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, is an interesting novel containing the interaction between a devil named Screwtape and his young nephew Wormwood. The book is comprised of letters corresponding between the two devils. Screwtape is a senior devil and is tasked as a mentor to his less experienced nephew. Screwtape instructs Wormwood on how to tempt a new Christian, or "patient". He suggest many different intricate ways of using human emotions, thoughts, and weaknesses to tempt their faith, and keep them from the kingdom of heaven. The ultimate goal to attain humans for their master in hell. Wormwood is at first encouraged by his uncle Screwtape, but is later criticized because he can't control his patient, and fails at keeping him from church.

Temptation, sin or not? Depending on who you ask it may or may not be. Temptation can come in any form. It sidetracks people from whatever their individual goal is and draws them to do something that isn't the best for them. Odysseus and I both face temptation in different ways. For him it is his struggle against the sirens. Mythical mermaid-like creatures that sing to him with enchantments calling him to his death against his

Screwtape wants to destroy the patient and his mother's relationship all together. They both already had a mutual annoyance for each other despite what screwtape was trying to do. First method he wants to use is keeping the patient's mind on himself. This will cause anger and annoyance towards his mother in doing so. This all relates towards logos by being factual evidence to cause anger. With pathos, C.S. Lewis wants to show emotion that the reader can relate to. He does this by showing tone in the story with the patient and his mother. “I have had patients of my own so well in hand that they could be turned at a moments notice from impassioned prayer for a wife’s or son’s soul to beating or insulting the real wife or son without qualm.” This gives us the sense of how evil devils can be towards

C.S Lewis is clear that his opinion is that the all types of love are branched from the love of Christ. Screwtape and Wormwood devise a plan to strip the patient of his love for people and things of this world in order to turn him away from Christ and hand him over to the devil. God’s love for humanity is incomprehensible to Screwtape, he thinks that the purpose of life is to better oneself and take control of others. In the book, Screwtape explains how they merely want to absorb the patient for their own personal gain and their desires are compared to God’s saying “One must face the fact that all the talk about His love for men, and His service being perfect freedom, is not (as one would gladly believe) mere propaganda, but an appalling truth” (Lewis Part VIII). C.S Lewis describes God as one who does not want to take over and destroy but as a God who wants to give, unite and love his people. Throughout the book, we see Screwtape’s attempts to rid the patient of love but this job is not as easy as he originally believes it to be.