The Chrysalids essays

The Chrysalids essays The novel, The Chrysalids, is a book based on the despair of our society in the past, present, and future. Throughout the story, we are discouraged by the way in which man treats his own kind. Before the story begins, their society originated from a nuclear war in which most of the world's population was destroyed. The people now refer this to "Tribulation". This effectively summarizes man's eternal fight with himself. Man does not know where to stop, even if it means almost destroying the earth. Much of this has to do with differences. And many of these differences are just physical or even spiritual. Any difference than what you are use to, often brings out a destructive side of humans. We often only want to accept "normal" people into our own society. The Chrysalids is a story that has much to do with this despicable, but commonly seen nature of humans. "And god created man in his own image. And God decreed that man should have one body, one head, two arms and two legs; that each arm be jointed in two places and end in one hand; that each hand should have four fingers and one thumb; that each finger should bear a flat finger-nail..." and so on went the affirmation that all heard every Sunday at church. Any difference from this was an abomination and a blasphemy before God who had fashioned man in his own image and must be dealt with immediately before the evil could spread. David, the main character, soon learned to what extent his society would go in these cases. In most cases, these blasphemes would be sterilized and sent into the fringes, a desolate place where nothing seemed normal. This showed just how much mankind could not handle any difference in appearance. David's best friend Sophie had just one extra toe. David could not see the harm in one extra toe, and that lead him to doubt his societies laws and beliefs. When Sop hie gets sent into the fringes, near the beginning of the novel, the re ...