The Oyarsa

     By far, the most interesting engagement in Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis is the dialogue between Weston, Ransom, and Oyarsa. At the climax of the book, the three character archetypes finally converge. Weston, the picturesque naturalist, argues with Oyarsa, the moral absolutist, through Ransom,the relatable protagonist. In this sequence, Weston wishes to communicate the grandiose nature of Earth to the primitive creatures of Malacandra. As Ransom translates, he must resort to morphing Weston's verbage into child-like language. The repurposed words find new expressions as their nobility is reduced to moral truths. What is boasted as fantastic weapons and advanced medicine is understood as advanced healing machines which is counter acted by great killing machines. The Oyarsa rightly scoffs at these ideas, explaining that they are simply unacceptable in the culture of Malacandra. It truly puts in perspective how absurd some of our achievements are. How much of our humanity have we sacrificed for the sake of furthering our consumerism? Questions like these will continue until the end of days.

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