The Chrysalids John Wyndham Analysis

It is clear that John Wyndham wrote The Chrysalids as a warning for today’s society. This is based on the comparisons between our current civilization, that of the Old Peoples, and that of Waknuk. More specifically, technological advancements, fundamentalism, and the pressures to fit into a certain ideal.

The events of Tribulation serve as a warning to today’s society. Many current day countries have nuclear weaponry, chemical weaponry, bombs, and other massively destructive tools at their disposal. Comparably, the Old People had very advanced technology as well. Their technologies led to a nuclear war with “the ground [being] fused into black glass” and the oceans becoming “frozen ink” (Wyndham 179). The author is trying to portray the possible future we may have, and such things have occurred already. The 1945 bombing of Japan (Hiroshima and Nagasaki) resulted in thousands of genetic mutations due to radiation, which is exactly what occurred to the Old People. With more and more enemy countries acquiring access to nuclear weaponry, a devastating war may not be far behind.
In many ways, the dogmatic religious views of the people of Waknuk equate to the horrific ideologies of fundamentalist groups like Daesh, Al-Qaeda and the KKK. Anyone physically different from themselves, the people of Waknuk regard as “abominations” and insulting to the pure
Our current society has made some of the errors that John Wyndham indirectly warned against but many more can be prevented by understanding the warnings and the logical reasons behind them. We can either use technology to our advantage, like the people of Sealand, or we can destroy ourselves like the Old People. We must accept that right and wrong can be understood by every human’s inner compass, without a radical understanding of religion to govern us. Finally, our differences make us who we are, and without them we would be nothing more than bland