The fact that he wrote so many books comes as a surprise to many because we hear so much about those two. However, Lewis was not only one of the most respected writers of his time he was also an accomplished scholar. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English Literature at Oxford for most of his career and then in 1954 was elected as Chair of the Medieval and Renaissance English at Cambridge.
“The Abolition of Man,” released in 1944 is stated to be “Reflections on education with special reference to the teaching of English in the upper forms of schools.” This is not nearly as dry as it sounds, in fact the book is brilliant.
The book is split into three “lectures.” The first one, “Men Without Chests,” introduces us to a book which Lewis refers to as “the green book,” written by two educators turned authors whom he calls Gaius and Titius. His lecture revolves around the fact that these two men have written an English book which in Lewis’ mind does not teach English but instead tried to mold the minds of its readers into a certain type of thinking by implanting ideas and imagery that the readers have no idea about. This discussion is fascinating because by dissecting “the green book” Lewis’ readers begin to question the intentions then of other authors. Is the book you're reading genuinely and impartially trying to teach you something or are you being influenced by examples, metaphors and images given by the authors that will effect your judgement later in life? As authors we are also influeneced heavily by the readings of others. What images are drilled into our heads that we carry over into our own writing? "It was a dark and stormy night," almost always leads us to think that something bad is about to happen. Why? Because we have read it so many times. Did the original author intend for us to forever link dark and stormy nights to horror or were they just trying to be descriptive? Although Lewis examines these types of questions on a larger scale, writers can easily formulate their own questions.
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