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. Including the lies of the Ape concerning Tashlan - the truth that Aslan and Tash are one. (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."

They hold a short council and decide that they have only one option: fight. They decide that the best thing to do would be to see what the effect of Tash is on the Ape. They go up to the hill with Puzzle still in the lion skin, hoping to reveal the lie for what it was. They also determine that the weaker side would have an advantage in battle there because of the darkness and the trees.

When they arrive, however, their plan to reveal the lie is dashed when the Ape tells them about an ass in a lion's skin and tells them that this is not the real Aslan. The Ape claims Aslan is terribly angry and will no longer come out of the stable, but they must go in. At first there is a great rush to see him, but the Ape tells them that Aslan is terribly angry, and no one really wants to go in and meet an angry lion. Then Ginger the Cat comes forward. He is suspected to be in cahoots with the Ape, and so he enters the Stable, thinking there is nothing inside, but planning on making up a horrible story.

The cat goes into the stable and comes blasting back out in a terrible fright. It blasts through the gathered animals and climbs a tree. The Calormenes and the Ape inquire as to what it saw, but Ginger had lost the ability to speak. Next, the Calormene Emeth decides to go in, to see if the statement of Tash and Aslan being one is true, which he doubts. Jewel remarks that the young man deserves a better god than Tash. He goes in, the door closes, a dead body is thrown out. The Ape claims that Emeth was slain, but Tirian can see that it is not Emeth. The Ape begins to select creatures that will go into the stable and as the Calormenes begin to drive a Boar into the stable, Tirian leads the Narnians out of their hiding place.

This begins the Last Battle for Narnia, or the Battle of Stable Hill. The first part of battle is against the few guards at the stable, the Ape, and the Dwarves. It begins with Risda Tarkaan, running towards and rallying his men, Tirian and Poggle disposing of the Ape into the stable, and the arrival of all the animals still loyal to Narnia. Tirian sends the mice and small creatures to free the talking horses while the dogs and other loyal creatures stay with Tirian. The Calormenes charge. This is a short conflict and the Calormenes lose out to the desperation of the Narnians.

The second part of the battle begins with the beating of a Calormene drum, summoning reinforcements. The mice freed the horses by this time, and they are making to join Tirian at the stable when the Dwarfs shoot them with arrows. The Calormenes are arriving and ordering for a second attack. Tirian prepares his force for a charge, telling them that at the worst, they will regroup at a certain white rock. They charge and at first are decimating the enemy lines; however, the Calormenes keep coming and they are forced to retreat. As they assemble at the rock, they turn and see that a Calormene is bearing something to the stable. It is Eustace. Tirian and Jewel race to save him, but are too late and turn back.

The third part of the battle is the darkest. Despair has set in and is taking a hard toll on the Narnians, but the fight is really between the dwarfs and Calormenes for a time. After a short struggle, the Dwarfs are taken by the Calormenes alive and thrown into the stable. The Calormenes charge with their spears and the battle is basically hopeless. Jill is thrown into the stable by her hair, and then Tirian is fighting for his life. He finds himself being driven towards the stable and then he is fighting the Tarkaan. In desperation, he grabs the Captain and jumps into the stable. The Calormenes clam the door shut and offer their leader to their god with cries of, "Tash, Tash!" The battle didn't last much longer.

Inside the stable, Tash comes to take the Tarkaan and also aims to take Tirian, but he is saved by the timely intervention of the High King Peter, who commands Tash begone in Aslan's name. Tirian looks towards them and sees Seven Kings and Queens. These are the Seven Friends of Narnia and they take him into the Stable. This is a part of the book which is very interesting and yet very strange. They are inside the stable, but the only way you would know it is because of the door-frame standing the middle of an open section of grass. Lucy remarks that there was a time in her world too, when a stable held something that was bigger than the whole world. (This is referring to the fact that Jesus was born in a stable.)

They also talk about how they all arrived in Narnia. There was a train crash in England that killed Eustace, Jill, Professor Kirke, Polly, who were on the train, and Peter and Edmund, who were at the station. Everyone except Eustace and Jill arrived in the Stable by the door.

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.