Audience awareness (4)

Map of Jill, Eustace, and Puddleglum's journey.

In terms of age, the intended audience for The Silver Chair is arguably quite different than for Out of the Silent Planet, even though there are likely just as many (or more) adults who read (and reread) Silver Chair as there are children.

Lewis was very aware of his audience. As you're reading SC, what do you notice about the narrative tone, style, and structure that points to this awareness? Specifically, how can you tell (assuming you can tell) that he was writing for a young audience? Please don't point out the obvious (the protagonists are children; the story is full of fairy-tale elements; there are colored pictures; etc.). Rather, point to a specific moment or scene or description or conversation (or whatever) in SC that illustrates this narrative awareness and then, if possible, tell us how Lewis dealt with the same type of moment or scene or description or conversation differently in OSP. 

Comments are due by noon FRIDAY 28 SEPTEMBER.

Timeless terseness (3)

Out of the Silent Planet is full of terse and pithy phrases that extend far beyond their immediate context and even, in some cases, far beyond the book itself. For example:

"You cannot see things till you know roughly what they are." (43)

"Small claims must give way to great." (29)

"The love of knowledge is a kind of madness." (56)

"A pleasure is full grown only when it is remembered." (74)

This is just a tiny sample of worthy phrases.

For this post, find one such phrase (be sure to include page number) and give its immediate contextual meaning, then discuss how its larger meaning extends to other parts of the text and even to life beyond the text. 

You could write entire books on many of these phrases - but you have only one blog post. Be precise, concise, organized, and economical with your writing. Don't waste any words on vague generalities or meaningless intro sentences. Jump right into the task at hand and say something insightful and interesting.

Some rules:

1. You may use one of the phrases listed above if you'd like. 
2. Phrases may be used no more than FIVE times each, so pay attention to previous posts.
3. Comments are due by NOON next Thursday, Sept. 20.

Show (and so tell) (2)

C.S. Lewis believed that a good author must use an economy of words (nothing extra), must be diligent about accuracy of vocabulary (use the word that conveys the exact meaning), and must show beauty / sublimity / ferocity / etc. rather than simply saying "The sky was beautiful" or "The heavens were sublime" or "The dragon was fierce."

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, and more.

Find a specific moment in the text when Lewis 'shows' us something about either a character or a setting. Be sure to include the phrase 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 this Thursday (9-13) at noon.