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Chapter 9
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Last Battle, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Belief, Deception, and False Prophets
The Value of Friendship
Redemption and Forgiveness
The End of the World
Summary
Analysis
Tirian quietly asks Jill to go to Puzzle and remove the lion skin from him. Jill does as he asks and then brings Puzzle back to the group. When she returns, she hears Shift telling the crowd that Tashlan will no longer grace them with his presence because he is unhappy with them. From the crowd, Griffle, the leader of the dwarves, laughs out loud and declares that Shift is telling a lie. Griffle tells everyone that Shift has been showing them a donkey rather than Tashlan. Rishda quickly talks over Griffle, reminding everyone that, although a donkey has been impersonating Aslan, Tashlan still exists.
The removal of the lion skin from Puzzle represents a literal and metaphorical load lifted off of the ashamed donkey. Without the lion skin, Puzzle is no longer wearing his sin and can once again take pride in his appearance. Meanwhile, although the dwarves are no longer Tirian’s allies, they also begin posing a problem from Rishda, which could prove useful to the Narnians going forward. However, Rishda is far cleverer than Shift and quickly quiets Griffle down.
Themes
Shift begins playing a new clever trick. He tells the animals that, although Tashlan will not come and talk to them, they are welcome to go inside the stable one by one to see Tashlan. Upon this suggestion, no one speaks up and many of the Narnians are afraid. From the crowd, Ginger speaks up and offers to go in the stable. Shift lets Ginger into the stable and, moments after entering, Ginger rushes out, making terrified sounds. Even Tirian, who assumes Shift is playing another trick, believes Ginger’s reaction.
Because Ginger is Shift and Rishda’s coconspirator, the assumption is that Ginger will come out of the barn claiming to have seen Tashlan. However, Ginger’s response suggests that he saw something else altogether—something which Shift and Rishda did not account for. Given Ginger’s reaction, there is a suggestion that Tash might have made it to Stable Hill after all.
Themes
Shift and Rishda try to get Ginger to tell the crowd what he saw. However, Ginger can no longer speak; he can only make cat noises. In response, the crowd grows more panicked. As children, they were told that Aslan gifted animals the ability to speak and would take it away if they misbehaved. Despite Ginger’s reaction, one of the Calormenes, a young and handsome officer named Emeth, steps up and asks if he can enter the stable as well. Rishda attempts to prevent Emeth from entering the stable. However, Emeth insists, claiming that he wants to look upon Tash if Tash and Aslan are truly one being, as Shift has been saying.
Although Shift and Rishda are alarmed, Ginger’s reaction gets the crowd on their side, albeit not in the manner they intended. However, Emeth poses a challenge. Unlike the other Calormenes, Emeth is willing to question power and Rishda’s lies do not dissuade him from pursuing the truth. Although Rishda does not know it, she may actually be sending Emeth to meet Tash, which could prove disastrous for everyone.
Themes
Not wanting to admit the truth, Shift and Rishda allow Emeth into the stable. From the side, Tirian admires Emeth’s bravery, insisting that Emeth deserves a better entity to worship than Tash. Shortly after Emeth enters the stable, a man in Calormene armor emerges and falls to the ground, dead. Rishda claims that the body is Emeth’s, though from his vantage point, Tirian can see it is someone else. Next, Shift tries to convince a boar, one of the strongest and bravest Narnians, to go into the stables. Having seen enough, Tirian orders his group to draw their weapons. Then, he steps forward and identifies himself, urging all Narnians to rally to his side.
Tirian respects Emeth because Emeth seems to embody Aslan’s values, even if Emeth does not worship Aslan. The result of Emeth’s trip into the stable suggests that something unplanned has occurred, though Rishda still manages to fool those around him. Realizing that he has no other options and not wanting to see anyone else get hurt, Tirian chooses this moment to make his final stand against Rishda and Shift. He does not know how many Narnians will come to him, but his faith drives him forward.
Themes
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