Screwtape Letters On The Outside Summary

The Screwtape Letters on the outside appears to be a story from an evil perspective. Yet C.S. Lewis manages to weave a creative fiction that candidly reflects a clear account of the Christian worldview.
The story transpires from the point of view of a professional devil named Screwtape giving advice and lessons to his nephew Wormwood. The plot mainly consists of the ongoing topic of how to turn a newly born Christian man (only referred to as the Patient) from God. Hence the Patient will be thrown into eternal damnation. One of narrative’s purposes for the reader is to assist them in discerning the tale’s warning to the Christian community. The book cautions against the attitudes of complacency that exist in the community of faith and real

It consists of a series of letters from Screwtape to Wormwood. We never read Wormwood’s responses, but we hear from Screwtape, who replies to his nephew’s questions. The writing is solely from Screwtape’s point of view. The narrative is told in a way that the reader acquires a clear message of what is occurring. The reader will never visit the actions transpiring, nonetheless Screwtape writes his own detailed accounts of incident transpiring. When writing this fictional tale in epistolary style, this allows the message to come out in a shocking way that leans towards realism. The account is not written as a story. Instead the letters are transcribed as if Screwtape essentially wrote them and C.S. Lewis has merely compiled the papers together. The sheer fact that the narrative is not in the second or third person brings the reader directly into the world of Screwtape and Wormwood. The account is all from the devils point of view, so the outlook is meant to appear biased. Although that is not entirely true. Screwtape employs a number of hyperbole phrases in his letters as an intentional exaggeration of the situations that Wormwood is faced with his challenge of turning the Patient away from God. These phrases offer a comical, humorous and occasionally degrading tone to Screwtape’s letters. Various creatures, particularly cattle are utilized to personify the Patient (man) and his kind. This shows

Screwtape is the only entity that speaks; his voice is shown through his letters. He acts as an unintentional guide as he informs the audience of what is occurring behind the scenes. The writing is unique in how the story line’s word’s flow. Emotions, thoughts and feelings come into focus through Screwtape’s choice of words. At times, the words sound similar in dialogue rather than just letters to his nephew. The tale is almost comparable to a ‘How-To-Manuel’. Though instead of being entirely a ‘How-To-Manuel’ – the narrative of Wormwood’s life; it is described in sections from Screwtape’s instructions. As he teaches and replies to what Wormwood inquires regarding how matters were transpiring in his work at turning the Patient to damnation. To convey a tone of realism Wormwood’s target Patient is involved in World War II this makes it relevant for the time the story was written. Not only that, but it makes the account seem as if this story really happened. Screwtape the main character stays appealing, since he appears to stand as an individual of high intellect and education. He utilizes high vocabulary words, and has a deep understanding of the human psyche. Screwtape also shows this characteristic in his ability to demonstrate an objective viewpoint (though it is clearly biased in its entirety). All these details aid the reader in comprehending the merit of his