Tuesday, November 7 Helps for starting the trilogy

Here are some helps for Out of the Silent Planet:

For starters...a pdf.

Major Characters

• Elwin Ransom - The protagonist is a philologist who has been taken against his will to the planet Mars (Malacandra).
• Edward Weston - An evil physicist who travels space seeking to conquer other worlds.
• Dick Devine - Weston’s partner, he seeks to exploit the resources of Malacandra for financial gain.   
• Hyoi - The hross who first encounters Ransom; he is killed by Weston and Devine after the successful hunt for the hnakra. 
• Hnohra - An elderly hross who teaches Ransom their language.
• Augray - A wise old sorn who helps Ransom on his way to Meldilorn.
• Kanakaberaka - A pfifltrigg who carves Ransom’s likeness on a monolith on the island of Meldilorn.
• Malacandra - The Oyarsa (angelic ruler) of the planet that bears his name.

And some hunting questions: 

• How do the actions of Weston and Devine mirror the evils of WWII?
• The era of European imperialism came to an abrupt end after World War II, but before that conflict, some still treasured the ideals of the age of imperialism, including Social Darwinism. C.S. Lewis’ Out of the Silent Planet was written in 1938, on the eve of World War II. In what ways does the novel criticize the thinking of British imperialists?
• How do the three species on Malacandra represent three divisions of humanity?
• Lewis clarified that this novel was an attack on scientism not science. What does this mean? Consider that Lewis criticizes both Uncle Andrew and Weston on this point.
• What makes Weston "worth saving" to Oyarsa while Devine is not?
• How biblical is Lewis' view of death, the angels (eldila and Oyarsa), the human condition, the inhabitants of Thulcandra, and ...
• How does Ransom change on account of his trip to Malacandra? How does this correspond to the idea of sanctification? 
• What is Lewis' philosophical and social critique summed up in the last conversation between Weston and Oyarsa? 
• Here is my source text... It has a nice summary too.