Shift (Narnia)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Narnia character | |
| Shift | |
|---|---|
| Race/Nation | Talking Beast / Narnia |
| Gender | Male |
| Birthplace | Caldron Pool, Narnia |
| Major character in | |
| The Last Battle | |
Shift is a fictional talking ape who plays a major role in The Last Battle, the seventh and final book in the fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis.
[edit] Profile
At the beginning of the book, Shift lives with his friend/servant Puzzle the donkey at the base of the Great Waterfall, next to the Cauldron Pool where the Great River starts its course to the sea.
A curious discovery starts Shift's slow but steady mental processes working: a skin of a lion, washed down from the Western Wild. Immediately the similarity between the lionskin and Aslan occurs to him, but it takes him a bit longer to realize that Puzzle (when seen wearing the lionskin, in poor lighting, and with a bit of imagination) looks more or less like a smaller, skinnier version of Aslan. Forcing Puzzle to wear the skin but hiding him from everyone except in the most opportune moments (those with dark and tricky lighting), Shift proclaims that Aslan has returned to Narnia, with Shift himself as his mouthpiece. Everything that Shift wants, Aslan wants, from mountains of bananas (a rare and expensive delicacy) to Calormenes entering the country and cutting down the forest, including the trees of the dryads. It is this last which alerts the side of good to what is happening, as one of the dryads is able to reach King Tirian (the last king of Narnia) before her tree is cut down and she dies. Because Shift claims that Aslan has returned, Narnia and Narnians are torn in loyalty between the false (fat, ugly, rotten) Shift and the true King. Adding to the confusion is Shift's claim (supporting the emigration of so many Calormenes) that Aslan and Tash, the vulture-headed evil god of the Calormenes, are the same person (whom he calls "Tashlan"). Tirian is saved from captivity by children from our world, and, joined by a small band of loyals, he brings everything to one last battle against Shift and those loyal to him, as well as an army of invading Calormenes. Tirian's army is slaughtered, with the remnant being forced into the stable where Puzzle has been kept/held captive, but to their surprise, they find themselves in Aslan's Country. The story continues with the end of Narnia, but the last we know of Shift is when the god Tash appears, and eats Shift with one peck of his beak.
[edit] Christian Elements
Shift is symbolic of the Antichrist, the figure in Christianity that will lead God's people away with false testimonies and beliefs before the Second Coming and Rapture.
Shift finds a lion skin and manipulates his 'friend' Puzzle into wearing it in order to pose as Aslan - the Narnian symbol of God/Jesus. With it, Shift convinces hundreds of loyal Narnians that Aslan is angry with their lax attitude. His misleading words result, ultimately, in the end of Narnia. The Antichrist, it is believed, will attempt to do the same, mislead and destroy.
