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Copywork
About This Passage
Screwtape reveals the devils' frustration in a vivid food metaphor: a soul that suffers but escapes is like the first course of a banquet with the rest snatched away. The extended comparison and the bitter final clause teach a young writer how a single image can make an abstract feeling — thwarted greed — concrete and memorable.
When I see the temporal suffering of humans who finally escape us, I feel as if I had been allowed to taste the first course of a rich banquet and then denied the rest. It is worse than not to have ta...
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Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
In your own words, tell the story of Screwtape's fifth letter. What are the most important reasons he gives for not getting too excited about the war, and how do you know they are the ones that matter most?
Discussion Questions
- Screwtape insists the devils must learn 'how to use, than how to enjoy, this European war.' Why does Screwtape draw such a sharp line for Wormwood between using suffering and enjoying it, and what does that line reveal about what the devils actually want? Point to how he describes the difference.
- Screwtape admits the war may turn 'thousands' toward the Enemy and 'tens of thousands' toward 'causes higher than the self.' Why is it a defeat for the devils when suffering makes people less selfish? Use evidence from Screwtape's letter to defend your answer.
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
An overexcited, gushing expression of feeling.
Item 2
A large cup or goblet, often used in worship.
Item 3
Allowed by the rules; proper and acceptable.
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Critical Thinking
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