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Copywork
About This Passage
These three sentences capture Screwtape's whole method in motion: he abandons the question of truth and reaches instead for feeling-words. Copying the climbing list ('strong, or stark, or courageous') and the em-dash teaches a young writer how a sentence can build force and then turn.
Don’t waste time trying to make him think that materialism is true! Make him think it is strong, or stark, or courageous—that it is the philosophy of the future. That’s the sort of thing he cares abou...
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
In your own words, tell the story of Screwtape's first letter to Wormwood. What are the most important moves in his advice, and how do you know they are the ones that matter most?
Discussion Questions
- Screwtape tells Wormwood that 'Jargon, not argument' is his best weapon for keeping the man from the Church. Why does Screwtape trust confusing words more than honest reasoning? Point to what he says about how modern people treat ideas.
- Screwtape is glad the man now asks whether ideas are 'practical' or 'modern' rather than 'true.' Is it wrong to stop caring whether things are true? Defend your answer with evidence from Screwtape's letter to Wormwood.
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
A belief or set of beliefs taught by a church or group.
Item 2
Lower in rank or worse in quality than another.
Item 3
Useful and sensible for real, everyday life.
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Critical Thinking
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