The Chrysalids Research Paper

What if the world had erupted into nuclear war? The Chrysalids explores the aftermath of such a scenario, centering on a community that preaches a religion of intolerance to combat a troublesome plague of mutation. Is the genre of The Chrysalids science fiction? To start, the setting is post-apocalyptic. In addition, there are mutations. Furthermore, the society is dystopian. Therefore, The Chrysalids is a science fiction novel.

To begin, the setting of The Chrysalids is post-apocalyptic, a key indicator of science fiction. In fact, an apocalyptic event had occurred prior to the setting of the story. When Uncle Axel explains his interpretations on what had happened to David, he theorizes, “Tribulation wasn’t just tempests, hurricanes, floods

and fires like the things they had in the Bible. It was like all of them together – and something a lot worse, too” (Wyndham 78). Uncle Axel describes “Tribulation” as an extremely devastating event that had occurred in the past. Moreover, an advanced civilization had existed until “Tribulation.” While David explains the geography of his district, he describes, “the huge scar that must have been made by the Old People when, in their superhuman fashion, they had cut away half a mountain in order to find something or other that interested them” (Wyndham 17). David and his society regard this ancient civilization as highly advanced, based on their remains on the post-apocalyptic world. Likewise, a new advanced civilization has emerged since “Tribulation.” When a member of this civilization introduces herself to Rosalind and David via telepathy, she declares, “We are the New People – your kind of people. The people who can think-together. We’re the people who are going to build a new kind of world – different from the Old People’s world, and from the savages” (Wyndham 156). Her civilization strives to create a new world superior to the world of the “Old People.” In conclusion, The Chrysalids is post-apocalyptic, an indicator of science fiction.
Moreover, mutation, another key indicator of science fiction, plays a central role in The Chrysalids. To start, mutation occurs in people. When David first sees Sophie’s foot, he observes, “it had more than the usual number of toes” (Wyndham 9). David’s society regards individuals like Sophie as Mutants because of their abnormal features. In addition, mutation occurs in nature. When David first enters the Fringes, he describes his surroundings, “I could scarcely identify a single tree with certainty. There were familiar trunks supporting the wrong shape of tree: familiar types of branches growing out of the wrong kind of bark, and bearing the wrong kind of leaves” (Wyndham 152). In this instance, mutation is found in nature as deformed trees. Furthermore, human mutation allows for special abilities. When the telepaths convene after a risky encounter with a suspicious man, Michael identifies their ability as, “a sort of emotional transfer of mental impressions” (Wyndham 111). Only a handful of individuals in the area have this ability, and the telepaths believe they are in danger of oppression. To conclude, The Chrysalids involves mutation, an indicator of science fiction.
Furthermore, the society in The Chrysalids is dystopian, a key indicator of science fiction.

To start, intolerance is prevalent towards Mutants. When Aunt Harriet pleads with the Strorms to protect her Mutant baby, Mr. Strorm chastises, “The enemies of God besiege us. They seek to strike at Him through us. Unendingly they work to distort the true image; through our weaker vessels they attempt to defile the race” (Wyndham 72). In this instance, Mr. Strorm uses his religious beliefs to discriminate against Aunt Harriet and her Mutant baby. Individuals like him consider Mutants threats to the purity of their race and thus create a dystopia for Mutants. As well, Mutants are oppressed by the authorities. When Sophie recalls her punishment by the authorities, she laments, “I’d have given him babies gladly, if I could. … I – oh, why do they do that to us? Why didn’t they kill me? It would have been kinder than this” (Wyndham 167). Like other Mutants who suffered the same fate, Sophie was sterilized and banished to the Fringes. The government’s oppression creates a dystopia for Mutants like Sophie. Finally, the society is governed by religious beliefs. When David’s sister Petra is born, David describes the process, “No one, indeed, would dream of mentioning the matter openly until the inspector should have called to issue his certificate that it was a human baby in the true image. Should it unhappily turn out to violate the image and thus be ineligible for a certificate, everyone would continue to be unaware of it, and the whole regrettable incident would be deemed not to have occurred” (Wyndham 66). Once a baby is born, it must be verified with the inspector to have followed the “true image” outlined in the religion. This ruthless process is enforced by the theocratic government and creates a dystopia for desperate mothers who have repeatedly given birth to Mutant children but have had them taken away by the authorities, such as Aunt Harriet. To conclude, The Chrysalids

is dystopian, an indicator of science fiction.
Clearly, The Chrysalids is a science fiction novel. To recapitulate, it is post-apocalyptic. Moreover, it involves mutations. Furthermore, it is dystopian. In addition to addressing the hypothetical scenario of a nuclear war, The Chrysalids had also intended to send a message of warning to the human race at the time of the Cold War: that division is doomed to lead to destruction. Zealand, the final destination for David, Rosalind, and Petra, symbolizes a nearly utopian world that is not divided by languages or beliefs, but instead united for its collective ability to “think-together” (Wyndham 156).