NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Out of the Silent Planet

Out of the Silent Planet is the first novel of a science fiction trilogy written by C. S. Lewis, sometimes referred to as the Space Trilogy or Ransom Trilogy. The other volumes are Perelandra (also published as Voyage to Venus) and That Hideous Strength, and a fragment of a sequel was published posthumously as The Dark Tower. The trilogy was inspired and influenced by David Lindsay's A Voyage to Arcturus (1920).[1] Image File history File links CSLewis_OutOfTheSilentPlanet. ... Clive Staples Lewis (November 29, 1898 – November 22, 1963), commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis, was an author and scholar. ... In political geography and international politics a country is a geographical entity, a territory, most commonly associated with the notions of state or nation. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The Space Trilogy, Cosmic Trilogy or Ransom Trilogy is a trilogy of three science fiction novels by C. S. Lewis. ... Some notable science fiction novels, in alphabetical order by title: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke 334 by Thomas M. Disch An Age by Brian Aldiss The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton The Atrocity Exhibition by J.G. Ballard... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... Bodley Head has been, since 1987, an imprint of Random House. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... ISBN-13 represented as EAN-13 bar code (in this case ISBN 978-3-16-148410-0) The International Standard Book Number, ISBN, is a unique[1] commercial book identifier barcode. ... Perelandra (also titled Voyage to Venus in a later edition published by Pan Books) is the second book in the Space Trilogy of C. S. Lewis. ... A novel (from French nouvelle Italian novella, new) is an extended, generally fictional narrative, typically in prose. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... A trilogy is a set of three works of art, usually literature or film, that are connected and can generally be seen as a single work as well as three individual ones. ... Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 â€“ 22 November 1963), commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis, was an Irish author and scholar. ... The Space Trilogy, Cosmic Trilogy or Ransom Trilogy is a trilogy of three science fiction novels by C. S. Lewis. ... Perelandra (also titled Voyage to Venus in a later edition published by Pan Books) is the second book in the Space Trilogy of C. S. Lewis. ... That Hideous Strength is a 1945 novel by C. S. Lewis, the final book in Lewiss theological science fiction Space Trilogy. ... The Dark Tower is a fragment of a novel attributed to C. S. Lewis and published posthumously by his personal secretary, Walter Hooper, in 1977. ... David Lindsay (1876-1945) was a British author now most famous for the philosophical novel A Voyage to Arcturus (1920). ... A Voyage to Arcturus is a novel by the Scottish writer David Lindsay. ...

According to his biographer A. N. Wilson, Lewis wrote the novel after a conversation with J.R.R. Tolkien in which both men lamented the state of contemporary fiction. They agreed that Lewis would write a space-travel story, and Tolkien would write a time-travel one. Tolkien's story only exists as a fragment, published in The Lost Road and other writings (1987) edited by his son Christopher. Andrew Norman Wilson (born 1950) is an English writer, known for his biographies, novels and works of popular and cultural history. ... J. R. R. Tolkien in 1916. ... ... The Lost Road and Other Writings is the fifth volume of The History of Middle-earth, a series of compilations of drafts and essays written by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Christopher Reuel Tolkien (born November 21, 1924) is best known as the third son of author J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973), and as the editor of much of his fathers posthumously published work. ...

Plot summary

The story begins with Elwin Ransom, a professor of philology, on a hiking trip in the English Midlands, knocking on the door of an isolated cottage in an attempt to find sleeping accommodation. The cottage is occupied by a woman whose son works late at nights. She informs Ransom that she will provide accommodation if he goes and brings her son home. Ransom agrees and asks where her son is. She tells him where to find him, and Ransom makes his way to the walled estate. The estate is occupied by Ransom's former schoolmate Devine, whom Ransom remembers having cordially disliked. Devine, however, enthusiastically welcomes Ransom and offers him a room and a meal, and first of all, a drink. As it turns out, Devine and his associate, Professor Weston, have ulterior motives: Weston is a scientist who has discovered a way to travel in space and the two men need another person to take with them on their next journey. Ransom realizes his drink has been doped, but before he can escape he is hit on the head and loses consciousness. When he wakes, he finds himself on a ship traveling through space (which Ransom later learns to see as "Deep Heaven") to the planet Malacandra. While on the journey Ransom overhears Weston and Devine talking about whether they should again drug Ransom before they turn him over to the inhabitants of Malacandra, the sorns, or allow him to stay conscious. Ransom, fearing the worst, decides to escape as soon as he gets a chance. Elwin Ransom is a character from C.S. Lewiss Space Trilogy. ... Philology is the study of ancient texts and languages. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Professor Weston (full name Edward Rolles Weston) is arguably one of C.S Lewis greatest satanic characters. ... Space exploration is the physical exploration of outer-Earth objects and generally anything that involves the technologies, science, and politics regarding space endeavors. ...

Soon after the three land on the strange planet, Ransom gets his chance to run off into the unknown landscape. He wanders around, finding many differences between Earth and Malacandra, such as that all the lakes, streams, and rivers are warm, the gravity is significantly less, and the plants and mountains are strangely tall and thin.

Ransom runs into an intelligent native of Malacandra, a hross named Hyoi. He becomes a guest for several months at Hyoi's village, where he uses his philological skills to learn the language of the hrossa and finds out about their culture. He also learns that gold, known to the hrossa as "sun's blood", is plentiful on Malacandra, and thus is able to discern Devine's motivation for making the voyage thither. (Weston's motives are more complex.) GOLD refers to one of the following: GOLD (IEEE) is an IEEE program designed to garner more student members at the university level (Graduates of the Last Decade). ...

The hrossa honor Ransom greatly by asking him to join them in a hunt for a hnakra (plural hnéraki), a fierce water-creature which seems to be the only dangerous predator on the planet. While hunting, Ransom is told by an eldil, a creature reminiscent of very faint light, that he needs to meet Oyarsa, the eldil who is in charge of the planet. He refuses the summons, as he wishes to proceed with the hunt. Hyoi, after killing the hnakra with Ransom's help, is shot dead by Devine and Weston, who are trying to find Ransom. Ransom is told that this is the consequence of disobeying Oyarsa, and that he must now cross the mountains to escape Weston and Devine and go to Oyarsa. On his journey, Ransom runs into the creature that he has feared ever since he heard of them, a sorn. He finds out, though, that the séroni are peaceful and kind. The sorn, Augray, ends up taking Ransom the rest of the way to Oyarsa. This snapping turtle is trying to make a meal of a Canada goose, but the goose is too wary. ... The Space Trilogy, Cosmic Trilogy or Ransom Trilogy is a trilogy of three science fiction novels by C. S. Lewis. ... Oyarsa is a fictional character in C. S. Lewiss Space Trilogy, which includesOut of the Silent Planet, Perelandra and That Hideous Strength. ...

Ransom finally makes it to Meldilorn, Home of Oyarsa, after many days of traveling in thin air. In Meldilorn, Ransom meets a Pfifltrig who is carving a statue of Ransom. The Pfifltrig tells Ransom of the beautiful houses and artwork his race does in their native forests. Ransom then is led to Oyarsa and long awaited conversation begins. Through the conversation Ransom finds out that there are Oyéresu (the plural) for each of the planets in our solar system; in the four inner planets, which have organic life (intelligent and non-intelligent) the local Oyarsa is in charge of that life. The Oyarsa of Earth, called Thulcandra (the silent planet) by Oyarsa, has turned evil and has been restricted to Thulcandra by Maleldil, the ruler of the universe. Ransom is ashamed at how little he can tell Oyarsa about Earth and how foolish he and other humans seem to Oyarsa. While the two are talking, Devine and Weston are brought in guarded by hrossa because they have killed three hrossa. Oyarsa dissects their characters and beliefs. The Universe is defined as the summation of all particles and energy that exist and the space-time in which all events occur. ...

The scene may have been influenced by H. G. Wells's First Men in the Moon which Lewis described as "The best of the sort [Science Fiction] I have read...." (from a letter to Roger Lancelyn Green). Wells' book, like Lewis', reaches its climax with a meeting between an Earthman and the wise ruler of an alien world, during which the Earthman makes very ill-considered boasts of his species' military prowess. (The characters of Weston and Devine might be, in general, dark versions of Wells' Cavour and Bradford. In both books, a scientist with a wide-ranging mind forms a partnership with an eminently practical man who has a special attraction to extra-terrestrial bars of gold, and they quietly build themselves a spaceship in the English countryside). Herbert George Wells (September 21, 1866 â€“ August 13, 1946), better known as H. G. Wells, was an English writer best known for such science fiction novels as The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man and The Island of Doctor Moreau. ... For the earlier film, see The First Men in the Moon (1919 film) First Men in the Moon is a 1964 science fiction film directed by Nathan Juran. ... Ariane 5 lifts off with the Rosetta probe on 2nd of March, 2004. ...

Oyarsa tells Weston and Devine that he would not tolerate the presence of creatures such as they, but lets them take the chance of immediately leaving the planet and trying to get back to Earth under very unfavorable orbital conditions. Although Oyarsa offers him the option of staying in Malacandra, Ransom decides that he does not belong there, perhaps feeling himself unworthy and perhaps just because - as much as he likes the Malacandrian creatures - he is longing to be back among human beings. After a difficult return journey, the space ship makes it back to Earth. Weston and Devine do not further molest Ransom, perhaps realizing that if Ransom were to try to expose their villainies, no-one would believe him, since there is no corroboration for the story. (To prevent further instrusions in Malacandra, Oyarsa has caused the ship to "unbody" i.e. disintegrate shortly after landing.) Ransom then questions whether all that happened was true or he only was dreaming. He returns to believing his trip to be true when a friend writes him asking whether he has heard of the medieval Latin word "Oyarsa" and knows what it meant. Ransom then dedicates himself to the mission that Oyarsa gave him before he left Malacandra: stopping Weston from further evil.

Major themes

The eldila, who work for Oyarsa as messengers and maintainers of the planet, are meant to be angels. Oyarsa is a more powerful angel, perhaps an archangel, and Oyarsa's superior, Maleldil the Young, represents Jesus. The 'Old one', the creator of Mars, is God the Father. Part of the background in Out of the Silent Planet is that Earth's Oyarsa (who is obviously Satan or Lucifer) became "bent," destroyed most of the life on Mars, and was forcibly imprisoned inside the Moon's orbit - having induced (as comes up later in the series) the creatures living under the Lunar surface to adopt evil ways and deliberately destroy all the life which once existed on their surface. Since the eldila, who fill space (or "the heavens," which are depicted as warm and bright due to the Sun) know nothing about what goes on inside those boundaries, Earth is called Thulcandra, "the silent planet." While Earth has fallen into evil, Mars has not. This represented one of Lewis's concerns about space travel; that fallen humanity would have nothing to offer other life in space other than our depravity. A Gothic angel in ivory, c1250, Louvre An angel is a supernatural being found in many religions. ... Archangels are superior or higher-ranking angels. ... Adjectives: Martian Atmosphere Surface pressure: 0. ... In many religions, the supreme God is given the title and attributions of Father. ...

As in many other science fiction works of his time and earlier, Mars in this book is conceived of as a dying world; the enormous canals believed at the time to be a major feature of its surface (until space probes proved them nonexistent) were conceived as a major engineering project undertaken by the Martians in their effort to survive. The logical conclusion, first made by H. G. Wells in The War of the Worlds and repeated by various others, was to assume that the Martians would eventually try to escape their dying world and settle on the younger and more vigorous Earth. Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... The name Martian is given to the hypothetical native inhabitants of the planet Mars. ... Herbert George Wells (September 21, 1866 â€“ August 13, 1946), better known as H. G. Wells, was an English writer best known for such science fiction novels as The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man and The Island of Doctor Moreau. ... The War of the Worlds (1898), by H. G. Wells, is an early science fiction novel (or novella) which describes an invasion of England by aliens from Mars. ...

Olaf Stapledon, in Last and First Men - a monumental future history stretching over millions and billions of years which was published shortly before Lewis' book, made a further extrapolation: humans in the far-off future escaping the dying Earth and settling on Venus, in the process totally exterminating its native inhabitants - a marine intelligent species. Stapeldon's book can be seen as condoning such interplanetary genocide as a justified act if necessary for racial survival (though some of Stapeldon's partisans denied that such was his intention). William Olaf Stapledon (May 10, 1886 â€“ September 6, 1950) was a British philosopher and author of several influential works of science fiction. ... Last and First Men: A Story of the Near and Far Future is a science fiction novel written in 1930 by the British author Olaf Stapledon. ... Look up Future in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Adjectives: Venusian or (rarely) Cytherean Atmosphere Surface pressure: 9. ... Genocide is the mass killing of a group of people as defined by Article 2 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG) as any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or...

Lewis very strongly objected to the idea, and this book can seen as partially a rebuttal of Stapledon. Prof. Weston's arguments in his confrontation with Oyarsa, where he outrightly defends the "right" of "culturally superior" humans to displace and exterminate the Martians are clearly intended to represent Stapledon's arguments (or rather, what Lewis conceived as his arguments). Counterposed by Lewis is the vision of the three virtuous Mars species, aware that their planet is dying, stoically accepting their fate and living a harmonious life under the wise guidance of Oyarsa. (Members of the three species are also aware of the appointed day of their own individual death and accept that, too, stoically).

Though their ancestors possessed the technology to build spaceships and come to Earth, and though specifically invited to do so by Earth's "Bent Oyarsa" (Satan), they have foregone this temptation. (Oyarsa does mention that taking this momentous decision was not quite smooth, and that some rebels who succumbed to the temptation and wanted to go to Earth were harshly dealt with; this was, however, in the distant past, many generations ago).

To Prof. Weston, such a "defeatist" attitude is intolerable (though, had the Martians settled Earth, nascent mankind would have obviously received short shrift). On hearing it he declares himself on the side of the Bent One and his defiant attitude ("He fights, jumps, lives, not like Maleldil [God] who lets everybody die"). In Perelandra this would lead Weston to falling under demonic possession and eventually dying a most gruesome death. Perelandra (also titled Voyage to Venus in a later edition published by Pan Books) is the second book in the Space Trilogy of C. S. Lewis. ...

The concepts of space and other planets in this novel are largely taken from medieval cosmology. For more information on it, see C.S. Lewis's The Discarded Image, a series of lectures on this cosmology that were published after his death.

Hrossa, Séroni, Pfifltriggi

The hrossa (singular hross) resemble otters or seals except that they are bipeds, somewhat taller and thinner than humans. They live in the low river valleys and specialize in farming, fishing, and performing arts such as dancing and poetry. They are especially gifted in making poetry yet they refuse to write it down since they believe that books ruin words and poems. Their technical level is very low, simply because they are not interested in raising it. The boats that they build are similar to our canoes. They add an initial /h/ sound to their words. Genera Amblonyx Aonyx Enhydra Lontra Lutra Lutrogale Pteronura The otter (lutrinae) is a carnivorous aquatic or marine mammal part of the family Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, polecats, badgers, as well as others. ... Families Odobenidae Otariidae Phocidae Pinnipeds (fin-feet, lit. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... A contemporary dancer rehearsing in a dance studio Dance generally refers to human movement either used as a form of expression or presented in a social, spiritual or performance setting. ... The Chinese poem Quatrain on Heavenly Mountain by Emperor Gaozong (Song Dynasty) Poetry (from the Greek , poiesis, a making or creating) is a form of art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its ostensible meaning. ... A wood-and-canvas canoe evokes the heritage of canoeing in North America. ...

The séroni (singular sorn; the plural is sometimes given as sorns) are thin, fifteen-foot-high humanoids with coats of pale feathers and seven-fingered hands.^[1] They raise livestock on the high plateaus above the valleys, where they breathe much thinner and colder air than man. They are the scholars and thinkers of Malacandra, specializing in science and abstract learning. Their technical level is futuristically high, though they usually just design the machinery, which is then built by the pfifltriggi. Similarly, they do not write or compose written works of history or fiction as they feel the hrossa are superior at it. The term humanoid refers to any being whose body structure resembles that of a human. ... Part of a scientific laboratory at the University of Cologne. ...

The pfifltriggi (singular pfifltrig) have tapir-like heads (with a bulge at the back containing the brain) and frog-like bodies; they lean their elbows on the ground when at rest, and sometimes when working with their hands. Their movements are quick and insectlike. They are the builders and technicians of Malacandra. They build houses and gadgets thought up by the sorns. They also are miners who especially like to dig up "sun's blood" or gold. They are the only species to wear a form of clothes and even wear goggles to protect their eyes. Species Tapirus bairdii Tapirus indicus Tapirus pinchaque Tapirus terrestris Tapirs (IPA:ËˆteÉªpÉ™r, pronounced as in taper, or IPA:tÉ™ËˆpÉªÉ™r, pronounced as in tap-ear) are large browsing mammals, roughly pig-like in shape, with short, prehensile snouts. ... Italic text // ahh addiing sum spiice iin hurr`` For other uses, see Brain (disambiguation). ... Distribution of frogs (in black) Suborders Archaeobatrachia Mesobatrachia Neobatrachia - List of Anuran families The frogness babe is an amphibian in the order Anura (meaning tail-less from Greek an-, without + oura, tail), formerly referred to as Salientia (Latin saltare, to jump). ...

All three of these races and the eldila are "unfallen": free of the tendency to evil and sin that plagues humans. Ransom describes the emotional connection between the races as a cross between that of equals and that of person to an animal, mirrored in the way that humans tend to anthropomorphize pets. The creatures do not believe their races to be superior to the others; they acknowledge that they can't all do everything. The Space Trilogy, Cosmic Trilogy or Ransom Trilogy is a trilogy of three science fiction novels by C. S. Lewis. ... In religion and ethics, evil refers to morally or ethically objectionable thought, speech, or action; behavior or thought which is hateful, cruel, violent, or devoid of conscience. ... Sin is a term used mainly in a religious context to describe an act that violates a moral rule, or the state of having committed such a violation. ...

However, in the sequels it is made clear that the language of the hrossa is the primary Old Solar language, and that the languages of the other two species are late derivatives of it. This represents Lewis' view that the symbolic and mythopoeic imagination is the primary language of the human mind and that scientific and technological analysis is a later development. In the essay Bluspels and Flalansferes: A Semantic Nightmare^[2] he argues that, though reason is the organ of truth, imagination is the organ of meaning.

Glossary

The hrossa's word for "to eat" contains consonants unreproduceable by the human mouth. It is not clear how that word would be pronounced on Venus, where Ransom, in the sequel, finds humans speaking the same language as the hrossa. Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the solar system, named after the Roman god of war (the counterpart of the Greek Ares), on account of its blood red color as viewed in the night sky. ...

Endnotes

Dale A. Russell is a geologist/palaeontologist, currently Research Professor at The Department of Marine Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (MEAS) of North Carolina State University. ... Subdivisions ?Eoraptor Herrerasauria Coelophysoidea Ceratosauria Cryolophosaurus Spinosauridae Carnosauria Coelurosauria Theropods (beast foot) are a group of bipedal saurischian dinosaurs. ... Binomial name Troodon formosus Leidy, 1856 Troodon formosus was a relatively small, bird-like dinosaur from the late Cretaceous Period (68â€“65 MYA). ... Sinornithosaurus by Jim Robins Feathered dinosaurs are regarded by many paleontologists as transitional fossils between birds and dinosaurs (see Dinosaur-bird connection). ...

External links

Categories: 1938 novels | Novels by C. S. Lewis | Mars in fiction | Science fiction novels | Christian fiction and allegory The Internet Speculative Fiction Database is a database of bibliographic information on science fiction and related genres such as fantasy fiction and horror fiction. ... Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 â€“ 22 November 1963), commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis, was an Irish author and scholar. ... The Space Trilogy, Cosmic Trilogy or Ransom Trilogy is a trilogy of three science fiction novels by C. S. Lewis. ... Perelandra (also titled Voyage to Venus in a later edition published by Pan Books) is the second book in the Space Trilogy of C. S. Lewis. ... That Hideous Strength is a 1945 novel by C. S. Lewis, the final book in Lewiss theological science fiction Space Trilogy. ... The Narnia books â€œNarniaâ€ redirects here. ... The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis. ... Prince Caspian is a novel for children by C. S. Lewis, first published in 1951. ... The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a fantasy novel by C. S. Lewis. ... The Silver Chair is part of The Chronicles of Narnia, a series of seven fantasy novels written by C.S. Lewis. ... Cover of a recent edition of The Horse and His Boy The Horse and His Boy is a novel by C.S. Lewis. ... The Magicians Nephew is a fantasy novel for children written by C. S. Lewis. ... The Last Battle is the seventh and final novel in The Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis. ... The Pilgrims Regress is a book of allegorical fiction by C.S. Lewis. ... The Screwtape Letters is a work of Christian fiction by C. S. Lewis first published in book form in 1942. ... The Great Divorce: A Dream is a work of fantasy by C. S. Lewis . ... This article may contain original research or unverified claims. ... The Dark Tower is a fragment of a novel attributed to C. S. Lewis and published posthumously by his personal secretary, Walter Hooper, in 1977. ... Boxen is a fictional world that was created by C. S. Lewis as a child and was inhabited by talking animals. ... Dymer is a narrative poem by C.S. Lewis published in 1926 under the pseudonym Clive Hamilton. ...

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