Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What is an allegory? What is the purpose of an allegorical text? What allegories are you familiar with, and where have you encountered them? What are the benefits and drawbacks of this writing style?

Teaching Suggestion: This Short Answer prompt asks students to think critically about a specific technique in C. S. Lewis’s writing style. Students who are unfamiliar with allegorical texts may benefit from a class-generated list of allegorical texts, which may include famous works such as George Orwell’s Animal Farm and Arthur Miller’s The Crucible.

• This article offers an overview of the allegory for reference before and during reading.
• This page from Oregon State University includes a definition of allegory, an informative video about the literary term, and examples of allegory in visual media.

2. What is the Christian concept of grace, and how does it work? How does it both explain and frustrate attempts to reconcile difficult theological questions? How does grace explain why good works are not enough for entry to Heaven? How does it reconcile the ideas of free will and divine determinism?

Teaching Suggestion: This Short Answer prompt introduces students to the text’s central themes of The Necessity of Death for Salvation and Grace Versus Good Works. To increase student engagement, consider beginning with a discussion of the concept of free will—what it is, what it entails, and why it challenges philosophers and religious thinkers.

• This article from Learn Religions discusses the belief that people can get into heaven by being “good.”
• This page from Psychology Today considers the concept of free will and whether or not it exists.
• This resource provides a detailed overview of the concept of grace in Christianity.
• This article from Perichoresis discusses divine determinism and its potentially problematic implications.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the text.

Reflect on the concepts of good and evil. In your mind, how do you reconcile the idea of justice with the knowledge that bad things happen to good people? What are your thoughts on the afterlife? How do your religious or spiritual beliefs shape your understanding of these topics?

Teaching Suggestion: Consider allowing students to share their responses to the degree that they are comfortable with after writing. Students may wish to approach this Personal Connection Prompt through a specific religious lens; encourage them to think about their views as well as the views of others and how these beliefs and perceptions potentially differ.

• These guidelines for facilitating difficult discussions from the University of Michigan may be helpful for teachers.