PassageThis time they were much closer. They were enormously high, so that he had to throw back his head to see the top of them. They were something like pylons in shape, but solid; irregular in height and grouped in an apparently haphazard and disorderly fashion. Some ended in points that looked from where he stood as sharp as needles, while others, after narrowing towards the summit, expanded again into knobs or platforms that seemed to his terrestrial eyes ready to fall at any moment. He noticed that the sides were rougher and more seamed with fissures than he had realized at first, and between two of them he saw a motionless line of twisting blue brightness—obviously a distant fall of water. It was this which finally convinced him that the things, in spite of their improbable shape, were mountains; and with that discovery the mere oddity of the prospect was swallowed up in the fantastic sublime. Here, he understood, was the full statement of that perpendicular theme which beast and plant and earth all played on Malacandra—here in this riot of rock, leaping and surging skyward like solid jets from some rock-fountain, and hanging by their own lightness in the air, so shaped, so elongated, that all terrestrial mountains must ever after seem to him to be mountains lying on their sides. He felt a lift and lightening at the heart. Analysis:The dominant impression of this passage is one of awe and strangeness, of foreignness and greatness. C.S.Lewis is describing mountains on this passage, which he mentions about halfway through the passage. He emphasizes their sizes by using words such as "enormously high" and describing the protagonist as having to tilt back his head to see the top of them. This makes us think of something really big, as it wouldn't fit on the protagonists field of view except if he moved it up. He conveys their strangeness by comparing them to pylons, which are not a shape you would associate with a natural formation. He also shows their irregularity and random nature by using words such as "haphazard" and "disorderly fashion" which helps the reader understand the chaotic nature of these "things". He shows their seemingly unnaturalness by describing some of the tops as forming either knobs or platforms, that looked as if they would fall. Another thing he mentions in a way that seems unnatural is the water, which is strange due to his use of "motionless" and "twisting", which are not how you would usually think of water, and also describing it as "blue brightness", clearly different from normal water which is transparent or white if it is reflecting light, not a strong bright blue. To further drive home the notion of these things being alien to the protagonist he uses the word "oddity", not to describe the mountains, but to describe the "prospect" of the mountains. His use of "fantastical sublime" also relate to the awe and incredible of the strange formations. He then relates this back to a theme that he had already introduced earlier of "perpendicular". By doing this he joins the weirdness of the mountains, which are also described as "leaping", and "surging skywards like solid jets", to the rest of Malacandra, to remind the reader that the whole place is weird and alien, but also full of wonder and beauty.
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Passage:"There were planets of unbelievable majesty, and constellations undreamed of: there were celestial sapphires, rubies, emeralds and pin-pricks of burning gold; far out on the left of the picture hung a comet, tiny and remote: and between all and behind all, far more emphatic and palpable than it showed on Earth, the undimensioned, enigmatic blackness. The lights trembled: they seemed to grow brighter as he looked. Stretched naked on his bed, a second Danaë, he found it night by night more difficult to disbelieve in old astrology: almost he felt, wholly he imagined, ‘sweet influence’ pouring or even stabbing into his surrendered body. All was silence but for the irregular tinkling noises. He knew now that these were made by meteorites, small, drifting particles of the world-stuff that smote continually on their hollow drum of steel; and he guessed that at any moment they might meet something large enough to make meteorites of ship and all." Analysis:The dominant impression in this passage is one of awe and wonder, amazement, and beauty. C.S.Lewis chooses a variety of words to describe the environment that are associated to pleasant, beautiful things. Some examples of this would be the various rare or expansive and beautiful stones he uses to describe the stars, such as sapphires, rubies, emeralds, and gold. He also describes the planets as being of an "unbelievable majesty", which conjures to mind an image of glory and grandeur, as majesty is usually associated with kings and splendor. He is also described as being naked in his bed like a second Danaë, a daughter of a king from the Greek mythology that is portrayed as a naked woman stretched across a bed, sometimes with a cupid, by various artists, such as Rembrandt, as the author again connects the text to art and beautiful images. He also continues to write that the main character finds it hard to disbelieve astrology and feels a "sweet influence", which gives a sense of wonder and amazement, something inexplicable, so much vastness and unknown that myths seems like a really believable option. Lastly, C.S.Lewis describes the sound as tinkling, and while that brings to mind a pleasant sound, but he also makes sure that there is a sense of fear, of power and greatness, as there could be a meteor big enough to completely destroy the whole ship.
Passage:The light of the huge moon—if it was a moon—had by now illuminated his surroundings almost as clearly as if it were day. It was a very strange room. The floor was so small that the bed and a table beside it occupied the whole width of it: the ceiling seemed to be nearly twice as wide and the walls sloped outward as they rose, so that Ransom had the impression of lying at the bottom of a deep and narrow wheelbarrow. This confirmed his belief that his sight was either temporarily or permanently injured. In other respects, however, he was recovering rapidly and even beginning to feel an unnatural lightness of heart and a not disagreeable excitement. Analysis:The overall impression of the passage is that of a weird unknown place, strangeness and wonder. He describes the light as coming from a "huge moon" and by saying "if it was a moon" it shows his lack of knowledge and that this place is foreign. He also says that this lit up his surroundings as if it was day, which is peculiar considering last time we saw the character it was night and that a moon isn't bright enough to light up a normal place that much. The further description of the weird shape of the room emphasizes this idea of being alienated and maybe even being a prisoner, as small rooms bring up images if prison cells, specially after the character was drugged and knocked out. The fact that he sees that ceiling as being twice as big as the floor also indicates that this is a strange location. All of this then leads tha character to assume that his sight was damaged, but he mentions a lightness of heart, and calls it "unnatural", further demonstrating that the place is not common.
Passage:"The last drops of the thundershower had hardly ceased falling when the Pedestrian stuffed his map into his pocket, settled his pack more comfortably on his tired shoulders, and stepped out from the shelter of a large chestnut-tree into the middle of the road. A violent yellow sunset was pouring through a rift in the clouds to westward, but straight ahead over the hills the sky was the colour of dark slate. Every tree and blade of grass was dripping, and the road shone like a river. The Pedestrian wasted no time on the landscape but set out at once with the determined stride of a good walker who has lately realized that he will have to walk farther than he intended. That, indeed, was his situation. If he had chosen to look back, which he did not, he could have seen the spire of Much Nadderby, and, seeing it, might have uttered a malediction on the inhospitable little hotel which, though obviously empty, had refused him a bed. The place had changed hands since he last went for a walking-tour in these parts." -Out of the Silent Planet by C.S.Lewis AnalysisThe overall impression of this passage is that of tiredness and even maybe a bit of disappointment. The author achieves this by giving the reader an image of a late evening in the countryside after a long day's walk and no place to stay. his use of "sunset", and "dark slate" when describing the sky give us information about the time of day, almost night time, and by saying that the vegetation was "dripping" and the road "shone like a river" he informs us that the rain had been really strong, and by describing it as a "thundershower" it gives the reader an image of a strong storm. This sets the setting for the passage, and the feeling of tiredness comes from the fact that he had to "walk farther than he intended", which shows us how he had already walked a lot. This is also emphasized by the narrator calling him a "Pedestrian", a person that walks. His shoulders were "tired" from caring his "pack", a situation that I and a lot of other students can relate to sometimes. The feeling of disappointment comes from he being denied a bed in the little hotel, which used to be nice, and by saying that he "might have uttered a malediction" shows us how he intensively disliked the place.
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