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Recent Reading: The Reluctant Dragon, by Kenneth Grahame

This was another read-out-loud with my daughter. We recently read The Wind in the Willows and enjoyed it so much that I immediately wanted to find anything else by Kenneth Grahame I could. Thanks to the public library, I’m glad we did.

Like The Wind in the Willows, this book is hilarious. We had several laugh out loud moments. The thought of a pacifist, poetry-loving dragon is entertaining in itself. And Grahame does such a good job of making said dragon come alive that, though it would seem hard, considering my previous notions about dragons, it is quite easy to imagine. I recall Chesterton’s statement in Orthodoxy to the effect that we need to read of golden apples to remind us that apples are really green (or red, of course), etc. Perhaps we need a poetry-loving, pacifist dragon to remind us that dragons are really vile and heinous. But, wait…there are no dragons. I guess the point is moot. But I digress.

The staged fight between the dragon and St. George is tremendous and I will never forget it. I love the fact that the dragon gets caught up in the drama of the performance and begins to play his part almost too well. It is reminiscent of a pro wrestling match – a staged fight filled with drama and hooting and hollering. Why not? It makes for a good laugh. As for the pro wrestling analogy, if you don’t believe me, just watch this VIDEO. Come on, watch it. You won’t regret it. Maybe you will. But not if you share my sense of humor.

As for applications – I may be reaching a bit, but there is a pretty good picture of our world painted satircaly in this story (though you can’t press the analogy too far). Grahame certainly makes fun of the town’s propensity to lie, slander, and cajole in order to start a fight and find some entertainment. Maybe I’m not reaching after all – that’s modern America in general. That’s the Democrats and the Republicans (in no particular order). Side A (you decide who it represents) wants a fight and some entertainment. Why not wail against side B until someone goes after them – even if you have no real case to compel a real fight, why not just make up some ‘facts,’ or impose a false standard upon side B? Side B is a dragon after all! We don’t care about his poetry.

I guess this could apply in international affairs as well. Who would have thought The Reluctant Dragon could serve as a primer on politics and international policy? Perhaps it is a bit of a reach.

Anthropomorphism, Unlikeness, and Reality in Fiction: Opening the Eyes of the Blind

This is a follow up to my post on the Wind in the Willows.

I didn’t want to include this line of thought in my initial thoughts on the Wind in the Willows. I think it deserves its own post, so here goes.

I often reference C.S. Lewis’ statement to the effect that fantasy literature does not make children (and I would say adults as well, so long as they’re not prone to pure escapism) forget, or despise, the real world. He said basically that a child who reads of an enchanted forest does not thereby begin to hate real forests. Instead all forests take on some of this enchantment. For instance, I’ve never thought of forests in the same way since reading the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings. I’ve never looked at peaceful walks the same since I read the Princess and the Goblin (I’m always ready to sing a goblin song should the proper situation arise). I’ve never looked at lions the same since reading the Chronicles of Narnia. I could go on, but I won’t.

I bring this up here because one might think of a story about a bunch of animals with human characteristics as mere silliness and entertainment (the Narnia books should show the falsity of such a notion). The Wind in the Willows is a perfect example of how a work of fiction (and impossible fiction at that) can actually tune us in to reality in a way, perhaps, more significant than if the book were ‘realistic.’

In Orthodoxy, Chesterton wrote (I’m paraphrasing) that we sometimes need to read of golden apples to remind us that apples are really green (or red, or yellow), and of rivers of wine to remind us that rivers are, in fact, filled with water. In our position, taking these things for granted, we tend to forget such wonderful facts.

In the case of the Wind in the Willows we get anthropomorphism as well as sheer unlikeness, for the animals are made human-like, and yet are utterly different because they remain animals. Yet, taking Chesteron’s point, it is precisely in this fact – the animals are different from us, and yet the same as us (because of the anthropomorphism) – that we are led to see actual reality more clearly. In other words, to paraphrase Chesterton again, sometimes we need prideful, idolatrous toads to remind us that humans are prideful and idolatrous.

It’s absurd to think of a toad obsessed with cars. It’s laugh out loud funny. But we wouldn’t laugh so hard if he were a human. Perhaps then we should be laughing at more humans.

It’s absurd to think of a toad who is arrogant and self-absorbed, always wanting the attention focused on him. It’s hilarious. But it’s not as funny when we see a prideful man. Perhaps it should be.

Idolatry and pride are, you guessed it, idolatry and pride – no matter the situation. They are scandalous regardless of the person or circumstances. Sometimes it takes fantasy (say, talking animals) to point this out to us. When I laugh at toad, when I think of his pomposity and absurdity, I’m laughing at myself – and so are you. The question is, do you realize it? You are that guy.

David had a ‘Wind in the Willows’ moment before the prophet Nathan. We all need moments like that. Sometimes it takes a story that takes us completely out of our comfortable context for it to happen.

2 Samuel 12:7 ¶ Nathan said to David, “You are the man!

Recent Reading: The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame

My work as a supply preacher includes a good bit of driving on Sundays. Because of this I’m always looking for ways to ‘improve’ the time on the road. I mostly take advantage of iTunes and Librivox. I can’t tell you the number of lectures I’ve listened to on Sundays as I take my four hour (round trip), twice monthly, trips.

When my children come with me I like to have an audio book for us to listen to. Our latest was the Wind in the Willows. If you’re not using Librivox or Books Should be Free, let me encourage you to take advantage of their wonderful resources. The recording of the Wind in the Willows (it’s called version 2) is tremendous. I had never read it before. Now that I have children I’m getting to catch up on things I wish I’d read years ago (and I love it).

As for the book, my family enjoyed it immensely. This is one of the funniest books I’ve ever come into contact with. It ranks right up there with the Marvellous Land of the Snergs (see my thoughts on that HERE). It made me laugh out loud at least a dozen times.

As for what I will take from the book: I think the character Toad will stay with me. He is a wonderful, and always humorous, case of pride and humility. His pride is extremely funny, yet always destructive. His pride is part of what makes him so attractive, yet also what makes him repulsive. It makes him one of the most interesting characters in literature I have ever met.

As for humility, Toad reminds us of just how short lived it can be – of how it ebbs and flows. Each time his pride is dashed he is contrite and seems to be humbled, only to have the old arrogance come raging back as soon as his troubles are over. The story also reminds us that humility cannot come so long as one focuses on himself. It takes a group of friends around him constantly trying to humble him, and him finally taking his eyes off himself and looking to them, for help, and at them, in the hour of his final temptation, to finally overcome his besetting sin.

Toad is wonderful because he is a type for basically every human being on the earth. We may not be as boisterous or outlandish (he is, after all, a fictional character, and a toad at that), but it’s hard not to see yourself in him. His character led to many conversations between my 6 year old daughter and myself. One such conversation was basically as follows: ‘Daddy, why is Toad so prideful?’ To which I responded, ‘I don’t know, I guess we’re all like that in some ways. It’s a part of being a fallen person, pride is our most deep rooted sin.’ ‘But I’m not like that,’ she said. ‘I don’t brag about myself.’ ‘But you are bragging about yourself by saying you don’t brag about yourself,’ I replied. ‘Oh, I guess I get it,’ she said – and that was all that needed to be said.

Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall – Proverbs 16:18

And finally, the Wind in the Willows also left me thinking of the value of true friendship. This is a ‘buddy story’ if ever there was one. As one who has seen the original Muppet Movie at least a dozen times (‘just a frog and a bear seeing America,’ says Fozzy the Bear) I can appreciate that. That’s not to mention the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings, which are ‘buddy stories’ in their own rights. This book reminds us as well as any of the value of having traveling partners in this life.

Did I mention Toad’s idolatrous obsession with cars is wonderfully funny? My daughter used the phrase ‘motorcarolatry’ to describe it. She’s learning well. I’ll never hear another car horn without thinking of Toad (and being reminded of my own tendency to idolatry and covetousness). Toad’s disproportionate affections remind me of my own – and how destructive they can be. But let me learn the lesson well, and put it into practice, by taking my eyes off of myself and placing them on another.

If you haven’t figured it out, I loved the book. It’s perhaps one of the best works of fiction I’ve ever read.