Evil is What you let it be.
The Screwtape letters is a sly and ironic portrayal of human life from the vantage point of Screwtape, a highly placed assistant in the hierarchy of Hell. At once wildly comic, deadly serious, and strikingly original, C.S. Lewis gives us the correspondence of a worldly-wise old devil to his nephew Wormwood, a novice demon in charge of securing the damnation of an ordinary young man. The letters tell the tale of deadly temptation and the road to sin, yet are also an uplifting account of human virtue and its ability to overcome Evil. Screwtape is an able and wise Tempter. He tells us of some of his past 'patients' and on a wider scale, the plan of action of "Our Father Bellow". He incorporates in his stories or letters, the great philosophical shifts that have occurred in the past century, how they were influenced by the great devils, and how they might help Wormwood 'save' his patient. These influences cited are given from a purely demonic perspective and yet they reveal the depth of the authors understanding of human emotion, and temptation. Wormwood's patient appears to the reader to be the most average of men. It is possible that this is done by the author in an attempt to make the reader empa
thize and associate with the patient. By creating such a bond, the author brings the reader through the path of his won mind, and lets him reflect upon his own ungodliness. Yet, with our own sins and temptations in mind we are shown how to avoid them and how not to fall in the subtle and delicate traps laid down by the Devils. The Screwtape Letters are a journey through human sin and attempts to overcome it. Yet the subtle use of language and the careful planning of the "lower hierarchy" make it almost impossible for us, as humans, to avoid sinning. And yet, the letters provide proof that it is possible to escape eternal torment as does the 'patient' of Wormwood. It is generally felt throughout the letters that the only way for humans to avoid sin is to give it your best, do what you enjoy and benefits others while not selfishly thinking of yourself. Such an obvious statement may seem ridicule, yet it is by attempting to avoid evil that we think of it and fall into its complex traps. The quest for goodness is not a quest, it is the journey that is life, and only by living it to our best as individuals, can we overcome the temptations of evil. Such shifts in ideology are beneficial to the devils because they make people focus on the self, as previously explained. There is another great advantage. The patient begins to think that it is his right to be as good as others. It is here that Screwtape offers the reader an insightful tale of a Greek tyrant who wrote to another Tyrant on how to rule. He was brought to a field full of stocks of corn. The tyrant
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Approximate Word count = 1056
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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