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Screwtape Letter Essay

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C. S. Lewis wrote the fictional series Screwtape Letter to acknowledge the intellectual and religious skepticism during this time. In his series, the characters consisted of an elderly and younger devil. Throughout the letter, the elderly devil guides and advises the younger devil on how to torture his victim better. By analyzing the devil's ways, Lewis attempts to bring awareness to the devil’s tactics in everyday life through syntax and pathos. The elderly devil begins the letter by acknowledging the young devil’s work. While writing about his work, the elderly used “we” and “our” to suggest they were on this mission together. For example, the elderly devil states, “We want him to be in minimum uncertainty” (lines 4 - 5) and “Our business is to keep them …show more content…

Words like “we” and “our” lead to the idea that they are one. However, when the elderly devil begins to acknowledge that the younger devil is ready to carry out his mission without guidance, he uses “you.” There was no more “we” and “our” as a team, but “you” suggested that he would be working on his own. For example, the elderly devil states, “It is your business to see that the patient never thinks of the present fear as his appointed cross” (lines 18 - 20). The elderly devil approves of the younger devil’s job of torturing his victim, so he admits that the young devil is ready to accomplish this task on his own. For the younger devil to complete the task single-handedly, it tells him that his superior believes he is prepared. This will instill confidence and readiness in the young devil. To encourage the young devil to perform his duties alone, the elderly devil uses pathos. In the introduction of the letter, the elderly devil states, “I am delighted to hear that your patient’s age and profession make it possible, but by no means certain, that he will be called up for military service” (lines 2 -

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