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Religion influence on literature
What are the main themes in the chrysalids
How does religion impact literature
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The Chrysalids, by John Wyndham
Background: John Wyndham, born in 1903, tried more than four careers before starting to write short stories in 1925. The Chrysalids was written in 1955.
Outline of the Book: Thousands of years after our time, the world faced something known as Tribulation, when civilization was almost completely wiped out and had to be started over, with new rules and laws. Humans beings born as “deviants”, missing an attribute that normal humans would have, is considered a blasphemy towards God. David, a young man whose father is in charge of seeking out deviants in his community, discovered that he, along with a few other young adults, can communicate to one another through their minds and what they call “thought shapes”. For a long while they’ve hidden their secret talents, but as rules get tighter and tighter they know it’s only a matter of time until they’re discovered.
Theme(s): tolerance, religion
Criticisms (Unfavourable): Near the end of the book the dialogue becomes more rhetorical than the rest of the book. This isn’t really a problem, but can become slightly confusing at times. The best option would be to read this part slowly and carefully in order to understand what the message is.
Criticisms (Favourable): Very original, intelligent plot. Well-written characters that aren’t two dimensional and who make human decisions (David’s father, who may seem like a cruel man but who is really just doing what he was brought up to believe is right).
Comparison: “The House of the Scorpion”, “The Stepford Wives” (book)
These two books also deal with people who are not as “real” as typical human beings, such as robots or clones
Quotations: “Clearly there must be a mistake somewhere. Surely having one very small toe extra—well, two very small toes, because I supposed there would be one to match on the other foot—surely that couldn’t be enough to make her ‘hateful in the sigh of God…’?
...nd enjoyable. The one thing that did bug me was that Youngs does not directly tie his thesis directly to the end of the book. It would have been helpful for the reader to be able to confirm Youngs’s intention for writing the book, but since he fails to re-introduce his argument in the end, it left me questioning that intention.
My overall opinion of this book is good I really liked it and recommend it to anyone. It is a good book to read and it keep you interested throughout the whole book.
This is my personal reflection about this book. First and foremost, I would like to say that this book is very thick and long to read. There are about nineteen chapters and 278 pages altogether. As a slow reader, it is a quite hard for me to finish reading it within time. It took me weeks to finish reading it as a whole. Furthermore, it is written in English version. My English is just in average so sometimes I need to refer to dictionary for certain words. Sometimes I use google translate and ask my friends to explain the meaning of certain terms.
opinions on the topic and the author's account of the story. I found that the
have chosen it for my report. Finally, I will give my reactions to the novel
...it up to each reader to draw their own conclusions and search their own feelings. At the false climax, the reader was surprised to learn that the quite, well-liked, polite, little convent girl was colored. Now the reader had to evaluate how the forces within their society might have driven such an innocent to commit suicide.
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.
The book and the movie were both very good. The book took time to explain things like setting, people’s emotions, people’s traits, and important background information. There was no time for these explanations the movie. The book, however, had parts in the beginning where some readers could become flustered.
In the short story “The Chrysanthemums” John Steinbeck uses symbolism to reflect the characteristics of his main character Elisa Allen. Elisa, a married woman uncovers her deeply smothered femininity in an inconspicuous sense. Her life in the valley had become limited to housewife duties and the only sustenance that seemed to exist could merely be found in her chrysanthemum garden. Not until she becomes encountered with a remote tinker-man out and about seeking for work, does she begin to reach many of the internal emotions that had long inhibited her femininity. The tinker subtlety engages an interest in Elisa’s chrysanthemum garden that encourages Elisa to react radically. When Elisa realizes that there are other ways to live she attempts to lift the lid off of the Salinas Valley, but unfortunately the tinker’s insincere actions resort Elisa back to her old self and leaves Elisa without any optimism for her hollow breakthrough. Steinbeck’s somber details of the setting, strong description of the chrysanthemums and meaningful illustration of the red flower-pot reveal the distant, natural, ambitions Elisa Allen desired to attain.
This short story was published during the aftermath of the women’s rights movement and during WW2. John Steinbeck cared about the political and societal malpractices and portrayed his views in his writings. This short story belongs in a collection called The Long Valley.
This piece of criticism has strengthened my arguments as to who the real monster is. It has given me a new way to look at things in the novel. I have since then re-read part of the novel and can now read it much more clearly. It will help me greatly in strengthening my argument for the final paper.
In John Wyndham's The Chrysalids, the repercussions of the static community of Waknuk and the community that the Zealanders built, that is willing to change, are derived from the influence of the Old People. After the tribulations, the people of Waknuk did not accept change they felt as though the Old People's ways were best. Their goal was to reach the same standard of civilization, but that was only achievable if they lived exactly how the Old People did. However the Zealanders believed that change was necessary in order to live life. This choice that both communities made affected their growth as a society. The Waknuk community remained static whereas the Zealanders advanced their society in respect to technology.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and believe it to be one of the best books I have ever read. It was extremely well written and challenging for me to understand at times. It conveys that dark side of human ambition very well, and it has given me much to think about.
Treasure Island and Hard Times are novels in which, the effects of human influence are taken to their limit. These novels explore the terrors of two protagonists constantly being bombarded with thoughts and ideas of others. Because of the strong authority placed around them, they are exiled into their own minds. Yet, these characters still demonstrate the willingness to think on their own and express themselves freely. Stevenson and Dickens depict through their characters that the innate human ability to think and act is a product that can be influenced by all individuals one may come across.
In this book review I represent and analyze the three themes I found the most significant in the novel.