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Copywork
About This Passage
This is the hinge of the whole letter. Screwtape reduces his goal to a single trade: make the 'World' the thing the man lives for, and turn his faith into a mere 'means' for getting it. Copying this balanced sentence shows how a writer can pack a complete strategy into the contrast between an 'end' and a 'means.'
Once you have made the World an end, and faith a means, you have almost won your man, and it makes very little difference what kind of worldly end he is pursuing.
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 seventh letter to Wormwood. What two big strategies does he explain, and how can you tell which one he thinks matters most?
Discussion Questions
- Screwtape tells Wormwood that the devils' policy right now is 'to conceal ourselves,' because they 'lose all the pleasing results of direct terrorism' when people disbelieve, yet 'cannot make them materialists' when people believe. Why is hiding the cleverest move for the devils at this moment, and what do they hope to gain by it? Point to how Screwtape describes the dilemma.
- Screwtape's dream is the 'Materialist Magician' — a man 'veritably worshipping, what he vaguely calls "Forces"' while 'denying the existence of "spirits."' Why would the devils be delighted by someone who worships unseen powers but refuses to believe in the Enemy or in them? Use Screwtape's words to Wormwood to explain.
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
A hard choice between two difficult options.
Item 2
Deep love and loyalty given to someone or something.
Item 3
A small group inside a larger one that pushes its own side.
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Critical Thinking
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