Silver Chair Lessons and Silver Chair Curriculum written by the Ent and the Hobbit. This post contains affiliate links, you can find out more on our policies page or in the disclaimer at the bottom of the blog.
Know Before you Watch
Book: The Silver Chair
Age Suggestion: 8+ (3rd grade and up)
Pages: Will vary by edition (~200)
Publisher: Harper Collins
Publication Date: September 7th, 1953
Themes: Obedience, Adventure, Perseverance
Warnings: Bullying, mild alcohol references
The Silver Chair Quick Summary:
The Silver Chair follows Eustace Scrubb and Jill Pole as they travel into Narnia. Eustace has been to Narnia before (in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader) but this is Jill’s first foray into this magical world. Upon their arrival, they learn of a missing prince, who is the son of King Caspian. Eustace and Jill are then sent on a quest to find and rescue the missing prince, along with a few newly introduced friends. They meet several obstacles along with way, including the descendant of a foe from previous books.
C. S. Lewis is regarded as one of the twentieth century’s most influential writers, and his books of children’s series, the Chronicles of Narnia, are considered to be classics and have sold over 100 million copies. The Silver Chair is the fourth written book of this series, while also being the sixth book chronologically. We prefer reading the books in the order they were written (this impacts the first few in particular), but they can be enjoyed either way. The three filmed movies follow the written order.
The Silver Chair Review
The Silver Chair is a great, underdiscussed classic of C.S. Lewis. Following the redeemed Eustace Scrubb and the newly introduced Jill Pole, we embark on another magical journey through Narnia. The story is relatively straight forward, but still manages to stay intriguing throughout. As is common in many fantasy stories, we follow one major narrative (finding the missing prince) while running into smaller issues/journeys along the way.
As well as Jill Pole, we are also introduced to Puddleglum. He is perhaps one of the most delightful characters in the series as he balances almost perfectly between reality based pessimism and yet an odd undercurrent of joyousness. The villains and little twist at the end also plays a big role in the overall impact of this fantasy story, Altogether, The Silver Chair provides a very fun and relatively straight forward rescue story.
Are you enjoying The Silver Chair review? You can check out our other Narnia posts here:
–The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
–Prince Caspian
–The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Continue reading for our Lessons from The Silver Chair and The Silver Chair Curriculum.
The Silver Chair Discussion Questions
1) If you were trying to convince a school friend that Narnia was real, what would you say?
2) If you have read Voyage of the Dawn Treader, how is Eustace different in The Silver Chair?
3) What were Eustace and Jill’s reactions when they entered Narnia? What do you think yours would be?
4) Who was your favorite character and why? Who did you most relate with?
5) Who was the main villain of The Silver Chair and why does that have significance in the larger Chronicles of Narnia story?
The Silver Chair Curriculum
We have a full Silver Chair Curriculum and Discussion Guide available for digital download. This download includes:
-The Silver Chair discussion questions
-A multiple choice movie quiz with answers
-Discussion/ Comprehension questions for the full book broken up into
15 sections.
-Essay and project prompts
-A Venn Diagram to compare the book and movie & MORE!
-You can buy it at our Teachers Pay Teachers Page here for only $2.99.
*You can also purchase the Narnia Bundle which currently has the first four books of the series!
KEEP reading for The Silver Chair Lessons!
Lessons from The Silver Chair
1. God Desires Obedience
At the beginning of the story, Aslan tells Jill Pole four signs and has her repeat them until they are memorized. It is abundantly clear here and throughout the rest of the story that Aslan deeply desires obedience from Jill in these matters.
2. God’s Commands Have Purpose
An important topic about God’s commandments is the fact that God has a purpose of them. This is seen as the four signs that Aslan tells Jill have clear, direct effects on the groups journey. If Jill had perfectly obeyed Aslan’s signs, their trip would have been much safer and simpler. God doesn’t promise us safer and simpler lives, but there is undoubtedly a purpose for you in God’s plans and commands.
3. God Allows for Second Chances
Despite the importance of Aslan’s commands, when Jill and the group fail to heed two of the signs. Aslan does not leave them. Through a literal message in the sky, Aslan offers grace, hope, and direction to the weary travelers. This allows them to find their destination and ultimately complete their mission.
4. Temptation can be Enchanting
At the climax of the story, the Green Lady is using what appears to be logic to convince the group that there is no need to leave. She does a great job at using their own statements to show how ridiculous their statements are, despite the fact they are completely correct. If we are not careful, simple ‘truth’ may overtake truth that requires tackling and faith.
Thanks for reading our The Silver Chair Curriculum and The Silver Chair Discussion Questions. Before you go, check out these other posts
Our Related Reviews
–The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
–Prince Caspian
–The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
–The Great Divorce
Our Related Curriculum
–The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
–Prince Caspian
–The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
–The Silver Chair
–Narnia Bundle (Currently 1-4)
–The Great Divorce
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