The Chrysalids Argumentative Essay

Cognition

“There is nothing new in the world except for the history you do not know.” Harry S. Truman. Throughout John Wyndhams novel The Chrysalids, powerful errors occur through ignorance of the past. Unawareness of history leads to flawed judgment in the present. When David made a seemingly harmless remark about his body, he did not understand the history of such occurrences creating shock and anger within his father. As was said in the novel, any mother who produced a surplus of two deviational children could be exiled by her husband. While Emily’s third child was a deviation, such was unknown to Emily and Joseph. Judging by Joseph’s exceptionally religious stances and views, it would be safe to assume regret, after him learning of his

continued relationship with a wife that failed to deliver proper children. The entire population of Waknuk were devout to rules, rules forcing slaughter, torture, execution, and ones they did not know the authenticity or history of, which undermined the entire purpose of their generational devout and thus, their entire community. The mistakes made ranged from creating friction between family members, to the collapse of an entire creed embedded into the community of a village built upon generations of sacrifice and effort.
Waknuk was a community of affectless and strict devout, the rules of which David was forced to adapt to during growth. One example of tutelage came in the form of a shocking situation when David learned just how strong his father's beliefs were, along with how easily his temper could proliferate, and the calculation required as to not unwittingly offend. Many occurrences of anger over trivial matters reside.
'The official approval states that the breed was produced simply by mating for size, in the normal way. And I'd defy you to find any characteristic that's identifiably wrong with them, anyway,' the inspector told him. ‘One of those brutes could do the work of two, maybe three, ordinary horses — and for less than double the feed of one. There's a good profit there, a good incentive to get them passed — but that doesn't mean that they're right. I say a horse like that is not one of God's creatures — and if it isn't His, then it's an Offence, and should be destroyed as such.’ (Wyndham 36 ) In addition, Joseph
About a year previously it had somehow come to his knowledge that Ben Dakers' wife housed a tailless cat.

He investigated, and when he had collected evidence that it had not simply lost its tail in some way, but had never possessed one, he condemned it, and, in his capacity as a magistrate, ordered the inspector to make out a warrant for its destruction as an Offence. The inspector had done so, with reluctance, whereupon Dakers promptly entered an appeal. Such shilly-shallying in an obvious case outraged my father's principles, and he personally attended to the demise of the Dakers' cat while the matter was still sub judice. His position, when a notification subsequently arrived stating that there was a recognized breed of tailless cats with a well-authenticated history, was awkward, and somewhat expensive. It had been with very bad grace that he had chosen to make a public apology rather than resign his magistracy. (Wyndham 37 )

Using the events listed, it is safe to say that Joseph had a consistency for anger within situations considered trivial through other characters, for example, the inspector, and the Dakers. Also conjectured is that despite the events that occurred even before David’s hand incident, he was unaware that even very minor things could anger his father. Both David and Joseph were forced into confusion, shock, and fright, leading to rue and regret for time to

come.
Adding on to rue and regret, as the law stated, any female partner who produced more than two deviational children could be exiled via her husband. Such was the case with Emily, who created three deviational children, however, unknown to both her and Joseph. Eventually, the discovery was made, and judging through Joseph’s exceedingly religious devout, would force him into realization of disregarding a common practice throughout Waknuk, spousal exilement. Many were aware of what was going through his mind.
The suspense was aggravated by everyone's knowledge that on the last two similar occasions there had been no certificate forthcoming. My father must have been well aware — and no doubt the inspector was aware of it, too — that there was plenty of silent speculation whether my father would, as the law allowed, send my mother away if this occasion should turn out to be similarly unfortunate. (Wyndham 67)
Fate shaped Petra as a deviation, which would formerly put Emily in a position of vulnerability, one in which choice fell to Joseph. However, information of Petra as a deviation was not at Joseph’s disposal. Given Joseph's absolute religious commitment and prior responses to mishaps of a similar nature, the assumption of rue, created by not immediately exiling Emily, would be very likely. However, that situation proliferated solely from the disregard of rules known to be abided. Some would be emerge via the total fallaciousness of their accuracy.
The unforgiving and vicious rules by which the citizens of Waknuk heeded to forced exilement, slaughter, extermination, with the hopes of the past undergoing replication, thus creating a better future. Unknown however, was the actuality within those past people; their creation of and responsibility for bringing down the apocalypse onto themselves.
“The living form defies evolution at its peril; if it does not adapt, it will be broken. The idea of completed man is the supreme vanity: the finished image is a sacrilegious myth. 'The Old People brought down Tribulation, and were broken into fragments by it. Your father and his kind are a part of those fragments. They have become history without being aware of it. They are determined still that there is a final form to defend: soon they will attain the stability they strive for, in the only form it is granted — a place among the fossils. . . .” (Wyndham 182)
The people of Waknuk were believing in fraudulent information. Not grasping the history of the information they abided, they undermined their entire ideology and purpose of their civilization, a purpose of building to a better future, and instead followed the footsteps of a civilization that forced themselves into extinction. Such would unwind the generational work done through the citizens of Waknuk, as well as the compulsory sacrifice and pain.
As is with many complex, layered, prolonged religions, emotions, and lifetimes, the amount of variables found within reach numbers of unimaginative scale. Unfortunately, time, and the points at which it distributes information, can hamper those variables’ accountability, and also even if people will it into account. David’s remark, and the emotional turmoil that followed, would face David and his entire family for time to come, and create friction that would proliferate throughout their lives. The missed opportunity of immediately exiling a wife incapable of creating proper children would impact Joseph strongly. The entire purpose of a civilization, and the countless generations involved achieving such, would reside in oblivion, due to misconceptions and misunderstandings. Comprehension of the past is compulsory during decision making for the present, and the future. Such is not solely limited to literature, however. A pivotal defeat in the Revolutionary War came in the form of a commander not understanding the history of a note. The advancement of enemy troops was sighted through a farmer, leading to him writing a note to the commander with intentions to inform. However, the commander received the note in a language that to him was foreign. Not knowing the history of the note and thus, its importance, he did not seek an effort to read it. As a result, the warned general suffered a harrowing defeat. Despite the presence of such massive occurrences in novels of pure fiction, their appearance in the world, and the effects brought during, are nothing short of ubiquitous.