서평

All people crave happiness; they all have a desire they want fulfilled. In the Pilgrim’s Regress, C.S. Lewis writes of John, an ordinary man, and his search to reach his desire, an island.
John escaped his family, steward, and the good, kind Landlord back at home in Puritania. He left with a reason to search for a magnificent island he had seen on top of a hill, and also because he was afraid of being thrown into the Landlord’s black hole. Throughout his travel, John was greeted by many strangers that continued to draw him off his path, to other temptations that claimed to fill his desire. Yet, he found that nothing could fill the desire; he didn’t want Eros, enlightenment, or entertainment, but wanted solely to reach that beloved island. After struggling day after day to find a way, John found himself at the edge of a canyon besides an old lady named Mother Kirk. She claimed that she would carry John down the canyon, to his desire’s fulfillment, after telling an old story about the Landlords’ tenants and a forbidden apple tree. Unfortunately, he believed she was a waste of his time and chose to go in a different direction. Soon, the tired and hopeless man had to stop at a cave to rest when, abruptly, Death came face to face with him. John was taught that dying was the only way to escape death and so, with new understanding, he found extraordinary courage. He turned back to Mother Kirk and by her instructions, John dived into the canyon, giving himself up, and passed an underwater tunnel leading him to the other side. At the surface, a guide, helping men like him, informed the renewed pilgrim that he had just come round the world. He was to go back through the same country as his return journey. John was smitten that returning was absolutely different; the route was coarse and difficult, and he even had to slay an awaiting dragon in the end. Still, John felt immense inner strength through songs of praise and victory. And at last, weeping, the old man found himself back at Puritania. He realized that his desire, the island, was actually just the other side of the Eastern Mountains, where the Landlord lived. His desire had been the Landlord’s dwelling place, the island being just a copy. Light and happy with all being well, he saw that it was his time to cross “the brook” and join his parents (who had already crossed it) into the unknown.
C.S. Lewis had his own quest for joy. And as I read this book, I realized John’s story was much like his own. He was met with the world’s many misleading thoughts and though he fell deep into mistakes, his strong desire for happiness eventually brought him to God, just as John’s longing for the island had brought him to the Landlord. All people have desires that they try to fill with worldly things, such as money, love, or food, but fail again and again to be satisfied. Through this book, Lewis tells us that all humans were made with a desire for God. If this claim is certain, then it is natural that no one can be satisfied with the world. Thanks to this book, there is no need to struggle and look hard for my own desire. I know the answer; God is right here. Also, I learned that the cure of death is dying. “Jump or be thrown. Shut your eyes or have them bandaged by force. Give in or struggle.” (page 185) I must not fight to do what I want to do, which is more tiring, I must give in to God and let Him work in me. The Pilgrim’s Regress was a complicated book; however it was very fascinating and knowledgeable to read.

_황진희(고등학생)