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Chapter 3 Study

An archived study of the first book in Lewis' theological science fiction Space Trilogy.

Chapter 3 Study

Postby Kanakaberaka » February 6th, 2006, 5:42 pm

Synopsis: Ransom comes to his senses to find himself imprisioned in an odd metal room. At first he is facinated with the dazzling appearance of the stars seen from an overhead skylight. Then he is confused when he feels lighter that he ought to, bumping his head on the skylight when standing up. The very dimensions of the room are discombobulating. The ceiling appears to be twice the area of the floor. Ransom belives that it has to be the result of his being drugged. And then Ransom notices something truely uncanny outside the skylight. It appears to be the Moon. But it's much bigger and brighter than it ought to be. When Ransom says, "Like a great football just outside the glass" I thought he meant it was an oblong object untill I realized Lewis was refering to what we in The States call a soccer ball.

Finaly Weston enters the room, stark naked no less. And yet Ransom is not angry at him, just mystified about the glowing orb. Ransom asks, "What is it? It's not the Moon, not that size. It can't be, can it?"

"No," replied Weston, "it's the Earth."

----------------------------------------------------

Now we all know from reading the dust jacket of the book that the protagonist somehow ends up in outer-space. So there is really no surprise for the reader that Ransom should find himself shanghied on board some sort of spacecraft. And yet, Lewis manages to through a shock of recognition at the end of this short chapter. Weston's punchline about the glowing disk outside the window being our own home planet made me slap myself. I should have known that the luminous "football" was in fact the Earth!

The whole chapter appears to be one big practical joke played on Ransom. And the reader, if he has even the most rudimentary knowlege of space travel, is in on the joke. I know that some people will point out that this book was published in 1938. But even back then, science fiction fans (of scientifiction, as Lewis says it was called at the time) were familiar with all the gimics about reduced gravity and starlight in a vacuum. The part about the "full" moon which should not have been there turning out to be the Earth adds the one real shock to the chapter.

Other details such as the fact that the walls of Ransom's room appeared perpendicular in spite of the fact the ceiling was twice as big as the floor, make the scene appear surreal. We are not really sure whether this is an accurate discription of a real place or just another dream like the one Ransome had back at The Rise. Could that have been the purpose of Ransom's dream? To confuse the reader about whether what was happening was reality or not?

And finaly, when Weston makes his grand entrance, I think it is significant that Ransom does not curse him out. Could this be a case of the "Stockholm Syndrome" where a captive feels empathy for his captor? Or is it supposed to illustrate Christian Charity on Ransom's part? Or (most likely) the fact that Ransom has been torn away from his mundane reality?

so it goes...
so it goes...
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Kanakaberaka
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Original Chapter 3 Comments

Postby Kanakaberaka » March 20th, 2006, 1:27 am

so it goes...
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Kanakaberaka
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Posts: 1030
Joined: Jul 1999
Location: Just outside of Rego Park, NYC


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