The Chrysalids Essay

It is clear that John Wyndham wrote The Chrysalids as a warning for today’s society, based on the comparisons that are drawn between the society of Waknuk, the Old People, Sea land, and our current society. More specifically, the current technological advancements, the existence of fundamentalist groups, and the slowly changing concept of “freedom of speech”.

The events of Tribulation serve as a warning to today’s society. Many current day countries have nuclear weaponry, chemical weaponry, bombs, and other massively destructive tools at their disposal. Comparably, the Old People had very advanced technology and the reader knows that a nuclear war has taken place based on the existence of such extreme mutations seen in both plants and people.

Anyone physically different from themselves, the people of Waknuk regard as “abominations” and insulting to the pure image of God based on a fallible old book; Nicholson’s Repentances. Likewise, anyone of a different religious sect, Daesh slaughters with out of context rulings from their religious book. The KKK discriminates against people of colour, regarding them in a very similar way to the way the people of Waknuk regard Deviations. Moreover, calling the Old People’s society (probably secular) a state of “[prevailing] irreligious arrogance” displays their belief that only one way of being is acceptable, and anything else is worthy of punishment (Wyndham 40). Not only does this exist on a blatant scale as we see with these extreme groups, it also exists in many countries like Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Iran. These countries rule based on dogmatism rather than logic and morality. In conclusion, John Wyndham was, perhaps, warning against the very societies that have formed thanks to the blind following of faith which disallows logical exploration of right and