"The Screwtape Lette" by C.S. Lewis.

Essay by Angeleyez8577High School, 11th gradeA+, June 2003

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The Screwtape Letters is unlike any other book I have read by C.S. Lewis. Though it is fiction, it addresses the issues many people face in their daily lives. This book consists of thirty-one letters written from Screwtape to his nephew Wormwood, both of which are demons hunting human souls. Screwtape, obviously having previous successes, advises his nephew about winning a difficult patient to darkness. The letters begin with Wormwood's failure to prevent the patient from becoming Christian. Screwtape informs Wormwood that there still is hope to draw the patient back into sin and away from God. Each letter addresses various aspects of the travails of the human soul and how the devil tempts that soul towards evil even in the smallest ways. The devil uses distractions like selfishness, doubt, spiritual pride and weariness. Another way include tempting one with self pleasures while he was weak in his walk. The demons express in these letters that above all they must not allow the patient to clearly see the truth.

In these letters, I have come to see the workings of evil in my own heart and the affect demons have on me. I have realized that this evil can be overcome by simple, clear actions and thought. I also noticed the similarities and differences between The Screwtape Letters and The Great Divorce in their approach their views of the afterlife. The Screwtape Letters show the spiritual side of the battle between good and evil over human souls.

This book has taught me about my human nature and showed me areas of my life where evil seeps. Sin has slipped into my life through areas such as distraction. Materialism is usually the first distraction in many peoples lives. In this book, it makes clear that materialism only works temporarily because many...