Perelandra

This passage from “Perelandra” by C.S Lewis is a man’s reflection upon an experience of fear and unnecessary paranoia. The combination of nature, light and dark as well as inanimate objects play on and the narrators mind as he twists these innocent objects into true emotions of fear.
From the very first words of this passage the narrators struggle with feelings of fear are exhibited. Although the fear felt by the narrator is not definitively stated until line four, the opening words indirectly suggest that the narrator’s anxiety had already previously begun. “At last” demonstrates the slight moment of relief as he comes to the “crossroads by the little Wesleyan cottage”, but is again replaced by his terror of the “black enmity”.   In conjunction with the expressive thought of the narrator, short, frank sentences such as “but that did not make is any better” continually highlight the severity of the narrators distress.
Irony is a tool C.S Lewis has incorporated into this passage to emphasize how ridiculous the narrator’s fears of harmless objects are. In society a chapel is perceived as a holy and safe place in which many people go to seek comfort and support. In spite of the fact that the narrator is in close proximities with the chapel his paranoia continues as “inanimate objects seemed to have almost a facial expression”. Irony is not only displayed through the objects around him but also in the narrators mind. There is a constant battle between logic and imagination as he debates the truth behind the illusions he sees. The narrator acknowledges that inanimate objects come to life only in hallucinations but yet continues to believe the horror of the “world as it really is”. “Bed made up in your usual room” further displays the irrational nature of the narrator and the irony of his fear. The word “usual” indicates that it is not the first time the narrator has stayed at Ransom’s home and is in fact quite familiar with the home; therefore it is ironic that he his...