Surprised by Joy--Revision/Final Draft

Lewis, C.S. Surprised by Joy. San Diego: Harcourt, Brace & Company, 1984.

The autobiography of C.S. Lewis’ early life, Surprised by Joy, recounts various happenings from his childhood through early adulthood. He reduces this span of about two decades into a mere 238 pages (15 chapters) and most people should find it a smooth read. In his early life, Lewis experienced changing relationships with family and friends, transitions between various schools and teachers, read voraciously, served in the military, and studied at Oxford. Ultimately he journeyed through philosophic paths during this period of his life, searching for what he termed “joy.” At times he worshipped books, authors, music, and nature, even dabbling in the occult for a period. Eventually emerging from these various side roads, he came to worship Jesus Christ as the Son of God. He arrived at that point as “a prodigal who is brought in kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance of escape.”

The text moves in a largely chronological fashion, with brief explanatory notes every so often to explain why Lewis chose to include a particular person or event in his narrative. These asides help the casual reader stay interested, but give valuable focus to the critical reader studying to understand how faith and secular learning can build on each other. In this vein, Lewis includes comments regarding both his journey of faith and knowledge of the world. For instance, on concluding the narration of his mother’s death, Lewis remembers taking an opportunity to offer prayers in faith that she would be healed or brought back to life. When the desired results did not occur, he insists his childhood belief in God did not waver, because at that time he saw God only as “a magician,” who could “simply, well, go away” at will. Only later in his youth, when facing the speculative character of Occultism, did his belief in God give way to Atheism. An attitude of pessimism and “deliberate withdrawal from divine protection” led the young Lewis to wander in search of “joy” with increasing gaps between each time he felt the sought after impression. Despite including disconcerting accounts of witnessing pederasty, family feuds, and trench warfare during these atheist years, Lewis uses his ample writing skill to weave humor into the dark, troubling times of life. He also seems to retain a balance in his writing between honoring God with reverence, and making jokes at His expense at the same time. For instance, in describing his adult conversion to Christianity, Lewis mused, “A young man who wishes to remain a sound Atheist cannot be too careful of his reading. There are traps everywhere--[…] God, is, if I may say it, very unscrupulous.”

Through the entire text Lewis makes it clear through diction and detail that he long-resisted the gentle persuasion of a patiently loving Lord. For instance, he uses words denoting battle to describe his changing mindset from Atheism to Christianity. He writes of how a friend “assailed” him with Christian kindness, for example, and how a volume of Christian-themed essays made “immediate conquest” of him. The words “assailed and conquest” bring both smiles and knowing nods in any person who has felt less than willing at times to follow the path God lays out for His children. Resistance often proves itself the key weakness of mortals—resistance to obedience, knowledge, and joy, among other goods.

This theme of overcoming a resistant heart will probably be a lifelong quest for most people, despite having knowledge or skills to do otherwise, and therefore nearly any person would feel kinship with the writings of Surprised by Joy. People seeking spiritual understanding and growth will especially benefit as the book may provide them a model to follow for learning by study and also by faith, amid internal conflicts and all manner of trial. Lewis points out that understanding God’s commands “leads us to the conclusion that union with that Nature [God] is bliss and separation from it horror,” but still the battle continues. Each time a person chooses to give in to the flesh it separates him or her from God, and then, as Lewis explains, people have a choice: “I could open the door or keep it shut; I could unbuckle the armor or keep it on.” Again, the reference to battle, through using the metaphor of unbuckling armor, reminds readers of the resistance within each person’s heart to choose good over evil. The choice is made easier by remembering “the hardness of God is kinder than the softness of men, and His compulsion is our liberation.”

“Come, ye disconsolate, ye heavy laden,” as the hymn persuades. Come to find God, any who struggle with the journey of mortal life, and be lifted in sharing the joys of C.S. Lewis’ sojourn through his own words in Surprised by Joy. The person seeking union between intellect and spirit will especially relish the climaxing convergence between study and faith observed in Lewis' writings.

A few caveats:

Do bring a dictionary to your reading of this book. Lewis is classically educated, and a literary genius, so even with a year of Latin behind me, I still had to look up more than a few terms he used.

Don’t come looking for joy as you pick up this book. “Only when your whole attention and desire are fixed on something else […] does the thrill arise,” Lewis teaches. The by-product will follow without “greedy impatience to snare it.”