As in most societies, there are people who must free themselves from what they feel is a prison.  David, Petra and Rosalind are examples from The Chrysalids. They feel that this society is not beneficial to them so they want to go somewhere that will help them, which is the Fringes. This is a place where they will not have to worry about being different.  For David, he has nothing to go back to because his parents are still mad at him for hiding Sophie’s deviation from them. David thought that he would be better off to leave and try and find Sophie.

This is also seen in both of my ISU novels where the protagonists, Chris and Franklin eave home to live in the wild. Chris runs away with little supplies and hitch hikes to get anywhere. He finally ends up in Alaska where he camps  out for multiple months. He ends up eating a poisonous plant and starves to death because he is too sick to get up to get food.

Franklin on the otherhand leaves home with a car load of food and supplies to last him for months. He leaves because his drinking problem has become known and his parents are now mad at him as David’s parents were. He canoes for a long time into the wilderness. He gets attacked by a bear, goes over a water fall, and survives a blizzard where he gets seriously frost bitten. Franklin is lucky enough to return to his family and change his negative attitude on life. He ends up becoming a social worker who helps out kids that are struggling with living a happy life.

Escaping that prison which confines these men seems to be more successful that fatal because two people better their lives and only one man’s adventure goes fatal. The ones who succeed seem to be happy now nad have benefited from leaving their society even if it was only for a short time like in Franklin’s case.

A Clockwork Orange and The Chrysalids are very opposite stories with totally different characters. David and Alex are similar in the single way that they are rebels in their present society. David chooses to be a rebel for a different reason than Alex, a better reason, he chose to rebel and escape from his society to save his sister Petra and friend Rosalind from being captured by the authorities. They had offences which made them deviations to society which means they must be removed. David is acting like a father to the two girls and he is keeping them safe. Alex is the total opposite “creature” He is rebellious against his society in the sense that he commits acts that are deemed offensive to humanity. He raids and destroys buildings and rapes women when he breaks into their house. Alex does not receive any punishment for his actions so he keeps on this lifestyle for as long as he can.

David as the father figure seems almost like the person that Alex needs to educate him on his actions. David does receive punishment for his action when he is arrested and forced to watch desensitization videos which are meant to cause distress about certain criminal offences.

Alex, after completing his course, returns to his family, where he is rejected because of his actions before he changed into this new proper being. This new Alex resembles David as he is rejected by his family after being caught concealing Sophie’s deviation.

David escapes his society safely and never receives any punishment for his actions where as Alex is arrested and punished for his actions. I feel sympathy for David as his life progresses and Sophie dies. On the other hand, I feel no sympathy for Alex because he was the one who chose to lie to his parents and disobey the law. He was aware of the consequences and therefore he should have known better than to participate in those outrageous acts of violence. Does anyone feel similarly about Alex’s actions and resultant life?

The dystopic theme in The Chrysalids can be heavily compared and contrasted to the film A Clockwork Orange. Both stories contain the negative aspects of a society, where violence and corruption in the authority is highly expressed. The concept of control is negatively depicted throughout both plots, conveying the same image of a totalitarian society.

The dystopic theme shows how violence can be the tool to gain power above others. In A Clockwork Orange you see how Alex uses violence against the gang to gain power back. However later he is betrayed by the same gang, which left him to get caught by the police. In The Chrysalids the society uses violence and hate to “filter” their species to be “pure” of the human race, without any deformities or mutations. David’s father also used violence to obtain his power and control; when David stayed at Sophie’s house to help cover her getaway, later his father was about to whip him for not coming home that night. As with Alex, David ended up betraying his father by running away towards the Fringes for protection since he was now considered a deviation. Both authors describe how violence and fear may work for a short period of time for power and respect, but in the long run turn back on the person inflicting it.

The novels also present an overpowering government like state. Wyndham described a society that was run by the theory to keep everything unchanged. Using any means necessary like the act of violence and torture to torment the people mutated. When the society found out that David and his friends were able to communicate through the mind, the government tortured his friends Sara and Rachel to tell them everything about it. In A Clockwork Orange the government in an experiment to change criminal behavior had victimized Alex. Using psychological tortures to change his ways. The two stories following the same dystopic governmental fear brought towards the main character(s).

            Other than control and violence the subject of sex in both the film and the novel are not expressed in the terms of love and affection. However sex is either used as a method of violence and control or just reproduction. Alex uses sex and rape to feel superior and controlling. In The Chrysalids the leader of the Fringes, Gordon, wants sex for reproduction of children. “Take a look at ‘em as you go. Maybe you’ll understand a bit more. Besides, this one can have children. I’ve had a fancy for some children a long time now (Wyndham 163).” He kidnapped David’s lover, Rosalind, hoping she can fulfill his dream to obtain kids. The woman in both plots are depicted as materialistic not characteristic, being used as a form of pleasure or reproduction. Giving a sense that woman are slaves in both societies like how Margaret Atwood depicts in her novel A Maidens Tale. The authors follow the dystopic like genre that sex is no longer used for true love and affection in a society obsessed with power, control and corruption. The Chrysalids and A Clockwork Orange describe how freedom and peace are stripped from people’s lives, forming a new dystopic way of living.

After viewing A Clockwork Orange I felt upset how someone can actually get pleasure from causing other people pain. I don’t know why I somewhat feel pathos towards young Alex, as he has destroyed a lot of lives because of his actions and he deserves everything he goes through. But however I do. I think its the fact that it doesn’t matter who they are or what they have done, but seeing how defendless and fragile one can be, can create pathos.

I don’t really see many similarities between A Clockwork Orange and The Chrysalids. Although one similarity between both the protagonists, Alex, and David, is they are both rebels. However the difference is, they perceive their rebelious acts in completly different ways and for different reasons. David rebels against his society to protect not only himself but his friends, while Alex rebels for his own individual needs. David tries to help and protect lives while Alex continues to destroy lives. Alex is very selfish. David on the other hand is very giving and caring. There is also control that is evident in both pieces. In David’s society there was a lot of control as there was inspectors to check the crops, animals, and babies to be clear of any mutations. It seems Alex’s society has alittle less control as we see that Alex got away with a lot before he was caught of the crimes he commited.  But still his society does have control as they attempt to change Alex into a good citizen by giving him treatment that stops him from acting in violence by making him ill. David and Alex have another thing in common that I can see, they have both had either a family or friends turn on them and ultimately beat them. David’s father beats him to show him the consequences and enstill the societies rules upon his son. When Alex commites a crime and comes out the front door to meet up with his friends they smash a bottle over his head, injuring him and forcing him with no other choice but to wait for the cops to show up and arrest him. After Alex is cured from his destructive behaviour and released onto the streets he is reunited with his “old gang members.” They feeling no sympathy towards him, remembering how he treated them, and now being officers, drag him out to deserted land and beat him.

I feel pathos towards both these characters as they are choosing how they want to live and better their lives, but they both have people close to them abandon them and harm them. But I also feel Alex deserved everything he had to go through, while David did not.

The Chrysalids is a science fiction novel, even though it may not seem so. The overall setting of a futuristic and post apocalyptic world gives it the main connection to the sci-fi genre. The stereotype of a science fiction is usually a high technologically advanced society different from our modern world. Well the society that the characters are in is very different from our times.

The mutations that have occurred from the radiation poisoning clearly depict a different way of living in the future. The future has become a war between different species of human; the normal verses the mutated. Also with the telekinesis powers that David and the several others posses contributes the theme that a science fiction piece would express. Wyndham has created a new interpretation of what a sci-fi story may be, not just a world that contains complex sciences and technologies but also a world that has experienced a sudden drawback to technologies such as the atomic bomb. The society has gone back to a superstitious way of thinking; following the guides of a corrupt religion. Wyndham describing the way humanity’s morals evolve as more knowledge and information is learned. The author is re-writing history on the renaissance of society but the evolution taking place in the future instead.

Juxtaposition characters in The Chrysalids is focused on David and his father. In the novel David’s father is very set on morals of society and religion, whereas David has morals on how he reacts to the society itself. Both David and his father know the outcomes when one who is a “mutant” is discovered, and yet Davids father continues to be a strong character that agrees with the society’s rules and the consequences, while David changes when he understands the harm that can fall upon Sophie. 

David’s father is so extreme about the rules that he went to killing the neighbours cat when he discovered it was tailess and believed it was disapproved by the government. However after finding out he was wrong and the cat was approved he had to pay up for the destruction of the cat. David’s father also has no problem banishing his sister-in-law Harriet because of her slightly mutated baby. This selfish attitude from David’s father led to the suicide of Harriet. David’s father is very predictable as he does things by the book and will stop at nothing to make sure there are no “mutants” or “mutated crops.” He has no sympathy for those that have “mutations.”

David is very different from his father. When he meets Sophie his view changes on his society and he discovers for himself the harm it has on the people he loves. David is very much against the views of his society after knowing Sophie and learning that he himself can think “thought-shapes.” 

Whyndham shows the different views of people that live within the same society and how they deal with it by their actions.

The characters in The Chrysalids are all definitely individuals, non of them even being close to another. David being the protagonist is a dynamic character. He is a loyal, loving child at the beginning of the novel and as obstacles occur David alters his core values. When he finds out that Sophie is a mutant, and he becomes her friend he wants to hide her offence so she will not be removed from the society which would prevent him from seeing her. David, after he is beaten by his father, then turns on his family. This is after Sophie’s offense is discovered and he hates his family for revealing that which has separated him from Sophie. David and his think-alikes are all offenses of their society but their offence being mental is not noticeable to other people so they are not threatened with being removed from their society. They may not adore this society but they can live with it.

I feel that David is the sensible being in this novel and that his father (Joseph) is an extremist who has taken his religion too far. Joseph whipped his own son for violating the rules and he does not allow for any exceptions in this society. He does not approve of improvements in their society such as the new larger horses. They are more efficient and he does not approve because they are a mix of breads and could therefore be an offence.

After a series of events involving multiple rescues of Petra, the think-alikes’ offence is at jeopardy of being revealed to the society so they decide to escape. David, Petra, and Rosalind are the only ones that actually leave, the others are in various locations. Two of them are arrested where they are then tortured to confess to their secrets. The torture is too much and they then confess to everything, which causes an uproar and a great search for the three who have escaped. This juxtaposition of the characters who escape and the ones who are captured is very different because all of these children were once friends and they are now separated. Two of the friends actually “betray” their friends by confessing and causing a search to commence to find and punish the rest of the group of think-alikes.

I have come to the conclusion that there are only two types of people in this novel, people who truly believe in the religion and people who reject and want to escape the society. The examples of these people are Joseph the extreme believer and David the rebel.

The society that David lives in is very strict and controlling, following the dystopic literature genre like books such as Fahrenheit 451 and 1984. However the government controls its citizens to match the religious views of the Repentances instead of controlling them in fear of war and hostility. The society has strong beliefs that everyone should have the same body structure, and the country would reject anything different classifying it as a deviation. For any new baby born the government would examine the child and see if he/she matches the requirements for the definition of humanity by the Repentances. If the baby had something different with its body structure, such as Sophie with the extra toe, the government would either murder or export the “deviation” to the Fringes. The society and government are controlled by religion, similar to ancient times of the medieval Ages where the Catholic Church was in charge of the many decisions made by the country.

 

Forms of rebellion have been presented, as some characters do not meet the qualities of the dystopic society. Ant Harriet gives birth to a baby that has an in-human quality. Knowing that her baby would not be accepted by society, she asked her sister (David’s mother), who also had a baby named Petra, if she could trade the baby just to get an accepted inspection of a non-deviated human structure. David’s mother rejected the request and banished Ant Harriet from coming back. Ant Harriet wants to rebel since the society does not accept what she loves.

I shall pray God to send charity into this hideous world, and sympathy for the weak, and love for the unhappy and unfortunate. I shall ask Him if it is indeed His will that a child should suffer and its soul be damned for a little blemish of the body… And I shall pray Him, too, that the hearts of the self-righteous may be broken…(Wyndham 73)

Wyndham suggests the concept that God’s will, might be miss interpreted as this society thinks that to only be accepted by Heaven is to be like the Repentances definition. However as the novel progresses, Uncle Axel begins to bring the thought of what is the point of normality. He describes that on his voyages around the world, he saw many different mutations think that they were the norm of God. There is a suggestion that we should not differ ourselves from others even if they look different or contain different qualities.

Blog #2

The government’s role in this society is minimal compared to God’s role of controlling the people. The people of the east coast all worship God unquestionably. The government has not yet even been mentioned in the story. God is much more superior to the government because he decides who are accepted in their society based on their image, God says that a person must have, “one body, one head, two arms, and two legs: that each arm should 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”” (Wyndham 11). This image from God is the basis of who will be accepted in society and who will be classified as “Offences” and removed from society.

The majority of the people who live in this society follow in suit, never venturing off the trail. The people do not rebel against their authority (God). The only offenders in this society are David Strorm and the Wender family. These people committed an offence which is almost equivalent to murder in our society. David and the Wenders kept a secret of daughter Sophie Wender’s deviation, she had an extra toe on each foot. This made Sophie an offence and therefore she must be removed from the society or possibly killed because of this. David’s punishment could have been for keeping Sophie’s difference a secret.

David’s father Joseph is a very strict believer in his God and since his son violated this, he lashed him with a whip leaving Joseph in extreme pain, for what he felt was just being a friend with someone, his only friend.

David is fed up with this worshiping of God, and he is eager to get away from it at any cost. David wants to sail south to the land beyond the Badlands where he feels he can live a happy life without all these restrictions.

As far as I have read of The Chrysalids the protagonist David, has many small rebelious acts. First off when David finds out about Sophie’s extra toe he commits his first rebel act by not telling the authorities. David continues to keep this a secret and continues to meet with Sophie in secret knowing what he is doing is not accepted by society. And when a boy discovers Sophie’s secret and Sophie and her family have to flee, David stays at her house for the night to give Sophie’s family a chance to flee. And when he goes finally goes home the next morning he tries his best from telling his father about Sophie but his father pretty much beat it out of him. David deals with his strict society by rebelling. “The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very exsitence is an act of rebellion.” -Albert Camus.