The Theme of Fear in the Chrysalids by John Wyndham
The Chrysalids by John Wyndham
In The Chrysailds by John Wyndham, one theme stands out amongst the others; fear. Throughout the novel, the misconception of the society’s fear of God, the fear of anything out of the norm, and the fear of being discovered as a deviation are commonly expressed. Quotes such as “Watch Thou for the Mutant” and “The Devil is the Father of Deviation,” (pg. 18) are used to warn members in the society of deviations. The society claims to say that they are the true image and believe that they are pleasing God by trying to maintain a “perfect society”. In truth, the society hardly refers to the Bible, but to Nicholson's Repentances for the Definition of Man. In the sixth chapter, a segment of Marther’s published journal was, “…one of the parts of the journal that got Marther into a lot of trouble with orthodox people…” (pg. 61). This proposed that people of the Waknuk society are afraid of things that are abnormal to what they have been taught because his journal suggested that deviations were performing a work of reclamation. This landed Marther in jail and started the protest against exploration. Several occurrences of deviations taking precautions to being discovered occur, “However, I had gained something: I’d stopped him going after Sophie straight away” (pg. 45). David states this after Alan learns of Sophie’s secret in the fifth chapter. By the end of the chapter, David and Sophie take down Alan and Sophie’s family decide to run away before any harm is done to them and to David. In conclusion, events typically revolve around the topic of fear.
In The Chrysailds by John Wyndham, one theme stands out amongst the others; fear. Throughout the novel, the misconception of the society’s fear of God, the fear of anything out of the norm, and the fear of being discovered as a deviation are commonly expressed. Quotes such as “Watch Thou for the Mutant” and “The Devil is the Father of Deviation,” (pg. 18) are used to warn members in the society of deviations. The society claims to say that they are the true image and believe that they are pleasing God by trying to maintain a “perfect society”. In truth, the society hardly refers to the Bible, but to Nicholson's Repentances for the Definition of Man. In the sixth chapter, a segment of Marther’s published journal was, “…one of the parts of the journal that got Marther into a lot of trouble with orthodox people…” (pg. 61). This proposed that people of the Waknuk society are afraid of things that are abnormal to what they have been taught because his journal suggested that deviations were performing a work of reclamation. This landed Marther in jail and started the protest against exploration. Several occurrences of deviations taking precautions to being discovered occur, “However, I had gained something: I’d stopped him going after Sophie straight away” (pg. 45). David states this after Alan learns of Sophie’s secret in the fifth chapter. By the end of the chapter, David and Sophie take down Alan and Sophie’s family decide to run away before any harm is done to them and to David. In conclusion, events typically revolve around the topic of fear.