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.

Synopsis
In the beginning portions of the book, it tells of the ape, Shift, and the Donkey, Puzzle, and how they live in the far west of Narnia, trading with the Calormenes. It also tells of how Shift finds (and Puzzle acquires for him) a lion-skin which Shift makes to fit over Puzzle in order that he may impersonate Aslan. Shift contrives a plan to "set everything right in Narnia" by helping the Calormen take-over. (This parallels to the prophesy that in the end of our world, there will be a pact (or unholy alliance) between God's people and the Anti-Christ.)

The next portion tells about the Last King of Narnia: Tirian. He is told by a Dryad that the Shuddering Wood is being chopped down. He hastens to the wood with his friend, the unicorn Jewel and finds that Aslan has ordered the destruction of the wood. In his wrath at the cruelty of a Calormene beating a Talking Horse, he and Jewel kill the two guards. He feels remorse at his actions and turns himself in.

Tirian is taken to the Ape at Stable Hill and there learns what is wrong in Narnia. The ape has made himself the "Mouthpiece of Aslan" and is the only person who can go into the Stable and speak with Aslan. They also discourse on how Aslan and Tash are one and the same, even though everyone knows that they are not, they are led away by the Ape. (This is a parallel to Revelation where it speaks of the Beast and the False Prophet. It is assumed that the Ape, the deceiver, is the Beast or Anti-Christ, and that Puzzle is the False Prophet.)  Tirian receives justice at the hand of the Ape, and is tied to a tree for the night.

The talking beasts that are brave enough visit him in the night and tend to his wounds and feed him. They leave to reassemble at Stable Hill. It is then that Tirian is convinced that the Aslan in the stable is a False Aslan and begins to call out to the real Aslan for help. As he does so, he also calls out to the children who have come before from across the worlds for aid. Then he goes into a trance/dream and visits our world. He appears to the Seven Friends of Narnia, but is unable to speak.

Instantly for him, there are two "bumps" from behind the tree to which he is tied. These turn out to be Jill Pole and Eustace Scrubb, who kindly untie him and make off with him through the woods away from the Hill. They discuss during this time the time discrepancy between worlds; however, instead of a shorter amount of time passing in our world, it had been almost a week in England while only being a few minutes in Narnia. They also tell how they came to travel between worlds. They were on a train to meet with the Pevensie brothers in order to acquire the rings needed to get between worlds when there was what turned out to be a train wreck and which made the process of transferring much simpler.

The three Narnians make their way to a defense tower. It has not been lived in, but is stocked for extreme circumstances. There they arm up in Calormene mail and dye their skin dark. After catching a few hours sleep, they return to the stable.

They sneak back through the woods to where the stable is. There is one sentry, who they take by surprise, and Tirian is able to free Jewel the unicorn. As Tirian, Jewel and Eustace make back for the tower, they realize that Jill is not with them. They turn back, but as they do so, Jill arrives behind them with Puzzle, who she had freed from the Stable. Tirian purposes to kill the Ass, but Jill insists that it wasn't the donkey's fault and Tirian stays his blade.

On the way back to the tower, they come across Calormene soldiers marching a line of dwarfs to Calormene that they might work in the Tisroc's mines. After a brief exchange, Tirian reveals Puzzle. The guards demand a password from Tirian, who draws his sword and replies, "This is my password: The light is dawning, the lie broken. Now guard thee, miscreant, for I am Tirian of Narnia." A brief skirmish follows as the Calormenes are brought down.

Expecting the dwarfs to join them, Tirian cheers Aslan, but the dwarfs merely sulk. They continue to argue against any real Aslan, being fed up with lies, and proceed to abandon their rescuers. One dwarf leaves the rest of them and returns, his name is Poggin and from him they learn the entirety of the Ape's treachery. (This is a Parallel to the numerable people who will fall into the false religion and then lose faith in the true God as a result. Poggin would be the Remnant.)

The next major event in the story is the arrival of Tash. For those who are against the Ape, this a positive development. They figure that it should terrify the Ape. "People shouldn't call for demons unless they really mean what they say," says Poggle. The cold horror of the thing passes in time, and they purposed to meet Roonwit who was coming from Cair Paravel.

As they marched, they are met by Farsight the Eagle. He brings the worst news possible. First, Cair Paravel is filled with dead Narnians and living Calormenes, and second, the sight of Roonwit the Centaur lying dead with an arrow in his side. The eagle brings a message from the centaur. "Remember that all worlds draw to an end and that noble death is a treasure that no man is too poor to buy." After a pause, Tirian gives the most heart-wrenching statement, "So, Narnia is no more."

Arc Advancement
A pivotal story that reveals the end of Narnia. All characters from the previous books that remained true to Narnia 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 Calormen 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.

It is also important to note that Emeth, while clearly not a servant of Aslan, does not claim to have been satisfied with what he knew of Tash. Aslan tells him that all the good he did for Tash was impossible for Tash to accept because Tash cannot receive good service. He goes on to tell him that if he had truly been serving Tash, he would have not continued to be seeking for Tash.