Shift (Narnia)
| Shift | |
|---|---|
| Narnia character | |
| Race | Talking Ape |
| Nation | Narnia |
| Gender | Male |
| Birthplace | Narnia |
| Major character in | |
Shift is a fictional character in the children's fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. He is the main antagonist of The Last Battle, which is the last book of the series. Shift is an ape who, like many animals in Lewis' work, can talk; Lewis does not specify what kind of ape, but Pauline Baynes' illustrations depict him as a chimpanzee. At the beginning of the book, he lives near his friend/servant Puzzle the donkey at the base of the Great Waterfall, next to the Caldron Pool where the Great River starts its course to the sea. Lewis describes Shift as "the cleverest, ugliest, most wrinkled Ape you can imagine." (Lewis 1956, p. 1)
The name Shift can be viewed as a description of the character in the same manner as other characters in The Last Battle such as Jewel and Puzzle. In the case of Shift, his name picks up on the two themes of shiftiness (deception) and development (change/shift). (GrenfellHunt 2005) (Sammons 2004, p. 212)
Nothing is known of Shift's history before he appears in chapter 1 of The Last Battle. There Lewis says that he is so old that no one remembers when he came to live at the base of the great waterfall. After his demise it is suggested that he may have been a spy of the Tisroc for years before the lion skin arrives in chapter one and he had only been waiting for an opportunity to betray Narnia.
Throughout the book, Shift's greed and lust for power serve as his primary motivations.(King 1984, pp. 14–19) Shift's actions to satisfy his greed increase in vileness as the story progresses. From lying to his "friend" Puzzle, he moves to manipulating the other talking animals of Narnia by ways of outlandish lies and unruly decrees that largely benefit himself and the Calormene population. In the end he has no problem murdering them and selling them into slavery to increase his own wealth and power. As Shift's actions become increasingly evil, he also becomes increasingly human in his appearance and in the way he presents himself. He is very similar to Napoleon from Animal Farm. He dons human clothing and explains that he is not an ape, and that if he appears as one, it is only because he is "so very old: hundreds and hundreds of years old." However, at this stage he takes to drink and becomes increasingly the spokesman of the Calormene captain Rishda Tarkaan, and the cunning cat Ginger.
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