To begin with, word pictures are usually described as in-text illustrations that writers use to make their literary piece powerful, persuasive, and understandable. Bright and vivid images make the written text sound interesting and rather exciting for a reader. Such metaphors and similes are truly significant in order to make literature that will stand the test of time.
In the book Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis uses the same methods to make clear and comprehensible arguments about faith and Christian values. He tells how people should live to achieve peace, love, and harmony in the modern world by giving notable examples. First, the author mentions the car engine that cannot run on anything else except for gasoline, just how human spirits are fueled with God as, Lewis says, people are his creation (Lewis 30). That is how the writer proves his thesis that there is no chance of being happy and fulfilled as a person without satisfying the need of a higher power and finding a religious purpose.
Second, one of the most striking metaphors is considered to be about a piano key. The theologian argues that a piano key can make quite a beautiful sound if it is used in the right context, otherwise, it can produce a highly unpleasant sound. The writer compares morality with a piano key and argues that people’s values and principles should be regulated and put into correct context or it can completely lose its meaning if the circumstances are changed. Lewis teaches people to give themselves over to God entirely to become like him and find the morality in Him.
Third, a very popular metaphor of Lewis is about atheists who do not believe in the miracles of Christ and His sacrifice to humanity. The writer suggests that arguing with God or not believing in His virtues is just like cutting off the branch a person is sitting on, which is inherently irrational. Lewis says that society should stop turning away from God and embrace his omnipotent and omnipresent nature.
To sum up, powerful and striking word pictures are a part of what makes literature timeless and interesting. Lewis, as a famous theologian and writer, makes his writing much more engaging by using various word illustrations or pictures. The author compares people’s need for God with car fuel, piano key with morality that should be put into right context, and atheists with self-destructive people who cut off the branch they are sitting on. The forementioned literary similes help readers understand complex ideas of Christianity that sound simple and understandable because of these vivid imaginary examples.
Work Cited
Lewis, Clive Staples. Mere Christianity. De Gruyter, 2021.