Christopher Booker is a scholar who wrote that every story falls into one of seven basic plot structures: Overcoming the Monster, Rags to Riches, the Quest, Voyage and Return, Comedy, Tragedy, and Rebirth. Shmoop explores which of these structures fits this story like Cinderella’s slipper.
Plot Type : Voyage
The Call
In this story, there are two actual calls that begin the adventure, though they're connected. First, Jill and Eustace do their best to find a formula or prayer that will put them in touch with Aslan—but when they arrive on Aslan's mountain, the lion reveals to Jill that it was he, in fact, who was calling them. How so? We're not sure of the logistics, but the idea is this: Aslan put the desire to be with him in Narnia into Eustace's heart, which then inspires him to call out for permission to enter. It's the classic language of religious conversion, which is not surprising from Lewis.
The Journey
There's a lot of walking, sleeping on the ground, hunting and cleaning of critters for meals (yuck), and general roughing it in this book. That's because Jill, Eustace, and Puddleglum have to cover a fair distance to get from the Marshes where Puddleglum lives to the ruined city of the giants, way up north in Narnia. Of course, their path is properly impeded by giants, geographical difficulties, misdirection, and—did we mention?—giants.
As with most proper quests (think: the Odyssey), the travelers cover a variety of territory, including a trip into the underworld to recover Prince Rilian. Note that the journey there—toward the underworld and Rilian—is of great interest to Lewis, but not the return trip. This highlights the fact that Aslan has them moving around for a purpose, and when that has been achieved, there's no point in the travel anymore.
Arrival and Frustration
The children change the course of their intended quest by changing their destination point to the House of Harfang, much to the chagrin of Puddleglum. Once they arrive, the children feel, for a short while, as though they've done the right thing—but then Jill gets an unpleasant wake-up call from Aslan in the form of a dream vision. He comes to ask if she still remembers the signs, which she doesn't. Oops.
Jill suffers bitterly from self-recrimination, which is only made worse by looking out her window and realizing that they were right on top of their real goal, the ruined city, just the night before. The adventurers have to pull it together, despite their low spirits, and find a way to get back on track.
The Final Ordeals
The first order of business at this point is to escape from Harfang, but they can't just make a run for the front door; first they have to sit through lunch and wait for their chance when everyone is busy with afternoon activities. Unfortunately for Jill, Eustace, and Puddleglum, lunch is talking stag. It's a moment that tries their sensibilities and makes Puddleglum feel, for the first time, that they really and truly are doomed.
Although they recover their senses enough to find a way out through the kitchen, the travelers get another scare when they realize that they are the next culinary delight on the menu. Egads. Once away from Harfang, the adventurers have to confront their fear of dark spaces, diabolical enchantments, and one particularly creepy, gigantic snake.
Their time in Underland challenges them in ways that they could not have anticipated when they were in the upper world, since the ordeals they encounter there are more internal in nature. The three have to question what they believe in terms of their purpose, and their conviction in Aslan and all that is good in Narnia. They must rely on the strength of each member of their group in order to conquer the evil queen and emancipate Prince Rilian.
The Goal
After Rilian is freed from enchantment, there are still some big questions that have to be answered. Will they be able to return him to Narnia before his father dies? If the king has already died, will Narnia still be standing when they find their way out? It isn't until they push through the hillside into Narnia that anxiety on these points begins to ease.
But it really is a nail-biter to the end, when Rilian makes it to his father's side with seconds to spare. With the succession question resolved in Narnia, the children can turn to their own personal grief and the obstacles that await them back home. Aslan, however, is the answer to all questions and it's clear that after Caspian's resurrection, Jill and Eustace are going to get a share of resolution as well for their problems back in England. Yay.