I don't really see how Narnia was Lewis's attempt at turning thinking against the Middle East. There is as much evil to be found within Narnia as there is to b

I don't really see how Narnia was Lewis's attempt at turning thinking against the Middle East. There is as much evil to be found within Narnia as there is to be found outside of it, over the entire series. There are quite a few evil Narnians, as there are also good Calormenes, such as Aravis in the Horse and His Boy, or Emmeth in The Last Battle. I don't think that Lewis wouldn't argue that Turkish Delight itself is evil, but rather that evil can clothe itself in beauty (and I think he made that very point in some of his other writings). Calormen is more used as "other", than merely "evil". It has both evil characters and good ones, and morally complex characters (like the Tisroc). As a nationality it's aims run counter to Narnian ones at times. But seeing as how it only really features in 2 out of the 7 books, I don't think C.S. Lewis was trying to use it's depiction to turn people against Middle Eastern culture. I think the worst that could be said is that Lewis was reflecting certain cultural sensibilities of his day. EDIT: That being said, if the prose is worth it, then one might take the book as an opportunity to talk about what those cultural sensibilities were, if one is recommending it to someone. Reading books that fall outside one's purview is not a bad thing, IMO. Further edit: A much stronger (though a bit longer) case is made at http://www.narniaweb.com/resources-links/are-the-chronicles-of-narnia-sexist-and-racist/ http://www.narniaweb.com/resources-links/are-the-chronicles-...