Preview
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Reconstruct Screwtape's tenth letter in sequence, then identify the single human weakness all its tactics exploit. How can you tell that the man's proud self-image, not the worldly friends themselves, is the letter's true target?
Discussion Questions
- Screwtape welcomes friends who are 'superficially intellectual' and 'brightly sceptical about everything,' drawing the man in through 'social, sexual, and intellectual vanity.' Is the man's peril chiefly in the friends' ideas or in his appetite for their regard — and why does Lewis make one of these primary? Use Screwtape's words to Wormwood to defend your reading.
- Screwtape's governing claim is that 'all mortals tend to turn into the thing they are pretending to be.' Is Lewis stating a moral warning or a morally neutral law of habit that cuts both ways — and how does Screwtape mean to exploit it? Weigh both readings using his words to Wormwood, then answer the strongest objection to your verdict.
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Critical Thinking
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