As he was traveling, Ransom stumbled upon an old woman’s house. Where she was patiently waiting for her son to return from work. Ransom was travelling to a different city and needed a place to stay. So, Ransom and the old woman make out a deal. If Ransom goes to retrieve her son, she can give a place to stay. When he got to the University, some windows were opened and he heard the son, and two other males arguing. Ransom climbs through the window, and to help the old woman’s son.
Ransom soon comes to the conclusion the boy has been through a dramatizing state. In trying to help the boy, Ransom gets drugged and the boy is let go. When Ransom comes too, he sees that he is on a spaceship, and leaving Earth’s atmosphere. Ransom has many questions to ask the men that have captured him. The only question they answer is that they are going to a place called Malacandra. As they enter the atmosphere of Malacandra, they start shifting all cargo, for gravity seems to be in reverse.
As C. S. Lewis described the entering of the atmosphere on the planet, “It was like a pregnant woman experiencing childbirth”, painful and horrible pain, to where the gentlemen did not even want to move at all, not even finger. On their way down, Ransom would hear the men talking about the sorn, and how they do not know much about them meaning; their sexes, if they have any, or what is to become of them. Ransom soon hears that he would be a sacrifice to them, similar to a peace offering.
He then comes to the conclusion that it is worse to be handed over to them, rather than being caught. So, once landed on the planet he hides a knife under his clothes, and runs away from the two other men. Malacandra, though, is a different story. The scenery is different than anyone can explain. As he runs away, he ends up in a forest and believes he found a sorn, because him and the creature end up staring directly at one another, then the sorn backs up, then starts to chase him, and Ransom runs right out of the forest.
He then ends up by a river, and these black creatures start coming out of the water, with webbed hands, feet, and faces like sea lions. We are soon told that they are called “Hross”. Hross seem to be very friendly. Ransom beings put trust in the Hrossa (plural version), but is still hesitant about trusting them. Now the Hrossa don’t speak English, only Malacandrian, so they communicate with hand gestures and body language, which makes everyone frustrated and confused. He agrees to go on a journey, but believes they might be leading him to the Seroni (plural of sorn).
On the journey, Hyoi, Whin (Hross), and Ransom come across this creature that will only show itself when it wants to be seen by the certain individual, Ransom however is the only one out of the three that cannot see the creature. Hyoi (a hross) gets killed. Ransom believes that it was Weston and Devine has killed him, due to the fact that Ransom claims to have heard and English rifle fire. Whin sends Ransom on his way to meet Oyarsa, the almighty being that has always been, and tells him to cross over the handramit (land formations on Malacandra).
As he crosses over the handaramit, he loses oxygen, due to the thinning air. He comes to the conclusion that maybe Whin sent him up here to die, then he realizes that he is on top of the mountain and sees the cave Whin told him to go find. Once he reaches the cave’s mouth, there before him stands the sorn, the being he has feared since his landing on Malacandra. The sorn, at first meeting, is nothing like Ransom thought, the sorn was caring. Even offered Ransom into this cave, gave him some type of liquid to help his breathing, lungs, and heart “restart”.
They begin talking and asking questions. Ransom soon finds out more about Eldil (the being that does not show itself to just anyone), “how it’s body movement is as swift as light; you may say its body is made of light, but not of which is light for the Eldil” (Lewis 95). Meaning it could be out of the realm of understanding of what it is actually made of. We also find out that Earth is called “Thulcandra” meaning “Silent Planet”. Ransom is now on a journey to meet Oyarsa. Once he gets to the destination.
Oyarsa already knows that Ransom was on his way to meet him. Therefore, when Ransom meet the Oyarsa, he is afraid. He is afraid because creatures are telling him that Oyarsa has been waiting on him. Oyarsa asks why Ransom is afraid. Ransom replies with, “because you are unlike me and I cannot see you” (Lewis 119). Oyarsa goes on to talk about the heavens, how he knew everything that would have happened on his journey to meet him. Also how his own kind chased him to the meeting of Oyarsa.