The Chrysalids, by John Wyndham

Everybody changes throughout life, either it from being around certain people, having people persuade you into doing something, or by seeing a certain event happen. Everyone goes through a type of change that can make a big difference in their life. I argue that people in the play “Witness” by Karen Hesse can change from being around others because Sara Chickering changed from being around the Hirsh’s, Viola ended up joining the KKK because of her husband pressuring her to, and Merlin by seeing Leanora saving Ester.

Everyday, an individual changes in their perspective and personality in one way or another, and it impacts their character. John Wyndham, the author of The Chrysalids, demonstrates that every individual experiences something that changes them in such a way that it prevents them from being able to go back to the person they once were. A prominent character that displays such a change would be David, who is the protagonist of the novel and goes through significant adversities that carve out his character. David changes in the story because of his mutation and his own thoughts, which develop because of the challenges they bring upon him. Not only do these factors bring change upon him but his identity also transfigures throughout the

In the short story “The Glass Roses” by Alden Nowlan. Nowlan portrays the idea that adversity is part of our lives, and this adversity shapes us as individuals. But in the face of adversity an individual must either strive to fulfill their individual self-interests and ideas or abandon them to conform to authority. Nowlan suggests this idea through the character, Stephen and his struggle to conform to authority or pursue his ideas which suggests that humans often bring about changes to themselves in order to adapt to the environment they live in.

Characters change in good ways and the book itself shows the readers how something terrible changes people, even real life. Parents will always say to their little children “little things matter so help”, Mrs.Reffel, also they would told them in desperate measures help anyone that needs it. In The Killing Sea, Sarah was a little brat, she thought that she was the center of attention and didn’t care about anyone, only herself. When the disaster hit Indonesia, where she went for vacation, something in her says, “We need to change to survive”. Sometimes the world needs to lose something valuable to know they have a lot things that they do not say “Thank you” for. Sarah lost her mom, after she saw her mom dead, she changed. She helped Peter and a whole lot of strangers, and when they were going to a conference to know her story, she decided to wear a scarf, because where she is that is their tradition. Remember that you don’t need to lose something that is important in your life to change and help other

Throughout the entire movie we can see that David is the character that changes the most. David is portrayed as a nerdy and lazy teen that spends all his time watching the show pleasantville and eating junk food. The director shows us that his life at home is not really good and his only escape is while watching pleasantville. When he gets teleported into the show and town Pleasantville he’s stuck in the traditional way of living there, not changing anything and constantly worrying about his sister Jennifer altering the entire town. His fear of change sprouts with the worry of the disturbances his sister will create. In this circumstance the power of fear leads him to be controlling of the situations. We can see this how he tries to control the change when he finds out Mary Sue has been intimate with Skip and this creates a domino effect for

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

Nick, the narrator throughout the book, experiences changes but not as many as other characters. Nick was a shy

Another predominate lesson in the novel is, how change is possible, but quite difficult to become accustomed to. David proves this point in a conversation he shares with Uncle Axel. Since David was raised in a society where change was not an option, but instead it was mandatory for the people of Waknuk to move towards Gods true image and move away from all deviations. David and many others had a hard time going against their way of living. David admits that he is reluctant to change saying, “Moreover, I was reluctant to admit the flaw in the tidy, familiar orthodoxy I had been taught (pg 64). Similarly, Waknuk is against change and always resisted when change was an option. David reveals that change is quite difficult to become accustomed to when he states, “The place may have been called Waknuk then, anyways, Waknuk it had become; an orderly, law-abiding, God- respecting community of some hundred scattered holding, large and small” (pg 17). This shows that their town, Waknuk, had never become anything different through-out many years. Also Joseph Strorm was a very strict and rigid man who unfortunately was at a point where he and many others who lived in Waknuk were brain washed with the Bible, and Nicholson’s Repentances. Therefore change was a possible option but hard to go forward with it. In this novel it therefore teaches us how change is possible, but overall very hard to do.

In the book “The Chrysalids”, it shows how messed up the society there is, and is sort of a representation of our society now and back then. The similarities between the book’s society and our society back then and now are discrimination, fear and death/killing of the “minority”.

Women have always had an impact on men! Mothers, sisters, aunts, friends, wives, or girlfriends are all part of this group of women, and can change a man in many ways. Similarly in the book, ‘The Chrysalids’ the protagonist David Strorm deals with three important women in his life, that have a huge impact on him. They all influence his character, and some help him through his journey, and some create problems for him. The three women, Aunt Harriet (David’s Aunt), Petra (David’s full sister), and Sophie (David’s childhood friend), have always helped out David, and supported through harsh times, and thus they have affected David in a big way.

The society of Waknuk attempt to destroy all change in their society and they will certainly fail and suffer. To begin with, deviations or blasphemies that fight against their own kind will get nothing better than anguish. Anne decides to marry Alan Ervin, an enemy of change, then someone murders Alan and in the time of sorrow for Anne, her neighbour discover “Anne upstairs in her bedroom, hanging from a beam” (101). Anne betraying her friends to fight against the deviations is like Anne hoping for a life of misery, she put her own desires in front of everything that right. Meanwhile, the society wastes their time and sometimes life to destroy the deviations. A man is following Petra, David and Rosalind because the trio are and Rosalind’s reaction to the situation was to kill him which deeply upset her, David was thinking “Nothing, but assure her, as

Sophie allows for doubt to pierce its way into David’s life for the first time. At the start of the novel, when David first meets Sophie, he gets an insight into a deviant’s life. She has proven to be the first blow to efficiently impact David’s thoughts and make him question the authenticity of his society’s belief system. “It is hind-sight that enables me to fix that as the day when my first small doubts started to germinate.”

What makes a group of people superior to another? The belief that they are immortal. With that type of power comes mistreatment towards “minorities”. In my opinion, the most prominent theme in The Chrysalids by John Wyndham is oppression. Joseph Strorm has power over all of Waknuk. In the society that they have built, women are treated like objects and anyone who is different is considered a deviation.

Does change always end in a good or positive way? In the novel Tangerine By Edward Bloor, the character Paul Fisher changes a lot throughout his seventh grade year. As Paul struggles with his vision he is very nervous , unhappy, and is very uneasy. He is a weak pushover that allows his brother, Erik to mercilessly bully him. But soon to come he turned into a confident, nice, and smart person. These changes were primarily motivated by moving to Tangerine Middle School that allows him to grow and understand more.

As is the typical story arc, characters undergo change throughout the story. One of the most vivid transformations is that of