Strict Laws In The Chrysalids

Being different is okay. But do our societies accept these differences? Not only does the rejection of differences happen today, but has for the past many years. As we all know, in Waknuk, people are devoted to the True Image of Man, which isolates David from not just his community but also his family. The Waknukians consider mutants a threat, as they represent the devil in humans. As the Inspector had stated, “The Devil sends Deviations among us to weaken us and tempt us away from Purity. Sometimes he is clever enough to make a near-perfect imitation, so we have to always be on the look-out for the mistake he has made” (55). Furthermore, David has to hide his true self and he must live in fear, first for himself and Sophie, and then for Petra and the rest of the group. Besides his mutation being a challenge of his it also becomes dangerous

The practices of a collective society such as the one in this book disregard all belief in the individual. By doing this, the society and its leaders brainwash the people into having no personal priority or authority. Everything is done with the betterment of the entire group in mind, no sense of self involvement. Their life is fated in almost every

Around 4,000 years ago Hammurabi’s code was created by Hammurabi the king of Babylonia with the goal of bringing justice to his kingdom. He even claimed that Shamash the god of justice commanded him to make these laws. Then his laws were carved into large stone’s called steles, written in the ancient cuneiform written, and then put up throughout all major communities of Babylonia. However, these ancient laws were not fair for everyone in his kingdom. Hammurabi’s Code was unjust because the laws pertaining to family life, property law, and personal injury were unfair.

Hammurabi’s Law Code was a set of laws that were inscribed on a stele and placed in an area for the public to view. The laws were listed as well as the punishment for each law with many different scenario’s on display like stealing, committing adultery, divorce, property contracts, and many others. Having such a large variety of laws on display allowed the people to be punished fairly and knowing their consequences if the laws were broken creating a justice system similar to the one that we have today. This paper will analyze a few laws that are based around family and marriage, while highlighting the importance of family when it comes to keeping a family legacy, and making sure that a person makes the right choices when it comes to marriage.

Secondly, John Wyndham's novel The Chrysalids shows the consequences of going against the beliefs of closed society through major conflicts in the novel. Firstly, Joseph became enraged and accuses David for wishing to have another hand. Wyndham writes, "you- my own son- were calling upon the devil to give you another hand!"(26). To explain, this creates a conflict between David and his dad, Joseph Strorm. David’s father is a strict believer in the Waknukian faith.

Adversities are hard to avoid in one’s life; everyone has to face them at one point in their life. The effect it has on a person’s life can change their perspective towards the world. When problems arise individuals traditionally become stunned to such difficult situations that they face. The adversity becomes a brick wall that is challenging to break down. An individual's true character in addition to their nature is revealed when they face a conflict in their life or a challenge. In the novel, The Chrysalids by John Wyndham has his protagonist David go through some conflicts, which he overcomes throughout the story. David struggles to find a life where people would appreciate his uniqueness, not sameness which has an impact on who he thinks

John Wyndham presented the themes the dangers of the nuclear war, the acceptance of others who are different than the “norm”, the negative effects of religious fanaticism, and the evolution of the human species throughout The Chrysalids. These themes, specifically the acceptance of others who are different than the “norm”, make The Chrysalids a futuristic and memorable novel. Accepting others who are different than the norm is a common theme in both The Chrysalids and our society today. This was demonstrated by presenting a town with no imperfections and contrasting it with a town full of imperfections, Wyndham displays a great progression from our reality. After the tribulation anything other than the “norm” is not acceptable in the town of

Sophie’s mother was so frightened that she said to David “Nobody else must know. Nobody at all – not ever”. (p.12) this is similar in a way to our society, but our fear is not death fear but rather acceptance fear. Our fear in today’s society is if we are able to fit in, if we do not fit in we are considered weird and will shunned. The society these days despises uniqueness just like how in the book, their society despises mutants who are unique.

The society of Waknuk is taught to follow the laws of God and the ’Definition of Man’ for they fear the punishment that they will receive if they do not so. This fear has blinded the people of Waknuk, so much so that they cannot differentiate between right and wrong, devotion and discrimination.

Amidst all the pain in John Wyndham’s The Chrysalids, there is love. This powerful human emotion has survived in the oppressing society of Waknuk. Wyndham portrays love among hardships to remind us that there is always hope for humanity, despite obstacles it may encounter. Through the Wenders’ sacrificial, unresentful devotion to their mutant daughter, through David’s discovery of reassurance and affection in his uncle amidst fear and uncertainty, and through the telepaths’ undying love for one another despite persecution, The Chrysalids shows us that while Tribulation erased many of society’s aspects, it was unable to extinguish the human quality called love.

Change, the essential of life, it can be tranquility or turbulence, change has no set goal, it occurs all around us without us knowing. In the novel, The Chrysalids, by John Wyndham, change is the major problem in the society even though it is hidden in different aspects of life. To the society, change is their enemy, but it is themselves who are their enemies without knowing it. A society that fails to realize the inevitability of change will indubitably agonize.

The governing legal, moral and religious codes of ancient civilizations were written and enforced by a minority that exercised power and authority over the majority. This minority consisted of priests, rulers and elites with established power and influence in society. In these codes of early civilizations, there was an overarching emphasis on maintenance of structure and order in society. Simply put, while these codes reflect the conditions, needs and values of the times in which they were formulated, they also unveil the authors’ agendas to preserve their power by maintaining the status quo. Therefore, these codes acknowledge and uphold the prevailing social, gender and racial inequalities as natural conditions of human existence and reveal the manifold biases present in early civilizations.

Ray Bradbury shows us that people with a difference are ostracised and hated with the example of how the children treat Margot differently for being different to them. He explains by using contrasting sensory imagery just how much just the way that a person acts can make them look different to everyone else and how much they stand out in a crowd. He is also implying to us that just because someone is different it doesn’t mean we have to exclude them just because that’s what normally happens because you might just cost them the joy for the next seven years to

taking a dark turn in society. The truth brought to one’s eyes, concerning the cruelty that can be brought to this world, including all past events that we had suffered through, is traumatizing; especially witnessing connections from Waknuk to Earth. The horrors of Waknuk, was illustrated through the way the community treated other. However, the realism, that reflects on the monstrosity of our society is uncanny. With the characteristics of racism, ignorance, and fear, it shows how our two realities are similar.

There really is no true or perfect human image yet society these days expects people to look and act a certain way and people can be very cruel if a person does not meet these expectations. In the novel The Chrysalids written by John Wyndham and in reality presently, many human rights are violated and these rights will continue to be violated as long as humans exist and people continue to be cruel. In the town of Waknuk, certain people do not follow the human rights but instead they violate them. Throughout the novel, many characters rights are being violated such as the abuse and torture David faces, the intolerance towards woman like Sophie and Petra for being different.