Fear; an Agent of Change

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“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” former United States of America president Franklin D. Roosevelt once stated. This statement is completely false according to the various characters in the novel The Chrysalids by John Wyndham. The major fears that change the characters in the novel include Sophie Wender acting un-brave and cautious because someone finds out about her deviation, Joseph Storm who is treating his son, David, cruelly because he asks something of Satan, and Emily Storm who goes as far as calling her niece a monster because she is afraid. Fear of the unknown and fear of things that are different can make people act in ways they normally would not.
Sophie Wender is a young girl who is very caring and brave. Her best friend David states that “She is very brave” (Wyndham 11), which supports her character. Sophie has a deviation that makes her not fit in with the society in the town of Waknuk that she lives in. Having a deviation is greatly frowned upon because it is not of the “God Image” that people expect. A boy named Alan finds out about her deviation and Sophie and her family must run away due to the fear of what could happen if a lot of people find out. Sophie is very scared about the whole situation, and tells her friend David “We’re going away…Mommy said that we would have to go away if anyone ever found out. We nearly did when you saw them” (Wyndham 48). Having to run away because she fears the future shows that she must act un-brave and unlike herself and run away from her problems. Sadly, at only a young age, fear of the unknown changes Sophie to be someone she is not.
Joseph Storm is one of the main religious characters in the novel. If something is different than he thinks the “norm” should ...

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...sband, she acts just like him when faced with the fear of something different.
Fear drives people to act completely out of character and unusual for themselves. In most cases, the change of character is not for the best. Sophie Wender acts un-brave and afraid when she runs away from the fear of the unknown. Joseph Storm acts not so out of character for himself, but out of character for a fatherly figure when facing the problem of his son asking something he fears. Lastly, Emily Storm acts very out of character from her naturally caring motherly self when she calls her niece who has a deviation a monster. Fear is a one of the strongest emotions humans have to face. When faced with fear, everyone must learn to control their emotions so they do not come off as someone they are not.

Work Cited
Wyndham, John. The Chrysalids. Hutchinson & Co. (publishers) Ltd, 1964

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