A Grief Observed

Describe symbolism in A Grief Observed by C. S. Lewis

Asked by
Last updated by Jill W
1 Answers
Log in to answer

In churches, wafers symbolize the flesh of Jesus crucified during communion ceremonies, and photographs symbolize people we wish to remember. But, Lewis observes, what is really needed is the beings themselves and not only the things that remind us of them. The beings themselves are the only things making the reminding worth doing, and the reminders bring with them the danger of becoming sacred in themselves. He observes that rather than allowing the symbols of the holy to become holy themselves, one must allow God's continuous iconoclasm—His shaking up and redefining one's definitions of Him—to be the solid evidence of His presence. The same is true of the people one loves. It is their resistant reality, the conversation between one's perceptions and realities of the studied that makes reality worth embracing.

Source(s)

A Grief Observed, BookRags