C.
S. LEWIS
The
Horse & His Boy
Chapters
1-7
STUDY QUESTIONS
1.
In Chap. 1 the boy, Shasta, meets the Talking Horse, Bree.
The horse is from Narnia. Shasta
hears about Narnia for the first time. There
is at least one Biblical allusion (i.e. an indirect reference or correspondence) in this
chapter. Can you find it (Ps. 84:10)?
2. In Chap. 2 Shasta meets a Calormene girl and her Talking Horse, Hwin. What brings the children together during their
midnight ride in the moonlight? Do they seem
like the kind of characters who would have joined up on their own? How are they alike?
How are they different? What
does Shasta learn about the girl and her horse in this chapter?
3. Why is the girl trying to escape to Narnia? What
did she do to her maid? How did Hwin help her? Why does Shasta feel snubbed and turn red? In this chapter (3) the children make plans to pass
through Tashbaan. It is necessary that they do, but very dangerous, because of the risk
that they will be caught. What is their plan
to hide their identities and avoid capture?
4. What happens to Shasta in Chap. 4? Whom
does he meet? How do they treat him? How does he respond?
5. In Chap. 5 Edmund and Susan learn that they
will be treated as prisoners if Susan refuses to marry Rabadash. Who had warned them about that danger earlier? Who now proposes a plan for escape? What does Shasta learn about Prince Corin in this
chapter? Where had he been? What had he been doing? What does that reveal about Corin’s character?
6. Shasta meets Aslan near the Tombs in Chap. 6. What
form does Aslan take? How does He help Shasta?
7. What two people is Aravis surprised to see
in Tashbaan in Chap. 7? Although she agrees to
help, how is her friend different from Aravis?
C. S. LEWIS
The Horse & His Boy
Chapters 8-15
STUDY
QUESTIONS
8. In Chap. 8 how does Prince Rabadash plan to capture Queen Susan after she has escaped? What does Aravis learn about the prince’s
father, the Tisroc, while she is secretly eavesdropping?
How does he feel about the his son, Prince Rabadash? Can you imagine a Narnian king feeling that way
about his son (or daughter)? What does the
Tisroc think about his son’s plan to capture Anvard?
9. What sound does Shasta hear for the first time in Chap. 9? What might that symbolize in the story? Clue: this bird often sings at night. What more do we learn about the character of the
horses in this chapter? Which horse seems more
courageous and noble than the other? Why?
10. Who is the hero in Chap. 10? Why? What does the author say in this chapter about
doing good deeds? Do you think he may be
right? Why, or why not? What does the Hermit tell Aravis about “luck”
and her wounds? What does he tell Bree about
his “disgrace”?
11. Shasta has another encounter with Aslan in Chap. 11.
How does Aslan help him? How had
He helped Shasta before, even though Shasta wasn’t aware of it? What does Aslan tell Shasta?
12. Which creatures help Shasta in Chap. 12? What do they do for him?
13. In Chap. 13 Shasta finally realizes what it was that the Lion had been doing when they
had crossed the mountain pass together earlier. What
was it? Who is watching the Battle of Anvard
through a magic pool some miles away? In Mere
Christianity C.S. Lewis says that pride (self-conceit) is a great sin and “the utmost
evil.” Lewis believed that God sometimes
uses humor to help free us from our pride. It
depends on how we respond. What humorous thing
happens to Rabadash in this chapter? How does
he respond? Why does it seem appropriate that
it would happen to this particular character?
14.
A funny thing happens to Bree in Chap. 14. What
is it? Can you see any similarities between
Bree and Rabadash? What does Aslan say to
Bree? What does Aslan say to Aravis? What does she learn about the wounds (“scratches”)
she received from the Lion earlier? Whom is
Aravis surprised to meet from Archenland? To
whom does Aravis apologize?
15. In Chap. 15 Rabadash meets Aslan. What
does Aslan tell him to do? What does Aslan do
when Rabadash refuses? How is the justice of
Aslan mixed with mercy?
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