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Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis Essay

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Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis

In the year 1625, Francis Bacon, a famous essayist and poet wrote about the influences of fear on everyday life. He stated, “Men fear death as children fear to go in the dark; and as that natural fear in children is increased with tales, so is the other” (Essays Dedication of Death). Clearly, external surroundings affect perceptions of fear as well as human nature in general. Although C.S. Lewis published the novel, Out of the Silent Planet, over three centuries after Bacon wrote his theory on fear, Lewis similarly portrayed external surrounding to manipulate perceptions of fear. From the first chapter of the novel, Lewis revealed fear to be a weakness that leads to ignorance. It was this …show more content…

In fact, until Ransom spends a great deal of time with the hross, Ransom sees differences between the human race and hnau as risks and dangers. He only advances towards the hross because its appearance was comparable to that of the animals of Earth. While Ransom never fully eradicates his fear of Malacandra, he eventually comes to the realization that differences between Earth and Malacandra does not represent evil within the Malacandrian world. In fact, he corrects many of his misperceptions, including that of the sorns, which he originally described as “Ogres.” After meeting Augray, a compassionate and intelligent sorn, he felt “Titans or Angels would have been a better word” to describe their species (101). As Ransom’s fear slowly dissipates, he slowly began to think of Malacandra as a “home” rather than a danger (107). Moreover, Ransom began to realize that differences between Earth and Malacandra represented the evils of human society. “War, slavery, prostitution,” events and institutions only present in “The Silent Planet,” outraged Oyarsa and all of the hnau (that appeared incapable of sin). This realization ultimately marked Ransom’s deep understand of fear and the ignorance of mankind. Although memory played a profound role in Ransom’s perception of fear, throughout Out of the Silent Planet, morality also played a decisive role in Ransom’s perception of fear. While in almost every case, Ransom’s morality allowed him to

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