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Examples Of Conflict In The Chrysalids

Decent Essays

One can encounter several physical and emotional difficulties in the journey to protect their identity. Similarly, in The Chrysalids by John Wyndham, as a result of wanting to preserve identity, in the form of risks, major sacrifices surface between characters. These sacrifices tend to result in breaking moral laws, letting go of family ties and death. The motives of the sacrifices come from the society of Waknuk. People in this society learn not to accept individuals with physical deformations since they are sent by the Devil. Due to fear, most people abide by the laws but, are quick to bend them in order to preserve their sense of self. Therefore, the novel The Chrysalids, develops the idea through conflict and irony, that people are willing …show more content…

An example of conflict is when Uncle Axel kills Alan. Uncle Axel knew Alan had the knowledge that Anne and a few others like David could communicate telepathically. Hence, if Uncle Axel waited to Kill Alan, Alan would have had the chance to inform others in Waknuk that David and some of his friends are telepaths. Uncle Axel justifies Alan’s death to David saying, “Alan wasn’t a fool. He’d see to it that he was covered. Before he actually began on you he’d have written a deposition somewhere to be opened on the event of his death and he’d see that you knew about it, too” (Wyndham 118,119). This introduces a character versus character conflict between Uncle Axel and Alan. There is a conflict because Uncle Axel is open-minded towards mutants and wishes to protect David and his friends but, Alan wishes to expose them. While protecting the telepaths, Uncle Axel has risked a great deal because if the Waknuk authorities suspected he killed Alan, Uncle Axel would be held accounted for murder. If they hear he helped mutants, Uncle Axel could potentially be tortured because in their society mutants are supposed to be immediately reported, sterilized and …show more content…

For instance, over the course of many years, Mrs. Wender keeps Sophie hidden to protect her secret. Any individual with a physical deformation in Waknuk is considered an outlaw, and to prevent losing her child; Mrs. Wender does not let Sophie out in public. The importance of protecting Sophie is seen when Mrs. Wender says, “‘It’s very, very important,’ she insisted. ‘How can I explain to you?’ But she didn’t really need to explain. Her urgent tight-strung feeling of the importance was very plain. Her words were far less potent. She said: ‘If anyone were to find out, they’d – they’d be terribly unkind to her”’ (Wyndham 12). Mrs. Wender disobeys the moral laws of Waknuk to protect her daughter, which is different from what most individuals in her society would do in this situation. This introduces situational irony because unlike others in Waknuk, Mrs. Wender first cares for her family and that is highly unexpected. She took a great risk to keep her daughter unknown for several years because she has six toes which is a physical deformation. If Waknuk authorities realize Mrs. Wender’s daughter is a mutant she could be punished and tortured for not only connecting with a mutant but disobeying the society’s laws. Coincidentally, in the process of protecting Sophie, Mrs. Wender preserves her sense of self because she wants to keep those who fit her definition of the “true

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