The Importance Of Personal Freedom In John Wyndham's The Chrysalids

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

Freedom and Liberty are explained in many ways and in “Chains” by Laurie Halse Anderson it is explained in the American Revolution by different types of people like Patriots, the rebels that are fighting against the king to become independent, the Loyalists that want to stay with the king of Great Britain, and the slaves. The slaves are working for both Patriots and Loyalists and they chose different sides but still have their own opinion like Isabel who is more on the Patriots side but still has here opinion on freedom. They all have their own interpretation of the words, “Freedom and Liberty” but they're all different. In the book Isabel is a slave with her sister Ruth, and is with a kind woman until she dies then she is sold to the

Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth. Blind acceptance also stunts economic growth and hinders the lives of others. The community of Waknuk in John Wyndham’s The Chrysalids demonstrates that blind acceptance and strict social conformity leads to the abolishment of human beings. This is displayed by the constant reminder of the barrier keeping them from their utopia, the cruelty towards deviations and the cruelty towards non-deviants.

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

Throughout time, readers have learned many different lessons from their favourite books. In The Chrysalids, John Wyndam used his story to teach his readers valuable, lifelong lessons. He makes it evident to his readers that prejudging certain people is not right. Also, he relates how change is possible, but hard to achieve. More specifically, religion often influences one’s point of view. John Wyndam’s, The Chrysalids was written with a purpose that teaches his readers about discrimination, about how change is possible, and how religion often influences one’s point of view.

Mary Rowlandson’s captivity narrative, The Sovereignty and Goodness of God, and Charles Brockden Brown’s novel Edgar Huntly were both written during a time of discovery, exploration, and the questioning of identity in America. The frontier was considered the wild place of the unknown, and in these two works, the wilderness of the frontier and characters of “civilized” society interact to form compelling stories. Mary Rowlandson’s narrative and Brown’s novel Edgar Huntly both use the theme of savagery, in which the world of the frontier enables self-proclaimed “civilized” people to rationalize savage behavior, showing that everyone has the capability of savagery, and all have inner, dark impulses that are an inherent part of one’s human

The Chrysalids takes place in Waknuk, a society based on rigid laws and a strict religion. The citizens value what they believe to be normal, enforcing harsh consequences for those who go against the norm or possess traits that are undesirable or feared. Their society developed with strong influences from The Bible and Nicholson`s Repentances, with laws and customs put in place to keep Tribulation from happening again. Deviations and otherwise undesirable traits are not tolerated in this society, anything in question or suspicious is carefully inspected to ensure it is not an offense. The people of Waknuk are a very traditional, law-abiding community built on generations of fear and extreme regulations.

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

The people of Waknuk’s greatest fear, Tribulation, was originally the result of nuclear war. It is obvious that Tribulation was nuclear radiation because of the way that the landscape was affected, as with the Badlands and especially the Black Coasts: a place where almost nothing grows and those who approach it immediately fall ill and usually die. Furthermore, the frequency of Mutations—especially in the Fringes, where they are not curd— points to nuclear radiation, the one of the most common exogenous causes of random genetic mutation. Wyndham uses dialogue and mythology about “the Old People” as well as the novel’s setting to comment on the behavior of the people of his time. The Chrysalids was published in 1955, ten years after the bombing

Authors often exaggerate or revise small details of their own books in order to produce an emotion in the reader instead of a factual representation. However, this does not make authors to be liers, only fabricators. In times or social unjust it is necessary for the oppressed to voice their opinions for the purpose of gaining equality. As it may seem immoral to twist truths, if done correctly it will strengthen the author's message, without compromising the authenticity of the plot. One can see this in The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, along with his, My Bondage and My Freedom. Both novels are accounts of Douglass’ troublesome journey from a slave to a freeman. These heroic accounts served as prominent and respected

Religion also plays an important function in allowing the authors to comment on society and faith’s role in it. For example, both authors seem to be suggesting that our religion is only compatible in society as we know it, that is to say that it is not compatible with other situations. In The Children of Men a major disruption to the working of society, mass infertility, has led to a total destruction of the Christian faith. In Brave New World, an unstoppable surge of machinery and technology has led to the disregard of religious moral and the introduction of a new set of hedonist attitudes, both scenarios being deplored by the reader. This could also be seen as the authors’ asserting that a civilized society desperately needs stable religion and morals, given that the utter breakdown in The Children of Men is arguably as shocking as the superficial worship of machinery and pleasure in Brave New World.

The notion of American captivity and freedom is a concept thoroughly examined throughout American literature. Oftentimes, it is evident and rather straightforward what the message or allusion towards captivity is such as in The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter does not contain any depiction of direct captivity such as slavery, but instead focuses more on perceived confinement and freedom. Throughout the novel, there is subjugation and the relinquishing and denial of liberty by numerous characters. The characters of this novel are tortured by discerned constrictions imposed mainly by themselves and, unlike Equiano, do have the ability to determine if they should be suppressed. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter demonstrates both freedom with Hester Prynne and mental captivity with Reverend Dimmesdale using sin and symbolism. The physical captivity of the scarlet letter is what allows Hester to have freedom while the lack thereof for Reverend Dimmesdale is what continues to mentally torture him till his passing as well as Pearl represents true freedom from sin.

The people are nothing more than consumers. They believe everything the government tells them, and they have no right to disagree because they do not have the ability to make value judgments. Emotions are artificial, created by the government for the people. Brander claims that in Brave New World “Affection and loyalty are unnecessary… truth is arranged in a test tube … which by its action annihilates identity” (61). Freedom of expression is nonexistent because the people are conditioned to believe they are in a state of pure happiness all the time (Watts 77). Discontent with the society is nonexistent also. If someone is ever unhappy, they are given soma. This drug wafts the people “into the heavens of a restorative illusion” (Woodcock 99). The irony is in the fact that the government uses a drug that distorts people’s realities in order to control them. While the people may be content, the society is still dystopian. This is evidenced in the fact that Henry Ford has become their deity. The people worship someone who has made it possible for the government to impose absolute control (Calder 74). The religious ceremonies themselves are more than spiritual; they are sexual also. Attendance is required, and at the end of each ceremony, the attendees are forced to take soma. The

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.

In the novel Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne presenting the idea for humans to endure the laws of nature and conscience, rather than following the laws of man, to fulfill happiness. The novel consists of a young woman named Hester Prynne carrying her infant daughter named Pearl. The golden letter "A" embroidered on Hester’s bosom symbolizes adultery, a vile sin which is looked down upon in her community. She encounters Dimmesdale, an influential Puritan priest who commits adultery with Hester. Their main priority is to escape their society and live a new life. There are many symbols displayed in the Scarlet Letter, in particular, wilderness vs. civilization. The wilderness represents opposing behaviors while civilization represents bounded to rules.