The Last Battle

Published in 1956 and awarded the Carnegie Medal, The Last Battle chronicles the end of the world of Narnia. Jill Pole and Eustace Scrubb return to Narnia to help save it from treacherous invaders and a false Aslan.

Arc Advancement
A pivotal story that reveals the end of Narnia. Nearly all characters from the previous books (the ones that remained true to Narnia, anyway) appear in the book's final chapters.

Controversy
Much controversy has arisen over the fact that in the final book, Susan Pevensie does not get to re-enter Narnia or the Narnian version of paradise, because she now loves many things of the world--such as dating and clothes--and has come to believe that Narnia was just a child's game that she once played with her siblings.

Many feel that Lewis was too harsh with one of the most beloved characters in the stories, particularly condemning of her for liking things that are natural for humans to enjoy. Many fan-written stories and plays attempt to correct this issue and allow Susan to rejoin her siblings. Others, however, believe that Lewis realistically portrayed the "falling away" from their faith that many people experience. They also feel that Susan was not condemned for liking clothes and boys, only putting emphasis on these things above all else.

Another controversy arises over the character of Emeth, a flatly pagan character from Telmarine who worships Tash (Aslan's opposite), but nonetheless gets to enter Aslan's paradise because he lived a good and noble life, and Aslan counted that as work done unto him and not Tash.

Some feel that this scene undermines the Christian correlation to Narnia, as it seems to be Emeth's works and not true faith in Aslan (read: Christ) that gets him into heaven. Others, though, feel that this scene attests to Aslan's goodness, as Emeth never got a chance to know Aslan and simply did the best with the knowledge that he had. (This correlates to the argument in Christian doctrine about what happens to people in underdeveloped countries who never get a chance to hear about Jesus.) Also, some would say that this scene effectively argues against charges of racism in the Narnian books, as the "whitebread" Susan does not get into paradise while the outsider Emeth does.