Essay on Out of the silent planet

Submitted By bob57
Words: 788
Pages: 4

"Out of The Silent Planet" written by C.S. Lewis follows the tale of Dr. Elwin Ransom as he is kidnapped from earth and taken to the planet of Mars to be given as a sacrifice to the one of the native species' deity. After about a month long journey through space Ransom and his kidnappers finally arrive on the planet Mars (the natives call it Malacandra). Ransom was able to escape from his kidnappers as they were taking him to the Sorn (the species that wanted him for the sacrifice). After about a day running from his captors, Ransom meets a different intelligent species called the Hross. Hyoi (the name of a Hross that befriends him) teaches Ransom his language and takes him to his village so that his tribe and he can learn more about each other. About a couple weeks Ransom has learned their language and what to eat on Malacandra. Ransom leaves the Hross after his kidnappers kill Hyoi; one of the Hross tells him to go to a person named Oyarsa saying that he will be safe there and how to get there. When he finally gets there he finds out the deity that the Sorns were going to sacrifice him was Oyarsa; he also finds out that Oyarsa did not want him for a sacrifice but merely to talk about the planet Ransom came from. He eventually finds out that his kidnappers had come to Malacandra to collect gold that was abundant there; while they were collecting there gold the Sorns had come to them to teach them their language and bring them to Oyarsa talk about the planet earth (they call it Thulcandra) but they misunderstood their intentions and thought it was for a sacrifice so they went back to earth and kidnapped Ransom. After Ransom finished telling about the earth and his kidnappers intentions of what they were to do with Malacandra; Oyarsa made Ransom's kidnappers leave Malacandra with ninety days’ worth of air and food and a device that would instantly destroy the ship after ninety days. Oyarsa also gave Ransom a choice of staying on Malacandra or going on the treacherous journey home; he chose the latter and successful returned home.
The main protagonist in Out of the Silent Planet is Dr. Elwin Ransom. Ransom is a professor at the University of Cambridge where he teaches how to study languages. This is how he is able to learn the language of the Hrossa so quickly. Oyarsa is the main force in the book. He is the ruler over all of Malacandra and the reason why Ransom was brought to Malacandra. Oyarsa wanted to know about earth and its inhabitants; that is the reason why Ransom was brought to Malacandra.
The only antagonists in the book are Dr.Weston and Dick Devine. Weston was able to design and build a spaceship that would take him and eventually others across the stars to other planets. The first planet that he went to was Malacandra where he and his accomplice started collecting gold until the Sorns told