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Copywork
About This Passage
An 'inner ring' is a special inside group that not everyone is allowed into, and Screwtape knows the feeling of being in one is 'very sweet.' It feels wonderful to be on the inside, to share a secret, to be one of the special few while others are left out. But that very sweetness is the trap. The pleasure of feeling special and better-than-others can quietly turn a good thing — being welcomed by kind friends — into pride. Copying this sentence helps a reader notice that warm, sweet feeling of being 'in,' and to ask a careful question: am I glad to belong because I love these people, or only because it makes me feel better than everyone outside?
The idea of belonging to an inner ring, of being in a secret, is very sweet to him.
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Tell the story of Screwtape's twenty-fourth letter to Wormwood in your own words. What small fault does the girl have, and what does Screwtape want the man to copy and blow up into a much bigger sin? Why does Screwtape want the man to feel proud and special?
Discussion Questions
- Screwtape notices that the girl quietly assumes people who believe differently are 'really too stupid and ridiculous.' Why is it unkind and wrong to assume that anyone who is different from you must be silly or stupid, and how could that small assumption grow into a big pride? Which detail in the letter to Wormwood helps you decide?
- Screwtape admits the kind new friends have 'forgiven' a lot in the man and 'made the best of' him because they are 'charitable,' lifting him to a level he could not reach alone. Why should the man feel thankful to these kind people instead of proud of himself? Name the detail in the letter to Wormwood that shows how the others have treated him.
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
Thinking too much of yourself or better than others.
Item 2
A beginner; someone new at something.
Item 3
To copy the way someone else acts or speaks.
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Critical Thinking
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