Shift (Narnia)
Encyclopedia
Shift is a fictional character
in the children's fantasy
series The Chronicles of Narnia
by C. S. Lewis
. He is the main antagonist of The Last Battle
, which is the last book of the series.
Shift is an ape who, like many animals in Lewis' work, can talk. At the beginning of the book, he lives near his friend/servant Puzzle the donkey
at the base of the Great Waterfall, next to the Caldron Pool where the Great River starts its course to the sea. Lewis describes Shift as, "the cleverest, ugliest, most wrinkled Ape you can imagine."
Shift gains the power to pursue these actions by tricking Puzzle into impersonating Aslan
, the true leader of Narnia
. Later, to secure the assistance of the neighboring country Calormen, he insists that their god Tash
and Aslan are one and the same. But Shift's plans unravel when his actions unwittingly summon the real Tash into Narnia. Shift meets his end when he is thrown into the stable where Tash dwells, and is eaten by the monstrous god.
.
Shift is most often compared to the Antichrist
from the biblical
book of Book of Revelation
.
The portrayal of Shift also suggests elements of modern totalitarianism, as in his use of the Rousseau
ian argument that "True freedom means doing what I tell you" (see General will
).
But behind Shift lie greater powers: the Calormenes and ultimately their god Tash. Lewis revealed in his science fiction trilogy through his hero Ransom, especially in the final volume, That Hideous Strength
, the connection between demonism and false science. The darker tone of The Last Battle
parallels that of That Hideous Strength as both novels unveil the true face of Good and Evil, True and False, in a final conflict.
A. N. Wilson
and John Goldthwaite both suggest that Shift is intended as a type of the Catholic Church, in keeping with the traditional Protestant identification of the Pope with Antichrist. This identification is based on Shift's claim that Aslan cannot be bothered with speaking to a lot of animals and that he, Shift, is hereafter Aslan's sole mouthpiece. Similarly John J. Miller
, writing for National Review
, says: "I find it hard to see the ape Shift in The Last Battle, for example, as anything other than a satire of Roman Catholicism in general and the papacy in particular." .
However, in Lewis' other writings it is made clear that he had no special animus against Roman Catholicism but detested theocracy
in whatever form it might take. In his Oxford History of English Literature in the Sixteenth Century he endorses Milton
's view that Elizabethan Presbyterianism was just as guilty as Roman Catholicism of interposing a priestly mediator between man and God: for example, in their belief that the Bible should never be read out in churches but only "opened through preaching". The ape's claim that Aslan (God) is not bound by human standards of good and evil is also a Puritan rather than a Catholic trait.
It has also been suggested that the characters of Shift and Puzzle are a reference to a passage from the 16th century humanist
Erasmus' satirical work The Praise of Folly
, wherein the personified Folly, near the beginning of the work, discourses on reality and appearances:
Shift may also be an allegory for Charles Darwin
. He argues that man and ape can be confused on a longer timeline and his name, Shift, could reference evolutionary change over time.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the children's fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
series The Chronicles of Narnia
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven fantasy novels for children by C. S. Lewis. It is considered a classic of children's literature and is the author's best-known work, having sold over 100 million copies in 47 languages...
by C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
. He is the main antagonist of The Last Battle
The Last Battle
The Last Battle is the seventh and final novel in The Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis. It won the prestigious Carnegie Medal in Literature in 1956.-Plot summary:In The Last Battle, Lewis brings The Chronicles of Narnia to an end...
, which is the last book of the series.
Shift is an ape who, like many animals in Lewis' work, can talk. At the beginning of the book, he lives near his friend/servant Puzzle the donkey
Donkey
The donkey or ass, Equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the African Wild Ass, E...
at the base of the Great Waterfall, next to the Caldron Pool where the Great River starts its course to the sea. Lewis describes Shift as, "the cleverest, ugliest, most wrinkled Ape you can imagine."
Name
The name Shift may be a typical Narnian animal name, but it can also be viewed as a description of the character in the same manner as other characters in The Last Battle such as Jewel and Puzzle. In the case of Shift, his name picks up on the two themes of shiftiness (deception) and development (change/shift).Prior story
Nothing is known of Shift's history before he appears in chapter 1 of The Last Battle. There Lewis says that he is so old that no one remembers when he came to live at the base of the great waterfall.Character development
Throughout the book, Shift's greed and lust for power serve as his primary motivations. Shift's actions to satisfy his greed increase in vileness as the story progresses. From lying to his "friend" Puzzle, he moves to manipulating the other talking animals of Narnia by ways of outlandish lies and unruly decrees that largely benefit himself and the Calormene population. In the end he has no problem murdering them and selling them into slavery to increase his own wealth and power. As Shift's actions become increasingly evil, he also becomes increasingly human in his appearance and in the way he presents himself. He dons human clothing and explains that he is not an ape, and that if he appears as one, it is only because he is "so very old: hundreds and hundreds of years old." However, at this stage he takes to drink and becomes increasingly the spokesman of the Calormene captain Rishda Tarkaan, and the cunning cat Ginger.Shift gains the power to pursue these actions by tricking Puzzle into impersonating Aslan
Aslan
Aslan, the "Great Lion," is the central character in The Chronicles of Narnia, a series of seven fantasy novels for children written by C. S. Lewis. He is the eponymous lion of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and his role in Narnia is developed throughout the remaining books...
, the true leader of Narnia
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven fantasy novels for children by C. S. Lewis. It is considered a classic of children's literature and is the author's best-known work, having sold over 100 million copies in 47 languages...
. Later, to secure the assistance of the neighboring country Calormen, he insists that their god Tash
Tash (Narnia)
Tash is a fictional character found in C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia series. He is an antagonist in the novels The Horse and His Boy and The Last Battle....
and Aslan are one and the same. But Shift's plans unravel when his actions unwittingly summon the real Tash into Narnia. Shift meets his end when he is thrown into the stable where Tash dwells, and is eaten by the monstrous god.
Allegorical interpretations and literary references
Lewis, himself an expert on allegory, did not consider The Chronicles of Narnia allegory. He saw them as "suppositional" answering the question, "What might Christ become like, if there really were a world like Narnia and He chose to be incarnate and die and rise again in that world as He actually has done in ours?' This is not allegory at all." While not allegorical, Narnia does present significant parallels with elements from ChristianityChristianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
.
Shift is most often compared to the Antichrist
Antichrist
The term or title antichrist, in Christian theology, refers to a leader who fulfills Biblical prophecies concerning an adversary of Christ, while resembling him in a deceptive manner...
from the biblical
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
book of Book of Revelation
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
.
- Revelation 13:15 can be seen as a passable description of Shift's hold over the Narnians: "And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed." Shift's ability to present his false Aslan is what compels the Narnians to obey him, and the Calormenes kill those who resist.
The portrayal of Shift also suggests elements of modern totalitarianism, as in his use of the Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century Romanticism. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological and educational thought.His novel Émile: or, On Education is a treatise...
ian argument that "True freedom means doing what I tell you" (see General will
General will
The general will , made famous by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, is a concept in political philosophy referring to the desire or interest of a people as a whole. As used by Rousseau, the "general will" is identical to the rule of law, and to Spinoza's mens una.The notion of the general will is wholly...
).
- "And now there's another thing you got to learn," said the Ape. "I hear some of you are saying I'm an Ape. Well, I'm not. I'm a Man. If I look like an Ape, that's because I'm so very old: hundreds and hundreds of years old."
But behind Shift lie greater powers: the Calormenes and ultimately their god Tash. Lewis revealed in his science fiction trilogy through his hero Ransom, especially in the final volume, That Hideous Strength
That Hideous Strength
That Hideous Strength is a 1945 novel by C. S. Lewis, the final book in Lewis's theological science fiction Space Trilogy. The events of this novel follow those of Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra and once again feature the philologist Elwin Ransom...
, the connection between demonism and false science. The darker tone of The Last Battle
The Last Battle
The Last Battle is the seventh and final novel in The Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis. It won the prestigious Carnegie Medal in Literature in 1956.-Plot summary:In The Last Battle, Lewis brings The Chronicles of Narnia to an end...
parallels that of That Hideous Strength as both novels unveil the true face of Good and Evil, True and False, in a final conflict.
A. N. Wilson
A. N. Wilson
Andrew Norman Wilson is an English writer and newspaper columnist, known for his critical biographies, novels, works of popular history and religious views...
and John Goldthwaite both suggest that Shift is intended as a type of the Catholic Church, in keeping with the traditional Protestant identification of the Pope with Antichrist. This identification is based on Shift's claim that Aslan cannot be bothered with speaking to a lot of animals and that he, Shift, is hereafter Aslan's sole mouthpiece. Similarly John J. Miller
John J. Miller
John J. Miller is the national political reporter for National Review and contributor to its Web component, National Review Online...
, writing for National Review
National Review
National Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...
, says: "I find it hard to see the ape Shift in The Last Battle, for example, as anything other than a satire of Roman Catholicism in general and the papacy in particular." .
However, in Lewis' other writings it is made clear that he had no special animus against Roman Catholicism but detested theocracy
Theocracy
Theocracy is a form of organization in which the official policy is to be governed by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided, or simply pursuant to the doctrine of a particular religious sect or religion....
in whatever form it might take. In his Oxford History of English Literature in the Sixteenth Century he endorses Milton
John Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
's view that Elizabethan Presbyterianism was just as guilty as Roman Catholicism of interposing a priestly mediator between man and God: for example, in their belief that the Bible should never be read out in churches but only "opened through preaching". The ape's claim that Aslan (God) is not bound by human standards of good and evil is also a Puritan rather than a Catholic trait.
It has also been suggested that the characters of Shift and Puzzle are a reference to a passage from the 16th century humanist
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
Erasmus' satirical work The Praise of Folly
The Praise of Folly
In Praise of Folly is an essay written in 1509 by Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam and first printed in 1511...
, wherein the personified Folly, near the beginning of the work, discourses on reality and appearances:
- I have no use for cosmetics. I do not belie the interior of my heart by my outward appearance. I am always myself and they who take for themselves the title and bearing of wise men are unable to disguise me even though they walk about like apes in purple robes or asses in lion skins.
Shift may also be an allegory for Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
. He argues that man and ape can be confused on a longer timeline and his name, Shift, could reference evolutionary change over time.