Critical Response- The Silver Chair

The Silver Chair
By C.S. Lewis

On first reading the passage, the setting affects the character because it is a dull day at an unpleasant school. The character, Jill Pole, is crying because she is being bullied and the school does not do anything about it. The mood if the novel seems ominous and depressing. The author maintains your interest through a claustrophobic atmosphere that the character cannot seem to escape from. It would be helpful to know more about the time period during which the novel was written. It seems that at the time of the publication of the novel that bullying was tolerated; today, bullying is not accepted. It would enhance my interpretation of the novel by knowing that the social morals at the time were different; that bribery and bullying were accepted. During the time period that the author wrote this novel, children were sent away at a young age to live at boarding schools. They were often left to fend for themselves from unsympathetic adults and bullying children. The ending is effective because it makes you want to find out if things get better for Jill Pole and if the school changes for the better.