Boring. Blah. Ungood.
Lewis shows us countless things in Out of the Silent Planet - the personalities of the main characters, the overwhelming heavens, the sublime landscape.
Find a moment when Lewis 'shows' readers something about either a character or a setting. Do not repeat a specific example already discussed in class, though you may certainly use another reference to either Ransom, Weston, or Devine.
Include the specific line from the text (referenced with page number) and then tell us (...yes, it's okay to tell us...) what exactly that reference shows us. Comments are due by next Wednesday at midnight.
A moment where I noticed Lewis was "showing" the reader what the scenery looked like was on page 9. Lewis describes how "a violent yellow sunset was pouring through a rift in the clouds to the westwards, but straight ahead over the kills the sky was the colour of dark slate." In this line alone, the reader is focused on this sense of duality, one part of the sky is this intense yellow sunset but right across the hills, the sky is dark. It has also just occurred to me this might be subtle foreshadowing but perhaps I'm wrong. The line right after that is "every tree and blade of grass was dripping and the road shone like a river." This line also bestows this sense of peace on the reader, the kind one experiences after the rain when the world tends to be a little peaceful and quiet. I love the language in these two little lines because one doesn't normally think of a "road shining like a river" but it makes sense that a road would look like that after some rain. I've been really avid for noticing Lewis' language, and it's quite impressive.
ReplyDeleteThe entire novel starts out someplace we are all familiar with: Earth. However in Chapter 3 we finally get to find out where Weston and Devine are taking Ransom. The first we are told of the planet Malacandra is occurs during Chapter 3. "Instantly the room was flooded with a dazzling golden light which completely eclipsed the pale earthlight behind him." (pg 30) I think Lewis described the arrival of a new land perfectly. The fact that he used the words 'dazzling and golden' to describe a new place that Ransom and even us, the reader kind of puts a positive spin on the situation. The fact that Lewis describes Earth as being "pale" makes me think that maybe Earth is not as great as we think. Perhaps a bit of foreshadowing..?
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed where Lewis is describing/explaining to the reader about the sorns and what they reminded him of and what they looked like (Page 46). The description is not just stating that the sorns are frightening, there is more of a description that helps us develop a picture in our mind of what these creatures were. The part of the paragraph that I liked the most was how Lewis tries to relate the description to the reader as ""something seen in those comic mirrors."
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ReplyDeleteDuring the voyage to Malacandra, Lewis provides an outstanding description of the stars Ransom observes through the skylight (pg 21, line 18). He attributes a lifelike quality to the stars by describing them as “pulsing with brightness as with some unbearable pain or pleasure,” eliciting a mental image of a pulsing heart and stars capable of expressing human emotions. Lewis further strengthens his description by portraying the stars as “clustered in pathless and countless multitudes” and “dreamlike in clarity, blazing in perfect blackness”. Such detail provides a clear picture of the quantity, clarity, and intensity of the stars. One is also able to comprehend the intrigue of the night sky because of the multiple emotions it caused Ransom to experience, as the stars both troubled and excited him.
ReplyDeleteLewis’ description of Ransom’s first encounter with the sorns on page 46 provided me with a perfect visual representation of a sorn. Lewis’ description of these “spindly and flimsy things” instilled a sense of fear in me, as well as an interest in what these mysterious things were. Instead of a simple, flat comparison, Lewis uses an abstract comparison when comparing the sorns to “something seen in one of those comic mirrors”. Everything about that line created a very distorted, chilling image. His reference to the sorns as “crazily thin, and elongated in the leg…flexible –looking distortions of earthly bipeds” is by no means a discreet description. In addition to creating this strange image of a sorn, the syntax Lewis used here evoked a very eerie feeling from within. For me, Lewis painted a very clear- cut picture of these creatures that I can immediately see when I read anything regarding the sorns. Oftentimes when reading a description of a character in a novel an image is not always easy to generate; Lewis, however, has a way with his words that allowed me to actually see what is going on in the novel as if I was watching a movie.
ReplyDeleteA section that caught my attention in the book was in chapter 9 Ransom comes in contact with this creature on Malacandra called a “Hross.” As he is around the creature more Lewis begins to give you detailed descriptions about what the Hross looks like in relation to things that Ransom is familiar with from Earth. At the end of chapter 9 (page 59), you begin to hear how Ransom is beginning to think of the Hross. I enjoyed the description that Lewis provided because I was able to create an image of the Hross in my mind while relating its descriptions to items that I am familiar with from my personal experiences. He describes it as seven feet high, with a snaky body, covered, face and all with think black animal hair, and whiskered like a cat. This helped me create the image of what Ransom as seeing while looking at this new creature. Lewis giving clear descriptions such as these when introducing a character allows you to have a better feel for the character right away instead of feeling unconnected to the character in the beginning of a book like Odysseus in the Odyssey. I feel having a description of the character makes the book come together as a whole instead of having to put pieces together like you had to do in the Odyssey written by Homer.
ReplyDeleteThe different ideas of two different species are wonderfully shown while contrasting the views of Hyoi and Ransom. The beginning of chapter 12 sticks out to me as a very important conversation between the two. Lewis shows us through the words spoken by Hyoi that the different species on Malacandra live in harmony with each other. Fighting amongst each other is not an issue, or even an option between the different beings that live on the planet, and Hyoi and the others make rational decisions: "If the other hnua wanted food, why should we not give it to them? We often do." There is a goodhearted and companionable attachment shown here through conversation, and makes the reader become more prone to Hyoi. Also later on in the conversation between the two, Ransom dissects what he is learning about the hrossa, and compares some of their traits to that of an animal: "Some terrestrial animals, some of the "lower" animals, were naturally monogamous." This shows how Ransom is inclined to always default to the human race as being the best species, and shows some possibly bad characteristics he has himself. The sentence "At last it dawned upon him that it was not they, but his own species, that were the puzzle." forecasts an issue in the book of Ransom needing to but possibly not succumbing to some of the culture ideas of the hrossa, because of his predetermination of the rightfulness of the human species.
ReplyDeleteA moment where Lewis’ narration and description caught my attention was in the scene were Ransom is describing the landscape and air of the "handramit". He first notices that there was an “extraordinary brightness,” and from this alone I got a sense of how truly bright this air was (Lewis 89). Lewis goes on to explain how “the light was increasing, sharpening, growing whiter” to not only overstress his explanation of how bright it is, but to explain it so that you can visually see the light (89). From this description, I picture the light expanding and becoming so bright that I would have to wince at the sight of it. After reading this description, I thought directly to an episode of the show Lost where the ending scene was a great flash of bright light, going straight into a black screen. This was one of the many descriptive scenes that led me directly into a personal experience in which I could fully understand what Lewis meant.
ReplyDeleteLewis then comments how the sky of Malacandra was “a much darker blue…it was darker then blue…it was almost black” (89). Once again, Lewis goes into detail by restating and clarifying himself so that you can understand exactly what he is narrating. Not only was the sky a dark blue, but darker then the color blue (89). From this description I thought of a simple set of crayons. As the descriptions got darker, I moved from the standard “16 pack” of crayons with a navy blue onto the “deluxe 96 pack” with the blue/indigo color. He concludes his description by commenting “but not to the point where it was simply black” so you are stuck in between this extremely dark, dim color, but in the end its still ultimately a blue (89). Lewis has a way of describing events so they appeal to the senses of the readers. His narrative methods not only create an atmosphere for you as a reader, but also sharpen that impression so that it relates directly to a personal experience. I find Lewis’ descriptive skills very interesting, detailed, and relatable, making this book quite enjoyable.
I love animals so the scenes that really stuck out to me were scenes of an animal being described and I got to create a new image in my head. The one that stuck out to me the most was about the giraffes scene. "Before he could fly he found himself in the midst of a herd of enormous pale furry creatures more like giraffes than anything else he could think of, except that they could and did raise themselves on their hind legs, and even progress several paces in that position. They were slenderer, and very much higher, than giraffes, and were eating the leaves off the tops of the purple plants. They saw him and stared at him with their big liquid eyes, snorting in basso profondissimo, but had apparently no hostile intentions." (pg. 53) This quote is not exactly about a specific character or setting but it is about creatures within the setting and I think he described it so perfectly that I felt like I was actually staring at those creatures in person because he was so descriptive, and with my previous knowledge on what giraffes look like, I was able to modify that image with the new one he created.
ReplyDeleteFor the reader to understand the Malacandrian ( or more specifically, Hrossa) temperments and views on life, Lewis constructs a conversation between Ransom and Hyoi. Ransom asks Hyoi “would the other at last come with force? Would they say, give it or we kill you?” (73) to which Hyoi simply doesn’t understand and explains it is not the way of their planet with the exception of the few who are bent. Ransom also asks about food, pleasure, and death while Hyoi responds “But why? Would he want his dinner all day or want to sleep after he had slept? I do not understand.” (74) Rather than telling the readers that the Hrossa are rational, peaceful creatures, he shows the reader through a conversation between the two characters. This presents a more insightful view to the reader by allowing them to come to the conclusion on their own.
ReplyDeletePage 41, “Suddenly the lights of the Universe seemed to be turned down. As if some demon had rubbed the heaven’s face with a dirty sponge, the splendor in which they had lived for so long blenched to a pallid, cheerless and pitiable grey. It was impossible from where they sat to open the shutters or roll back the heavy blind. What had been a chariot gliding in the fields of heaven became a dark steel box dimly lighted by a slit of window, and falling.”
ReplyDeleteThis passage describes Ransom’s first encounter with Malacandra. Lewis is setting the scene for a cold, dark and terrifying new world filled with unimaginable aliens. The absence of light in this scene can be associated with death and destruction. Lewis’s vocabulary in this passage also fills the reader with a sense of foreboding. “Demon”, “dirty sponge”, and “cheerless and pitiable gray” all have negative connotations. The fact that the men are unable to “open the shutters or roll back the heavy blind” can be equated with their inability to control their futures on this planet. The final sentence shows a transition from a relatively happy and careless part of the adventure is now taking a turn towards the dangerous. However, as we continue to read, Ransom describes Malacandra as beautiful, and enjoys his time on the planet. Therefore Lewis’s main goal in this passage is to build suspense for the readers and put us in Ransom’s terrified shoes.
The first paragraph from chapter four (pg.27) is very telling into the personality of Ransom. Here Lewis does an incredible job once again of bringing us as readers into what his characters are really feeling. Ransom’s fear is palpable and then you see the “lifelong self-control of a social man” take control. I believe this gives real insight to the back ground and life of Ransom. It’s almost like that in-the-moment fear he feels is taken over by years and years of self discipline. Clearly in a state of stress, Ransom will fall back to these characteristics that have seen him through life so far. It also goes on to state that Ransom was able to answer in a voice “not shamefully tremulous” showing that in Ransom’s view signs of weakness are completely shameful. These traits will come into play as he faces stress, and new environments in Malacandra and refuses to show weakness.
ReplyDeleteThough my excerpt comes from the first paragraph and first page of the story, I believe it tells worlds of information on Ransom when stating, "The Pedestrian wasted no time on the landscape but set out at once with the determined stride of a good walker who has lately realised that he will have to walk farther than he intended" (Lewis, 1). Though early on in the story this specific statement infers how he views the world. We see this again when he arrives on Malacandra and finally, when he allows himself to openly see the land for what it is, beautiful and meaningful. After allowing himself to appreciate the planet I believe he has transformed from a "bent" man from the "Silent Planet" who is unwilling to appreciate anything foreign to him, to a strong and full of heart man on Malacandra and realizes that he has been missing the true meaning of his place on this planet since his arrival. I see a very clear change of heart and mind from my prior quote to after Ransoms introduction to Hyoi. Though an opinion and inference of my own, I see very well articulated vocabulary to describe his transformation.
ReplyDeleteI love all of the descriptions of Malacandra. They are so in depth and I can picture the planet in my head while I am reading. Soon after the men arrive to the planet, when they are unloading the spaceship Ransom stops to look around the new land. "The purple mass looked for a moment like a clump of organ-pipes, then like a stack of rolls of cloth set up on end, then like a forest of gigantic umbrellas blown inside out. It was in a faint motion...The purple stuff was vegetation." This description on page 45, about something as simple as vegetables paints a moving picture in your head that is incredible. I get the feeling that I am standing right next to him and watching the vegetables move in the breeze. It’s incredible to me that he puts so much thought and effort into such simple descriptions.
ReplyDeleteA specific moment that I felt was very descriptive was on pages 61 and 62 when Ransom is describing Malacandrian tropics. He actually "shows" you the scenery. He describes his surroundings in such a way that it is very easily pictured in the reader's mind. He explaines the blue sky, positioning of the sun, and lake. "At each end the lake vanished into more complicated groupings of land and water, softly, featherily embossed in the purple giant weed" (pgs 61-62). I feel that the description leaves no room for misunderstanding. Everyone should have a very similar view of what this place looks like. I also feel like Lewis' choice of words here is fantastic! It is not extremely word, yet still very specific.
ReplyDeleteI feel like Lewis is sneaky in his descriptions. He states things so clearly that I just assume he uses the word "beauty" when in fact he spends a paragraph describing something. I grasp what he wants me to because he uses his words so articulately that understanding is your only option. One instance where this stuck out to me was in Chapter 11, page 67, Lewis is describing the agriculture: "...one came to broad lands free of forests and clothed for many miles together in low pulpy vegetation..." Lewis is depicting a type of garden, where for as far as the eye can see, the ground is covered in vegetables and low lying plants. Saying the ground is "clothed" in the plants paints a much more vivid picture while still saying the same thing.
ReplyDeleteA moment I noticed in the book which was very descriptive was from one of the early scenes with Hyoi. This is when Ransom has met Hyoi, has eaten some food offered him, and then Hyoi gets into the boat so they can get on their way. Lewis shows you a lot about the hressni in this scene while also giving personality to Hyoi:
ReplyDelete"He completed the operation by flinging rump, tail, and hind legs all together about five feet into the air and then whisking them neatly on board with an agility which would have been quite impossible to an animal of his bulk on Earth" (p. 60).
I enjoyed the language Lewis used here because it is very animal-like ("rump," "tail," etc.) and yet he so adequately reminds us that this creature isn't quite like any animal we've ever known. Lewis does a great job of grounding the reader in the story through his descriptions and settings.
The moment that came to my mind was the eldil’s message to Hyoi, Whin, and Ransom (p. 80, 12-36). As they silently paddle in hunt of the hnakra, Hyoi alerts them to their upcoming encounter. The fact that it is “… most uncanny experience Ransom had yet had on Malacandra.” astounds me considering all that he has seen. But it is the auditory description that appeals to me as it states that the eldil was invisible. The voice seemed to come “…about a yard above his head, and it was almost an octave higher than…” the hross’s or his voice. But despite the closeness of the sound of the eldil, “…a very little difference in his ear would have made the eldil as inaudible… as invisible.” Through this, Lewis reveals the eldil, who I am sure will play some sort of role later on in the story (merely guessing at this point). But also, this sequence shows the importance of silence to this world. Had they not been as quiet as they were before and during the eldil’s visit, they would have either missed the encounter completely or not heard the important message it delivered.
ReplyDeleteI love the way C.S. Lewis describes scenes further by using specific details to paint descriptive, more defined pictures in the minds of his readers. One instance that captured my attention lies on page 41 when he states that "suddenly the lights of the Universe seemed to be turned down" and then further explains in the next few sentences with "as if some demon had rubbed the heaven's face with a dirty sponge". I found this example extremely interesting because he finds a way to associate darkness with evil all within a simple description. Evil and darkness always coincide with one another, and I think the way that Lewis described it in this regard is perfect.
ReplyDeleteLewis did a great job of explaining what was happening to Ransom as he was being drugged by Weston and Devine. He starts off by writing, "While Devine was speaking something odd began to happen to Ransom" (20). Then Lewis went on to describe how Ransom felt and what he was thinking. First Devine's words did not make sense (20), and he only got a line or two of what he was saying. Then he could no longer hear Devine since he was "now so far away-about a mile away, though perfectly clear..." (20). He then "lost all power over his own body", but felt comfortable. Though comfortable, "it was as if his legs and arms had been bandaged to the chair and his head gripped in a vice" (20). Lewis explained what Ransom was feeling and thinking as each new side effect took over. Lewis could have just written that Ransom was drugged and passed out. Instead Lewis describes Ransom's stages of unconsciousness. With this description, the reader becomes immersed in the story and the character. This kind of description connects the reader to the details, and that is what makes the story interesting.
ReplyDeleteLewis describes all of the settings in such detail with one of the instances being on page 100. “Now on a nearer view they appeared hard as stone in substance, but puffed above and stalked beneath like vegetation. His original simile of giant cauliflower turned out to be surprisingly correct—stone cauliflowers the size of cathedrals and the colour of pale rose.” It shows us what Ransom is experiencing, his environment that he has found himself living in since being in Malacandra, and the stark differences that are there compared to life on Earth, such as the old forests that exist. It reveals the absolute change in his life, circumstances and how his life was flipped upside down once this journey began. It takes the unfamiliar and puts it into terms and descriptions that are familiar and understandable. These detailed descriptions not only tell but show the readers what the characters are surrounded by and the general setting it’s taking place in.
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ReplyDeleteThe scene that comes to my mind is the scene where Ransom is being drugged at the very top of page 20. We are never actually told that he is being drugged, we get all the feelings from Ransom’s point of view and it becomes apparent very quickly that he’s been drugged. Lewis makes it seem very real. I love the line where Ransom is thinking that Devine “was now so far away […] though perfectly clear like something seen through the wrong end of telescope.” I love that because I can so easily feel that feeling right along with Ransom. Not like I’ve ever been drugged but it’s the same feeling that you get when you’re fainting. That was the giveaway that he was definitely drugged. That whole paragraph at the top of 20 paints such a good picture of what’s going on without ever really saying it.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of chapter 12, Lewis tells us what the eldila are. I love how these characters are somewhat mysterious. “But eldila are hard to see. They are not like us. Light goes through them. You must be looking in the right place and the right time; and that is not likely to come about unless the eldil wishes to be seen.” (p. 77). This is a brief description that expresses us a great deal. I think it is significant that the eldila can only be seen through light because light can be an imperceptible object. Lewis in the paragraph and explains that “sometimes you can mistake them for a sunbeam or even a moving of leaves.” To me, this connects Malacandra with Earth and clearly describes the eldila to the reader. We can imagine sunbeams and moving leaves because we have seen them on Earth. Hyio asks “Are there no eldila in your world Hman? That must be strange.”
ReplyDeleteLewis shows the readers more details concerning the setting of Malacandria when he says, “He was sailing, in fact, on the flooded floor of a majestic canyon nearly ten miles wide and of unknown length” (pg. 62). I think that it is with certain adjectives that Lewis has described a new land so perfectly. His numerous descriptions prior to this have made Malacandria out to be a place of exquisite and unique beauty. This description just continues the pattern by using the adjectives ‘flooded’ and ‘majestic’. With his use of these words Lewis has created a picture in which Ransom has wandered into a place that may not have always started off this way. This description invokes many questions and makes Malacandria out to be even more mysterious and intricate than before.
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ReplyDeleteC.S. Lewis, nor anyone else, can 'show' or 'tell' us anything. Language is an imperfect medium for communicating one's thoughts. Verbal or written depictions of scene, character, etc. will always fall short of an image. Should someone try to depict a scene in its entirety, the reader's mind would fail to grasp past the third or fourth sentence, unable to piece the whole scene together. The beauty of imagery in fiction is derived from the personal experience of every reader and every reader having a personal experience--the mind fills in the blanks. This is why movies often ruin books for people. The exact portrayals of character and scenery destroy our intimate relationship with the text.
ReplyDeleteLewis had the particularly challenging task of creating and describing an alien world and the species inhabiting it. C.S. Lewis cannot describe his alien world with paint and canvas, so he is forced to slowly introduce us to more and more clues. The narrator says it best; "He knew nothing yet well enough to see it, you cannot see things until you know roughly what they are" (43). We are introduced to a world that we, Ransom, and the narrator can't comprehend; then he is introduced to water, to Sorn, to the giraffe creatures, to hrossa, and so forth, until everything slowly coalesces into our perception and highly-personal understanding of Malacandra.
Lewis seemed to go into detail about the death of Hyoi which to me was a very sad scene. Page 82 bottom paragraph. Very specific details: " Then there came a contortion of the whole body, a gush of blood and saliva from the mouth; his arms gave way under the sudden dead weight of the sagging head, and Hyoi's face became alien and animal as it had seemed at their first meeting. The glazed eyes and the slowly stiffening, bedraggled fur were like those of any dead beast found in an earthly wood. Makes you feel sad about this paragraph and really it's something you don't want to envision but it is described so well it's hard not to envision it.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 18 on page 118, Lewis takes his descriptive narrative to a whole new level when he describes his first encounter with Oyarsa. Something as simple as Ransom hearing something is written like a "noise of movement" instead of Lewis just plainly saying "Ransom heard a noise." It lets the reader know that this is not just some simple noise, but the noise of someone (or something) approaching. It definitely helps set the mood for the rest of the scene. I can just picture all of the hnua standing to attention when Oryarsa enters because the detail is so vivid. Instead of saying "they all stood up", Lewis writes "Every visible creature in the grove had risen to its feet and was standing , more hushed than ever, with their heads bowed". This description tells us much more than the simpler one, letting us know the amount of respect the hnua give to Oryarsa. My favorite description in this entire passage is when Lewis describes how this meeting with Oryarsa makes Ransom feel; "Ransom felt a tingling of his blood and a pricking on his fingers as if lightning were near him; and his heart and body seemed to him to be made of water." I find this to be so impressive, because many contemporary authors would just settle with saying "Ransom became very excited and nervous." I honestly could have picked any passage out of the book to exemplify Lewis' art of description, but I found this one to be profound because it is such a climatic and important meeting for Ransom.
ReplyDeleteLewis begins this book with the setting of a man, the Pedestrian, walking. On page 9, lines 7-10, Lewis writes "The Pedestrian wasted no time on the landscape but set out at once with the determined stride of a good walker who has lately realised that he will have to walk farther than he intended." I believe that this sentence was a line dropped into the text to not only allow the reader to visualize the Pedestrian's actions and thoughts, but to also be a use of foreshadowing. This sentence can be seen as the idea of Ransom's journey in general. the trip that he takes begins as a walking-tour in the book and turns into a journey on the planet, Malacandra. The line quoted above may be used as a signal to readers that the Pedestrian's simple walk that he is taking will be much more complicated and longer than he ever anticipated.
ReplyDeleteOne of the image points that stood out to me the most was in the middle of chapter 9, at the first meeting of Ransom and Hyoi, "like the meeting of the first man and the first woman in the world; it was like something beyond that" (p. 57). After reading it over a second time, I realized how much of a transition Lewis made from describing the Hross as an animal, almost monster, to describing him as a hospitable, sympathetic creature of this new world. At the beginning of the meeting, Hyoi came out of the water "still steaming and shaking itself on the back... opened its mouth and began to make noises." (p. 56) Then after realizing what the Hross actually was, he was described as "everything an animal ought to have-glossy coat, liquid eye, sweet breath and whitest teeth-and...the charm of speech and reason." (p. 59) Being able to show this much of a transition from a monster to a creature of sympathy, to both the narrator and the reader within 4 pages is pretty awesome to me.
ReplyDeleteFor the first few chapters in Out of the Silent Planet, Ransom is not only taken hostage, but simply goes along with anything that happens with no fight. Finally in chapter 8, after Ransom has run away from the men and sorns shows a sign of fight in him, a characteristic I had expected from the beginning to be in a main character. At the bottom of page 48 it begins to tell what he had imagined the sorns would be like, and how he feels about escaping them.
ReplyDelete“They were unlike the horrors his imagination had conjured up, and for that reason had taken him off guard…Giants—ogres—ghosts—skeletons: those were its key words. Spooks on stilts, he said to himself: surrealistic bogy-men with their long faces. At the same time, the disabling panic of the first moments was ebbing away from him. The idea of suicide was now far from his mind; instead, he was determined to back his luck to the end. He prayed, and felt his knife. He felt a strange emotion of confidence and affection towards himself—he checked himself on the point of saying, ‘We’ll stick to one another.’”
I feel like this moment is so important to Ransom’s character. He has finally decided to take charge and fight for his life to the end. He is letting go of the fear of the unknown and conjuring up courage to keep moving and won’t just give in anymore. This is the fight in Ransom I have been waiting to see rather than reading about the Ransom who has given into his fate, almost spineless. Now I can expect that he values his life and won’t give up without a good fight.
A few lines that I found where Lewis goes on a mental rampage of words so delicately lost and immediate, was in chap.14. As I was just on my way to catching up with our required readings for this week (7), I began noticing that Ransom was heading to Meldilorn to be protected by Oyarsa. Obvious a stranger in this land Lewis says, "It frightened him, and he decided that he must rest here or not at all; a hundred more paces more and if he sat down he would sit for ever."(p.88). Looking at this quot from Lewis, what do you expect, what I found interesting is; it frightened him but toward the end what is really frightening, he noticed that if he was to go any further then sit, he would sit for ever. Also that he should rest, or not at all. Lewis is constantly thinking in terms of leading us through this journey but he is also in the box, outside the box, and looking around the box. His words are like prep work that you do before planting a bed of flowers, you dig a bunch of hole and then you drop in the seeds, those hole are like his words before the seeds are tossed in and the flowers start to grow.
ReplyDeleteI really like the way Lewis is able to depict Ransom's emotions so well upon meeting a Hrossa for the first time. This is the moment when Hyoi is offering Ransom a drink and their fingertips meet. Lewis writes "His finger-tips touched the webbed membrane of the creature's paws and an indescribable thrill of mingled attraction and repulsion ran through him; then he drank." (p. 57, bottom). This mixture of attraction and repulsion is so beautiful to me, because it's like he cannot yet decide which emotion is the right one. Of course, we later know that he is not repulsed by Hyoi as they become friends. It seems as if there is almost very little I can say to tell about these feelings because as Lewis states, it was an indescribable moment for Ransom. I can, however, infer that this thrill might have taken place here because of this never before, larger-than-life meeting with a very different species. Not just a meeting, but some kind of connection between he and Ransom that was perhaps felt from the very beginning, from this moment on until the end of Hyoi's life.
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