In 1955 C.S. Lewis wrote and published The Magician's Nephew, a high fantasy adventure story set in early 20th century England, a prequel to the other stories in The Chronicles of Narnia. In the story, Digory Kirke, a young boy, travels to a strange world to save his friend, Polly Plummer, sent by Digory's uncle to experiment with his magic. Digory rings a bell, unaware that his actions will cause the awakening of Jadis, an evil witch, who follows the two to England. To get Jadis away from her world, Digory tricks her and sends her to a new world, putting it in danger. He then travels into the depths of the new world, Narnia, to help save it. Everyone agrees that each hero displays courage, selflessness, humility, patience, and caring, but a reader wonders whether or not Digory achieves these qualities. Because he displays the characteristics of a hero, Digory's actions require readers to consider Digory Kirke a hero; the three main virtues of the five, including courage, altruism and caring. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Digory shows courage throughout the story. After Polly disappears from England and into the new world, Digory also takes a teleportation ring, although Uncle Andrew cannot guarantee her safety. Later in the story, when Digory struggles to get Jadis out of her world, he grabs her leg. Jadis, seven feet tall, as powerful and strong as an Olympic weightlifter, possesses the power to crush Digory with a kick. Furthermore, without knowing what to expect from the dangerous new world, Digory agrees to help the prodigious creator of the world, Aslan, and venture into the depths of the world. “'You must get me the seed from which that tree will grow.' “Yes, sir,” said Digory. He didn't know how to do it, but now he was pretty sure he could do it” (Lewis, 1955, p. 142-143). Digory shows selflessness throughout the story. After dragging Jadis back to London, there is a possibility that Digory will respond similarly to Polly, who says, “now it all depends on your uncle” (Lewis, 1955, p. 73). Instead, Digory tries to help his uncle in this endeavor. In the garden where the fruit requested by Aslan resides, Digory again displays selflessness, not eating the fruit after Jadis deceives him with thoughts of power and wealth. Ultimately, Digory threw the apple away, even after Aslan told him that it has the power to cure his sick mother. “'Throw the apple towards the river bank where the ground is soft.' Digory did as he was told, everyone had become so quiet that you could hear the soft thud as he fell into the mud” (Lewis, 1955, p. 166-167). Digory shows care throughout the story. During her short time in London, Jadis hurts many people. One of these people happens to be Aunt Letty, an elderly woman who Digory wastes no time helping after Jadis throws her across the room. Once many of the characters first enter Narnia, Uncle Andrew proposes abandoning them to escape Jadis, but Digory refuses to care for the others, so if they wish to return home, they have a means to do so. Finally, Digory Kirke offers extreme care to his mother, in a cherubic scene, bringing her the apple that possesses the power of health and removing her from her deathbed. “Oh, darling, how beautiful,” said Digory's mother. «You're going to eat it, right? Please," said Digory. "I don't know what the doctor would say," he replied. "But really... I almost feel as if I could." He peeled it, cut it and gave it to her piece by piece. And as soon as he had finished he smiled, he fell back with his head on the pillow and fell asleep: a real, natural, sweet sleep, without any of:.
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