The Chrysalids: Written Essay for yearly Exams.
Within a few pages of the buldingsroman novel ‘The Chrysalids’, written by John Wyndham in 1955, a number of significant issues and ideas are introduced. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, Wyndham captures the fears and pessimism of Cold War Europe and explores how such fear and rigid principles can lead to destruction. Utilizing archetypal characters and techniques such as irony, Wyndham incorporates numerous issues and ideas within his dystopian and myopic world that are relevant to the rest of the text.
The book begins with a description of a city that has appeared numerously in David’s dreams. This ‘beautiful, fascinating place’ as David who has never even seen a city before describes, radiates with a sense of acceptance and life. This is juxtaposed to his daily lifestyle where he, just like all the Waknuk residents, has to live in fear of the uncanny and in constant danger of not conforming to the Waknuk norms. “People in our district had a very sharp eye for the odd, or the unusual, so that even my left-handedness caused some disapproval“ Residents are all heavily religious, as suggested at the beginning of the book when ‘Nicholson’s Repentances’ is first introduced. This text, which ironically wasn’t even written in the time of the old people, outlines the appearance of the normal, ‘pure’ human. It is a recurring motif upon which Wyndham constructs the archetype of the chauvinistic Waknuk residents. It and the Bible are the most basic and crucial items everyone in the district possesses, and together they instigate fear and entrenched bigotry within the community. “IN PURITY OUR SALVATION. WATCH THOU FOR THE MUTANT” Another motif introduced in the first chapter is the cross that all women bear on their chest, which embodies the objectification of women. Since childhood, women are brought up believing that giving birth to deviations is an ultimate sacrilege and that they should be cast out for it, so a man can remarry. Later in the novel David’s cousin,
The book begins with a description of a city that has appeared numerously in David’s dreams. This ‘beautiful, fascinating place’ as David who has never even seen a city before describes, radiates with a sense of acceptance and life. This is juxtaposed to his daily lifestyle where he, just like all the Waknuk residents, has to live in fear of the uncanny and in constant danger of not conforming to the Waknuk norms. “People in our district had a very sharp eye for the odd, or the unusual, so that even my left-handedness caused some disapproval“ Residents are all heavily religious, as suggested at the beginning of the book when ‘Nicholson’s Repentances’ is first introduced. This text, which ironically wasn’t even written in the time of the old people, outlines the appearance of the normal, ‘pure’ human. It is a recurring motif upon which Wyndham constructs the archetype of the chauvinistic Waknuk residents. It and the Bible are the most basic and crucial items everyone in the district possesses, and together they instigate fear and entrenched bigotry within the community. “IN PURITY OUR SALVATION. WATCH THOU FOR THE MUTANT” Another motif introduced in the first chapter is the cross that all women bear on their chest, which embodies the objectification of women. Since childhood, women are brought up believing that giving birth to deviations is an ultimate sacrilege and that they should be cast out for it, so a man can remarry. Later in the novel David’s cousin,