Out of the Silent Planet by CS LewisIn 1625, Francis Bacon, a famous essayist and poet, wrote about the influences of fear on everyday life. He said: “Men fear death as children fear going into the dark; and as this natural fear in children increases with tales, so does the other” (Essays Dedication of Death). Obviously, the external environment affects perceptions of fear as well as human nature in general. Although CS Lewis published the novel Out of the Silent Planet, more than three centuries after Bacon wrote his theory of fear, Lewis also described the external environment to manipulate perceptions of fear. From the first chapter of the novel, Lewis reveals that fear is a weakness that leads to ignorance. It is this ignorance that has apparently fueled the cycle of corruption and immorality on "The Silent Planet." Using the character of Ransom to reveal the effect of memory and morality on fear, CS Lewis demonstrates that fear is a quality of the "twisted" race (humans), and it is only in eliminating the fear in our lives that the human race may become human. of the Silent Planet, memory, in particular, seems to have a considerable impact on Ransom's perception of fear. The influence of memory on fear was noticeable from Ransom's first kidnapping in this novel. After spending a few hours aboard the spaceship, Ransom reveals his ignorant notion that space was a "dark, cold abyss (29)". While Weston scornfully corrects him by asking, “Have you forgotten the sun?” it is clear that Wellsian novels such as The Time Machine created this pessimistic view of space. This "Wellsian" ideology continues to influence Ransom's thoughts and actions throughout his journey aboard the spaceship. Overhearing Weston and Divine's conversation about sorns, Ransom instinctively envisions these creatures as "the bogies" he read about in Wells' novels (37). Ransom later reiterates this idea by assuming that key words such as "giants, ogres, ghosts, and skeletons" represented the sorns or "horrors of [my] imagination" (47). Arriving on Malacandra (Mars), Ransom's memories of science fiction novels instinctively lead him to categorize the planet's living animals as wild beasts. Believing Weston and Divine's ignorant notion that he would be tortured and consumed by the Sorns, Ransom resists the 'donkey fashion' when he is handed over to them...... middle of paper.. .... Ransom ties all of his experiences on Malacandra together and learns that the trivial aspects of life are not to be feared (153). Instead of fearing life and death, humanity should fear ignorance and inequality (imbalance). With this simple statement, Ransom demonstrated his understanding that through the use of morality, a greater understanding of life (especially fear) can be achieved. In conclusion, while Ransom traveled to Malacandra as an ignorant young man, fearing the unknown, he was completely transformed by the end of the novel by his complex understanding of fear. Although memory primarily inhibited any development of Ransom's character during the first half of the novel, following Ransom's understanding that first reactions are often wrong, Ransom's memory allowed him to clearly see the problems in the Earth. On the other hand, Ransom also learned to use morality to overcome fear rather than the other way around. While modern dictionaries describe fear as "an unpleasant, often strong emotion caused by the expectation or awareness of danger",..