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Chapter 20 Study

PostPosted: May 15th, 2006, 1:34 pm
by Kanakaberaka
Synopsis: Now that Weston has cooled down his head, he is given a chance to explain himself before Oyarsa with the help of Ransom acting as a translator.
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This chapter has me wondering how OOTSP can ever be successfully made into a movie. The translation of English into Malacandrian is the point of the whole chapter. I suppose that subtitles could be used, but they would be distracting. And it's not just the translation of words that is illustrated. It is the exchange of ideas, or in one case the inability to exchange them that is shown. For example :
As soon as Ransom had finished, Weston continued. "Life is greater than any system of morality; her claims are absolute. It is not by tribal taboos and copy-book maxims that she has pursued her relentless march from the amoeba to man and from man to civilization."

"He says," began Ransom, "that living creatures are stronger than the question whether an act is bent or good -no, that cannot be right -he says it is better to be alive and bent than to be dead -no -he says, he says -I cannot say what he says, Oyarsa, in your language.

In fact it is rather comical to compare Weston's original bombastic, jingoistic speech with the practical translation Ransom has to give to Oyarsa. The translation has to explain things like what a thief or an army is. Technical terms like transport system becomes "carry heavy weights very quickly a long way".
When Devine attempts to placate Oyarsa by claiming that Weston is a fool and that all they want is to return to Earth with gold, Oyarsa shouts "Silence" which sends Devine crumbling onto the ground.
I can't blame Stanley for posting the study of this chapter because all of the book has been leading up to this dramatic confontation of minds.
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so it goes...

Original Chapter 20 Comments

PostPosted: May 15th, 2006, 1:55 pm
by Kanakaberaka