Genre
Science fiction, fantasy
Setting and Context
Modern (twentieth-century) England and the planet Mars
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person point of view solely following the activities of Dr. Elwin Ransom, a philologist who is taken on a remarkable journey to the planet Malacandra.
Tone and Mood
Wonder-filled, optimistic, intellectual, reasonable
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonist: Dr. Elwin Ransom, a philologist with a good heart and an unintentional journey to Mars. Antagonist: Dr. Weston, the manifestation of progressive utilitarianism and the kidnapper of Dr. Ransom.
Major Conflict
Dr. Weston and Devine are attempting to exploit Malacandra for their own purposes, while Ransom and the native Malacandrans attempt to prevent this and change the minds of the "bent" humans.
Climax
The climax of the novel occurs in a dramatic scene where Weston converses with Oyarsa in a battle of reason and ideology. After gently defeating the stubborn Weston with logic, Oyarsa forces them to leave Malacandra and return to Earth.
Foreshadowing
Weston's speech extolling the value of sacrificing lives for the advancement of humanity foreshadows his attempt to take over the planet of Malacandra in order to provide a new planet for humanity to conquer and colonize.
Understatement
"It seems to me that this is the beginning of more comings and goings between the heavens and the worlds and between one world and another" - Oyarsa (Ch. XXI)
Allusions
In the novel, Lewis alludes to the fanciful science-fiction fantasies of H.G. Wells, an older contemporary of Lewis. There are also many allusions to the messages of Christianity as seen through the Old One (God), Maleldil the Younger (Jesus), and the eldila (angels).
Imagery
The imagery of something good being "bent" to represent sin and fallenness in the Malacandran vocabulary occurs in many instances throughout the entire novel. This "bending," or "perverting" ("thoroughly turning" in Latin), of goodness produces the evil of the Silent Planet, representing the fallen and sinful nature of humanity, which is a recurring theme in the book and comes up on many occasions.
Paradox
In the climax of the novel, Weston intends to give a grandiloquent speech in defense of his utilitarian and man-centered beliefs, but when he attempts to give it in the language of Malacandra, he sounds like an ignorant child.
Parallelism
Weston's attempt to sacrifice Ransom's life to the sorns to further his own cause mirrors his plan to take over the planet of Malacandra, sacrificing the lives of its inhabitants to further the life of the human race.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
Oyarsa and the Malacandrans refer to Weston and Devine as "the bent ones" rather than as human or by their names.
Personification
"A line of foam like the track of a torpedo was speeding towards them" (Ch. VII)