...Sundeep Nijjar Ms Hyde 15 April 2011 The Influence of change Everyone must learn to adapt and diversify in life. Many people believe sticking to traditions is the way to go, but others find that change is the right pathway. Change is inevitable, only through change can something survive. We all need change; John Wyndham shows this by giving us three locations, Fringes, New Zealand, and Waknuk that have clear proof that shows change is the key to our growth. To begin with change was apparent in the fringes, and had an affect on everyone. Firstly change will bring many new forms of life. “It’ll be new, and new kinds of plants and creatures will appear. (Wyndham 154)” Basically, this shows that as time goes by, and change is coming into play these new plants and creatures will bring us advances in medical and biological studies. Moreover change will let people see things from a different perspective to help them. For example “The bodice of her dress was ragged, a nondescript tawny colour, with stains on it. There were no sleeves, but what struck me most was that it bore no cross. (165)” Overall, even thought she lived like a savage, she understood that the morals she grew with were right, even though they weren’t accepted in “normal” life. Finally, change in the environment, and differences in people around you affect the decisions you make. For instance; “and-must lives like a savage among savages. (161)”. In Wakunuk he had a good life although, once he was recognized...
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...Changes potentially happen as different factors naturally affect in each circumstances. We couldn’t avoid changing the things that automatically happen. However, from the novel The Chrysalids that I’ve read, which is written by John Wyndham, a fair number of people who are from Waknuk, trying to have a restraining order of changing. They are the strong believers of the true image of God who never want to break the rules. Their fear of changes which prevents them from progressing, being open-minded, and causing the tragic battles between them and the others. Initially, Waknuk people who are not progressing are one of the ways which result in being frightened to change. The group of deviational people has a feeling that they are in danger after they get the signal “the...
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...Through literature, similar genres hold similar details in the story/ plot. The novel The Chrysalids shows multiple similarities as the film The X-Men. Both are science-fiction pieces, about the normals/ humans (mortals) and the deviants (mutants), and some type of fight between the two. Three sets of characters holding comparable characteristics are; Wolverine and David Strorm; Senator Kelly and Joseph Strorm; Professor Xavier and the Sealand Women. Two of the main characters in both works of literature are Wolverine (X-Men) and David Strorm (Chrysalids). Each in the separate worlds but both characters oppose a similar fight, a fight against the normals. Both of these strong characters are protective to another; Wolverine to Rough and David...
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...How would one feel if they were killed or kicked out of a group just because you are different.The residents of Waknuk are getting further away from perfection. This is important to understand because as we are getting further away from perfection soon enough there will be no interaction between humans The Chrysalids by John Wyndham is a book about a group that that only accepts people that match god's description of a perfect human being. The residents of Waknuk are getting further away from perfection because they are not able to welcome people that are different, kids are divided from normal and abnormal and outsiders are not welcomed in the Waknuk community. The residents of Waknuk are getting further away from perfection because they are not able to welcome people that are different in the Waknuk people’s eyes. The statement is proven many times in this book, for example when Sophie and her family had to escape...
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...Choice and Consequence Marcus Garvey, an inspirational figure for civil rights activists once said, “Men who are in earnest are not afraid of consequences”. A concept clearly portrayed in John Wyndham’s novel, The Chrysalids. Centered on choices made by some distinct and sincere characters in the novel and the consequences that followed, this paper will focus on demonstrating the affects decisions have on the characters and the story. When David learned that Sophie had more toes then normal he quickly promised to keep her deviation a secret. David was afraid that if anyone found out about her deviation he would lose Sophie. So much so, he even had nightmares of his father killing Sophie due to her deviations. But when Alan seen Sophie’s deviation he did not hesitate to tell David’s father Joseph. Upon Joseph’s questioning, David chose to keep Sophie’s secret. Unfortunately, Joseph gave David a beating and ultimately Sophie had to leave Waknuk. In an attempt to escape, David, Rosalind and Petra chose to runaway to the Fringes because everyone found out they were telepathic. A dangerous and stressful journey for the trio as Joseph’s men hunted after them. However upon arrival, David, Rosalind, and Petra were jumped and taken prisoner by the people of the Fringes who took them to Gordon, Joseph’s older brother. The choice to escape to the Fringes may not have been the best way to go but David was happy to see Sophie was there alive and that Joseph hadn’t killed...
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...Topic: In both The Giver and The Chrysalids, the communities strive to create utopias in their own ways. Discuss how memories are forgotten and/or emphasized to achieve this. In the novels The Chrysalids by John Wyndham and The Giver by Lois Lowry, both authors illustrate how, when communities emphasize or forget memories from the past, it will result in a dystopia. Further, it will also affect our future generations and the way people choose to live. In the Waknuk community of The Chrysalids, memories are recalled, emphasized, and then used to threaten and control the society. The leaders rule the community using fear as a weapon, forcing the people to believe what they want them to believe. The Waknuk community’s idea of a utopia is to have the people obey the rules, and to live under the will of God. A citizen of another community criticized the Old People, “If they had not brought down Tribulation which all but destroyed them” (Wyndham 157). The memory of Tribulation is constantly discussed, repeated and emphasized throughout the novel. The community believes that if they break the laws and rules of The Bible and Nicholson’s Repentances, their two only and sacred books, they will be faced with consequences like how the “Old People” of the past did. Tribulation is believed to be a period of time where the people of earth made too many mistakes, broke too many rules, that angered God, causing Him to destroy all of earth to give people a chance to start a new...
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...The Chrysalids is a science fiction novel written by John Wyndham about a civilization that has become intolerant to any kind of deviation with regards to a person’s appearance or their abilities. The reader is introduced into another world called Waknuk by the main character, David Strorm. David is a ten year old boy when the novel opens and a sixteen year old as it closes. David is a telepath and is part of an exclusive group who is able to communicate with others with similar telepathic abilities. Being in the society of Waknuk which believes in having no deviants and all members of their society to follow and failure to meet the standards would mean death, David and his telepathic friends have to conceal their identities. David is a young man living a double life to save his own. He is curious, trustworthy, and a resourceful. He questions everything he is told and ignores what he is supposed to lawfully abide by. David is curious and free-thinking. He doesn’t agree with the widely held belief that mutants are sinful and sent by the devil. He consistently questions the validity of The Definition of Man. David and his Uncle Axel want to prove to everyone in the world and all the people of Waknuk that everybody does not have to look the same or act the same or be the same in every way. Also due to his curious nature, David is the one to discover Sophie and her secret. He throws question after question at Sophie when they first meet, “’What’s your name?”(page 7) and...
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...The title “The Chrysalids” signifies that it is a novel about change. The word “chrysalid” is related to the word “chrysalis”, which means “the form which butterflies, moths, and most other insects assume when they change from the state of larva or caterpillar and before they arrive at their winged or perfect state”. Or in simpler terms, it is the state where the caterpillar does most, if not all, of its change into a butterfly. Change can happen anywhere, whether it be in a physical form, such as the caterpillar turning into a butterfly, or evolution of entire species; a mental state, for instance a deeper comprehension of an emotion, or an education towards acceptance and understanding; or in a social environment, for example the abolishment of slavery and the non-discriminatory laws. Change is almost inevitable, fore it is the driving force of life. With out change life could not adapt to its surroundings and survive. If change were to stop, then life would become meaningless. The Earth would be the same if there was life with no change, than if there was no life at all. Generally when people ponder about the notion change, they think about a process where a thing transforms into a better version of itself. While change is usually associated with evolution, it can sometimes be the complete opposite. Change can happen for the worse, though it is seldom seen. With life comes change, and though in The Chrysalids some change is not for the better, character, environment...
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...Prejudice can brings surprises Judging something based on beliefs can create many misinterpretations and eventually wrong opinions. People create judgments based on what others have told them about their experience. The person using those ideas to create their own judgments, should realize that basing a judgment on other people’s experience is not helpful. They realize the same at a later date about the mistake they have made by basing their judgments on other people’s experiences. One should not use merely the thoughts and suggestions from others to make judgments but should use their own experience too in order to realize the importance or true feeling of a place. Tally uses information from others to create conclusions and judgments about the Smoke, but when she lives in the Smoke she realizes her misinterpretations through experience. To begin with, Tally is instigated by what she hears from others and creates a judgment about New Pretty Town. Tally asks Shay, “Did you ever think that when you’re a pretty you might not need to… mess things up? Maybe you are afraid of growing up!” (Westerfeld, 80). Tally uses what she has heard from other people and thinks that being pretty is the only way a person can grow up and tries to forcefully educate Shay about the same thing which even Tally is not clear of. Later, Tally starts to experiences the reality about the Smoke by actually living there. When David asks, “Being here in the Smoke. You’re not sure about it at...
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...**DO NOT CHANGE "STRORM" TO "STORM"** Intolerance; the theme of intolerance is a major theme that literary authors often focus on when attempting to highlight the disdain that people associate with those who differ from them. With that being said, the theme of intolerance, moreover, xenophobia, which basically refers to "the unwillingness to accept the views and beliefs of others that may differ from one’s own views," is a prominent motif that appears repeatedly throughout John Wyndham’s novel, The Chrysalids. This theme of bigotry/intolerance is practiced generally by different communities towards other members from distant associations that are separated from their personal convictions, or in like manner, their so-called “claimed faith.”...
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...Power can never be controlled for an abundance of reasons. There are different examples that can be pass through The Chrysalids when a character is capable of obtaining an from people, objects, or the environment. The power that is achieved can also be lost or stolen by people. Someone That has power only because of others giving them it, but can also be taken away. Having an object can give an individual power, but can also be taken away. Misinterpreting a text can give an individual the wrong idea, and affect the environment. First and foremost, as powerful as a person can be, people of a society can take it away from anyone. By losing Waknuk, Gordon lost his power. Gordon thinks that “Waknuk should be [his]”(160). Gordon lost power over the Waknuk people taking it away from him, proving that majority can decide on who should have full power. The individuals that decide how much power you should have limited the full control so no absolute power is obtained. As a society or a group do give opportunities to full power. Full power is not achieving unless the society agrees....
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...Religion’s controversy and its effect on today’s society Religion and beliefs have altered history countless times. In John Wyndham’s The Chrysalids, children live in a theocracy where the image of God is strongly enforced and anything opposing the religion would be cast away. Therefore, these controversies between fact and fiction must have reshaped today’s society and the communities of the future (like the condition in The Chrysalids). Then, societies with powerful views and being scared of any change have greatly affected humanity and culture and will always linger. First of all, oppressive beliefs and strict policies have made people believe in insane ideas. For example, Waknuk’s community in The Chrysalids believe that to avoid God’s...
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...Mahatma Gandhi once said, ¨Intolerance is itself a form of violence and an obstacle to the growth of a true democratic spirit”,(brainyquote.com). Alan´s character is a perfect representation, of this quote. He is portrayed as an extremely narrow-minded person. His actions cause conflict in the community, resulting in people getting hurt. Secondly, Old Jacob is another character in the novel that performs acts of intolerance. Furthermore, Joseph is a character who strictly believes in his religion, and bias towards his own views. The characters in the novel are causing a divide in the community of Waknuk. Alan in the novel, The Chrysalids is portrayed as a narrow minded person. To start of with Alan cannot be persuaded into changing his...
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...The Hatred towards Deviations Everyone is important and special no matter their differences, these differences is what makes every person unique. In the fictional text Chrysalids by John Wyndham, this paragraph represents a true disrespect towards those with deviations. This paragraph has many monosyllabic words such as “to”, but also has many polysyllabic words such as “ashamed”. The following theme is represented through the cacophonous words used such “mockery”, “enemies”, “criminal”, “struck” and “blasphemy”. The paragraph depicts difference as sin, and only those who are norm are superior. A major factor of this paragraph is what Joseph (David’s father) is saying to Aunt Harriet (David’s aunt). In the past, Aunt Harriet had asked her sister (David’s mother) if she could switch her baby (who had a deviation) with her sister’s child Petra (who had no physical deviations). She wanted to do so, because when the inspector did a check it would confirm that her daughter was a norm. Surprisingly, it is unknown the deviation Aunt Harriet‘s baby has. Almost immediately Joseph is starts overreacting and disrespecting Aunt Harriet and her child. He is very hubris, arrogant and very persistent. It is ironic because he says “I am merciful man” (Wyndham), when in reality this is very untrue because he lacks the virtue of mercy. In the same...
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...The Chrysalids-Literary Luminary 1. “When my father was a young man, a woman who bore a child that wasn't in the image was whipped for it. If she bore three out of the image she was uncertified, outlawed and sold. It made them careful about their purity and their prayers. My father reckoned there was a lot less trouble with mutants on account of it, and when there were any, they were burnt like other deviations.”(Wyndham,88). I have appointed this quote because this shows Old Jacob’s anger on how deviations are being regulated in Waknuk. He talks about how the government is not being stricter with the deviations in modern day Waknuk. “Government regulations made by a lot of snivelling, weak-hearted, weak-witted babblers in the East. That’s what the trouble is. A lot of namby-pamby politicians, and churchmen who ought to know better too.”(88). The quote I have chosen contains crucial information because Old Jacob is describing how Waknuk used to be, as well as mentioning how they would treat deviations/mutants as well as women back then such as “they...
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