Bonds of Affection

These are invisible threads that connect people seemingly at random. Affection, the most basic of loves because it closely resembles an emotion displayed by animals, is nonetheless important. Lewis says that the bonds of affection transcend education, age, gender, class, and even species.

The Cliff

Lewis talks of a person who is standing on a cliff, looking down at his home. The person isn't able to scale the cliff to get home, but must take a detour. The cliff is symbolic of a person's current location. The message is that the distance between the cliff and home is the shortest at that point and becomes increasingly longer as the person detours, but the person will never be any closer to home without the detour.

Home

Lewis uses the analogy of a person standing on a cliff looking down on his home as a way of...