Virtue In C. S. Lewis Out Of The Silent Planet

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“For where your treasure is there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21 KJ) In C.S. Lewis’ book, “Out of the Silent Planet,” the character Dr. Ransom is faced with numerous new and frightening situations. Dr. Ransom lives in England and is exploring different towns. Unexpectedly, he encounters an old schoolmate, Devine, who’s ways seemed peculiar. Devine and his partner, Dr. Weston, forcefully abduct Ransom and blast off into space. Admirable Ransom later finds himself on the planet Mars, known to the locals as Malacandra. While he was stranded on Mars he encountered strange but sentient creatures. Such as a: Hrossa, an alien resembling a colossal otter, a Sorn which is an intelligent creature that is extremely tall and lanky with feathers, and a Pfifltriggi, which are short and are similar to a yellow frog. Along Ransom’s journey, he was faced with the choice, whether, or not, to be virtuous during these new trials. Moreover, Virtue means “behavior showing high moral standards.” (dictionary.com). Ransom always showed virtue in all situations. …show more content…

Weston rarely showed virtue. For example, Devine shot Hyoi for no reason other fear and to scare the other Hrossa. In opposition, Ransom showed virtue in all situations including but not limited to, his time with Hyoi, his encounters with the Hrossa, Sorns, and Pfifltriggi, and his conversation with Oyarsa. Shortly after arriving on Mars, Ransom meet a Hrossa named Hyoi, a terrifying 7-foot-tall hairy creature. Instead of running away or attacking Hyoi, Ransom observantly noticed Hyoi was speaking. Doing this he refrained from attacking and befriended Hyoi showing virtue. In contrast, Devine and Dr. Weston acted out of fear thus they were not observant, and shot