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Science Fiction in The Chrysalids

Decent Essays

What will happen in the future? In The Chrysalids, John Wyndham incorporates various science fiction elements into the novel to prove that the work is a science fiction production. In the novel, there are different political and social systems. Additionally, various forms of mutations are evident. Furthermore, many specifics show that the society is dystopian in The Chrysalids. Based on various details from the book, it is obvious that The Chrysalids is a science fiction novel that warns humans on the consequences of nuclear war.
One aspect that demonstrates science fiction in The Chrysalids is the different forms of mutations. To begin with, many forms of human mutations are evident in the novel. After David ponders on parts of the bible that describes the correct image of humans, he thinks to himself, “I knew it all, word for word – and yet the sight of Sophie’s six toes stirred nothing in my memory” (Wyndham 11). Sophie is born with six toes on each feet, which is a physical difference that her parents did not possess. Correspondingly, the mutation of nature is also presented in the novel. When Uncle Axel describes the rest of the world to David, he says, “The whole seaboard is empty – black and harsh and empty. The land behind looks like a huge desert of charcoal” (Wyndham 60). The Badlands are deserted and inhabitable as a result of the tribulation. Also, the mutation of judgment is displayed in the novel. When Aunt Harriet asks David’s mother to exchange children,

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