Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Essay outline on teh chrysalids novel by John wyndham
Essays on the chrysalids book
Essays on the chrysalids book
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
In the novel The Chrysalids by John Wyndham it explains the life of a boy named David
Strorm and how he is part of an anti mutant society named Waknuk. In this society they have
very strong policies on small "deviations" and things that do not follow the norm. If not
followed the "deviational" people would be sent to the fringes where they are put poverty and it
is a fight just to survive for the next day . As a child David is taught a very harsh way of
following his religon. As he gets older he endures much pressure to follow the exact teachings of
Waknuk. Besides this, he continues to grow and understand more about how his views on
deviations change. As well as, how morally wrong the teachings of Waknuk are. Lastly, on how
David finds out that the teachings of Waknuk are not the only one. In The Chrysalids Sophie,
Uncle Axel , and The Sealand lady are the three important people in David's life whose
perspectives influence his views and opinions on this society. Sophie for her kindness, strength,
and her heartwarming personality she has showed these when her foot was stuck under the rock
and by always having a smile on her face. Uncle Axel, for his knowledge and educating him for
the things beyond his surrounding. He also gave David the confidence he needed to accept his
ability and himself. Finally, The Sealand Lady for her strong will on telepathy and finding it to be
the true image of God.
As David was a child he had a childhood friend by the name of Sophie Wender . Sophie was
very kind to David even when they first encountered, she showed much effection towards
David as if they have known one another for quite sometime.When first meeting Sophie, David
found that,"She likes to have fu...
... middle of paper ...
... and opinionated society of Waknuk which in turn, allows him to form his own opinions and beliefs. In each perspective, David is provided with evidence against the unrighteous judg,ents of his society. In Sophie's case, she showed him how deviations are really just normal people who dont descerve their branded treatment of cruelty. With Uncle Axel, David was given much knowledge about how he should accept himself and not let a society such as put him down.The Sealand woman provides the final evidence in proving that all societies have their own principles, which means that Waknuk`s precepts cannot be the only perspective to be followed. The influence of these three people on David magnified his approach on Waknuk`s religion, and revealed other directions that differ from Waknuk's
Works Cited
Wyndham, John. THE Chrysalids. London: Penguin Books, 1955. Print.
First, David’s mother gave him enough courage to keep hope his father would be all right after the Nazis arrested him. Because their own house was no longer safe from Nazi invasion, David’s family was staying with friends. However, Nazis burst into the house they were staying in on...
Waknuck is also based largely on Religion - it is a Christian society. Most of the prejudices are formed from the Bible. Any creature that is against "the true image of God" (or a mutant) is called a Blasphemy. The Christian religion (and indeed other religions) have been the source of numerous prejudices in modern society in Britain (for example sexism and homophobia) and indeed conflicts (for example the conflicts between the Republic and Northern Ireland). In the novel '1984' no-one follows a religion as such, as far as the people of Britain in 1984 are concerned there is no God, the complete opposite of the radical religious views of the people of Waknuk. Most people in Waknuk have been 'brainwashed' by Christianity in the same way many people in Great Britain in 1984 have been 'brainwashed' by the party and Big Brother. Each use repetitive slogans, in 1984 such slogans as: "War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength." are used and more subtly in Christianity in the form of prays and commandments. The Party and Christians each worship a figure, Big Brother and God respectively, neither people can be completely sure of there presence but convince themselves that they exist nevertheless. The power lies with the Party in 1984 but lies with the church in Waknuk.
... Even with the bigoted town of Waknuk and its purity laws, hope is still evident within the events of the Novel.
followed the "deviational" people would be sent to the fringes where they are put poverty and it
At first, David cares that his mother treats him badly. After awhile, he doesn’t care and becomes apathetic.
6. I think that his mother just randomly decided to abuse David. Since she was an alcoholic she did not always realize what she was doing to him. She also probably didn’t want to do all the things around the house and thought it was too much to do so she had David do all the chores. She punished him by doing dreadful things.
The women in Waknuk are also protective of their loved ones. While there are people like Mary Strorm who will follow everything her husband says and not question him or his religion at all, there are...
Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth. This is clearly evident in The Chrysalids, The Waknuk society uses the religious doctrine as a method to oppress and create ‘purity laws’. Being the only safe ‘haven’ amongst unchecked Deviation in the Fringes and beyond, the people of Waknuk are constantly afraid of being overrun by these Deviations which they perceive as intolerable evil and the ‘Devil’s work’. As a result, strict conformity with the purity standard is set up.
John Wyndham made a very strong impression on any reader who has happened upon his book “The Chrysalids”. He brings to mind a harsh reality that is exaggerated within the novel, the fear of unknown powers. “Respect for God was frequently on his lips, and fear of the devil constantly in his heart, and it seems to have been hard to say which inspired him more.” The previous quote summarizes the basic thought process that the characters in the novel have. The people of Waknuk are terrified by the devil and inspired by God, which causes them to do unruly things. John Wyndham conveys social warnings for the human race by presenting our reality through a harsher light, showing normality versus difference, and by providing a prime example of human fear for a higher power.
A lesson taught by Wyndham in The Chrysalids, is that prejudging certain people is not right. In Chapter nine, Petra uses her telepathic powers to communicate with “the group” when she is in trouble, and reveals that her telepathic powers were not harmful, and did not prove, as many had thought, to be evil. They, instead, saved her life. Rosalind admits to the fact that prejudging is not right when she states that, “None of us could command like that” (pg 84). Similarly, Sophie is sent to live in the Fringes, because of her third toe. She was sent there for the wrong reason, along with others deemed different, on account of the people of Waknuk misjudging human kind. David reveals that prejudging certain people is not right when he defends Sophie in Chapter six saying, “But Sophie isn’t really different—not in any other way” (pg 55). In the beginning of The Chrysalids, Uncle Axel admits to David, in one of their talks that there is no right or wrong way for a person to look; therefore there is no way to judge rightly. Axel illustrates that this is true by saying, “I’m telling you that nobody, nobody really knows what the true image is. They all think they k...
In Waknuk, unreasonable actions in response to things outside the established norm have been fully accepted and integrated into their society because very few people question the beliefs, fewer speak out. The narrator David, is still young and impressionable when he meets Sophie who has an extra toe on each foot, a real-life example of a blasphemy, a person who does not fit in the neat image of man. After he meets her, he begins to question the beliefs he has adopted. David thinks, “The ways of the world [are] very puzzling…”(14) after realizing that “there was nothing frightful about Sophie.” (14) David later has a dream that represents his changing values after being able to comprehend the brutality of Waknuk’s primitive thinking. In his dream, “[They] were all gathered in the yard, just as [they] had been at the last Purification. Then it had been a little hairless calf that stood waiting, blinking stupidly at the knife in [his] father’s hand; this time it was a little girl, Sophie…” (28) Waknuk’s values are a perversion of a righteous moral compass and this is also embodied in his dream as Sophie “[implored] them to help her, but none of them moved and none of their faces had any expression.” David’s observations of Waknuk’s community are depicted as thinking Sophie is less than an animal to his father
Since deviations are strongly frowned upon in the society, most deviations are killed or sent into the Fringes, where they are exposed to the wild and have to survive on their own as a form of punishment. Deviations are robbed of their rights to live a normal life just because of their few physical imperfections. This can be clearly seen in the case of Spider Man, also known as Gordon Strorm. Gordon Strorm could’ve been the heir of Waknuk but due to his unusually long arms and legs, he was discriminated and sent to the Fringes, when his life could’ve been way better if he was given the right to live in Waknuk. The women of Waknuk are also discriminated if they have given birth to three deviational children as their husbands will ostracize them. The society chooses their devotion over humanity and this made them unfavourable against deviants, even though the deviants didn’t purposely do anything wrong against the religion. This can also be seen when David realises that Sophie was classified as ...
One key aspect of a patriarchal society is that all positions of power and major influence are held by men. This is exactly the case in Waknuk. The two most powerful and influential people in Waknuk are Joseph Strorm, a religious leader, and The Inspector, the man who inspects newborn babies to see if they are deviations or not. These people being men leaves very little room for the opinions and input of women. Even Joseph’s wife, Emily Strorm, does not have much part in how the people of Waknuk think or behave like Joseph
Those in the Fringes hatefully attack the Waknuk, fearful of the past terror inflicted upon them. Children are so terrorized by the idea of mutants that their minds no longer question anything they are told. And even those that believe themselves to be oh so righteous fear God, the one thing they put all of their faith in. Fear and hate are easily misunderstood within this community, except for the fact that fear leaves residents vulnerable; provoking them to alter their feelings until they gain more power and protection though hate. And while this may seem trivial as it is described only described within this text, the same logic applies to our reality. For instance, examine the Salem Witch Trials. Twenty people were executed based on the logic of the only those living in the town. They believed that these people were different than the norm; magical, dangerous. They were simply afraid of these so called “witches” and their powers. This historical event bears an eerie similarity to the community of Waknuk. The town of Salem was filled with Puritans who were terrified of the Devil. So when women were accused of being missionaries sent by Satan, havoc was wreaked. You see, the Puritans needed someone that they could use as almost a reassurance scapegoat, to help ease their minds about the looming threat of the Devil. And so, the Salem Witch Trials were held. Within
fact that she is a keen reader and her father teaches her all kinds of