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 -
But because the elderly devil is training the younger devil, he refers to the younger devil as “you” to suggest that he will 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 crosses.” Because the younger devil did an exceptional job torturing his victim, the elderly devil is suggesting that he is ready to do his job alone. Giving the task to the younger devil tells him that his superior believes he is ready to corrupt humans on his own. It instills confidence and readiness in the young
In The Screwtape's Letter, two demons, Screwtape and Wormwood, uses freedom, emotion, and future to secure the death of their human "patients." Screwtape typically characterizes humanity as being foolish. He thinks his strategies can easily manage the humans and can change their entire life. At beginning of the book, Screwtape explains the difficulties that human faces in their lives.
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.
The man is asking the devilish looking man, a demon, how he can gain control of the people without an army. He says that if the man has the power to determine which souls get to go to heaven and which do not, people will work with him so that he will send them to heaven. The demon promised to show the man how, but the man was still skeptical, asking if he can even trust the demon. The demon continues by saying that people are religious by nature, and that the man should appear to the people as being a holy man by praying frequently. The demon also says that the man must have holy helpers.
Come, devil, for thee is this world given." He has given up and welcomes the devil.
In the house he discovers a book from which he learns the word “I”. Learning this word is very important to Equality, as he writes,”Many words have been granted me, and some are wise, and some are false, but only three are holy: “I will it!”, which shows that Equality finds the word “I” to be one of the wisest and most important words he has ever learned. Equality thinks very adversely of the word “we” as he writes” The word “we” is as a lime poured over men, which sets and hardens to stone, and crushes all beneath it, and that which is white and that which is black are lost equally in the grey of it.” So Equality finds the word “we” a plague of mankind and possibly even the root of shame and falsehood in mankind. This discovery relates to his original transgression because he originally addressed his himself as “we”.
devil points to the painful truth of the past and the reality of people in
instead, ‘I would let my bother go to the devil in his own ways,’ this
“Devil’s dance” takes an informal stand, “Yeah c’mon, c’mon now take the chance” (Hetfield, Ulrich line 10) to provide a genuine take on the devil. The repeated word “c’mon”, not only emphasizes the devil’s intent on coercion, but it also provides a sense of concern. The informal way of speaking implies that he is comfortable enough to communicate casually. “Sympathy for the Devil” however is sung in a formal tone. Before advancing the song Jagger and Richards introduce their speaker, “Please allow me to introduce myself, I’m a man of wealth and taste” (Jagger, Richards line 1-2).
By characterizing the devil as a person (most commonly a man), authors endowed him with significant qualities -- signifying qualities, really, many of which are recycled in "The Devil Went Down to Georgia." The devil is frequently wealthy, a sharp
“The spirit that I have seen May be the devil: and the devil hath powerTo assume a pleasing shape; yea, and perhaps, Out of my weakness and my melancholy, As he is very potent with such spirits, Abuses me to damn me. I 'll have grounds More relative than this. The play 's the thing
Here, the devil insinuates that Jesus is not the true Son of God and that if he was, he would command his angels to come down. This is a prideful act that Jesus successfully avoids by telling the devil that he cannot be tempted. "Again it is written, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God" (4). Lastly, the devil tries to lure Jesus by bribing him with worldly objects. Jesus then put his foot down exclaiming, "Begone, Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve'" (4).
In less recent times, Hell was still perceived as an interesting and philosophical topic in international literature. C. S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters, a satirical and Christian apologetic novel, was published in 1942; Lewis discusses the topic of Hell and demons through letters written from a highly-ranked mentor demon, Screwtape, to his younger, trainee demon nephew, Wormwood. Lewis goes into his own morality and his beliefs on the afterlife; he suggests that everyone is subject to the influences of
In the basic chorus of the song, the devil states, “Pleased to meet you / Hope you guess my name / But what’s puzzling you / Is the nature of my game.” In the different verses, the devil recalls how he has affected humans throughout time, but in the chorus, the devil has a direct conversation with the listener.
In the story the devil is put in a position in where the reader could have slight sympathy for him. I think this is because God is a hard being to relate to. It's hard for a mere mortal to relate to God because we don't have complete power over everything. The devil is a more relatable character because he is trying to change the world and improve his quality of life by gaining power. That is very relatable to us humans because we often try to do the same thing.