Seminar essay:
The effect of discrimination on mental and emotional stability in the Chrysalids:
Discrimination within the novel is elaborated and widespread and has a negative impact on many of the characters emotional stability and wellbeing, it is unfair and makes the characters question themselves and their surroundings, and it also results in war, death and being an outcast. Discrimination is a huge topic in this novel. Everyone in the city of Waknuk judges and discriminates anyone who is even slightly different from them or not part of the “norm”, they call them deviations or mutants because they think that the devil sends them so that they can trick people into doing what the devil wants. If someone in Waknuk finds out that something
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There is a war between the people of Waknuk and the deviations because the people of Waknuk have such strong and harsh opinions or beliefs about the deviations that they would kill them to not have anything or anyone that’s different in the world. Discrimination causes death because after Aunt Harriet asks David’s mother for help and she refuses to help, the next day as the book said "Aunt Harriet's body has been found in a river, no one mentioned a baby…." (p.74) that shows that Aunt Harriet’s sister hurt her emotionally and mentally and that caused her to commit suicide so she can save her baby from an unfair and cruel world and also because she felt unworthy of everything. Aunt Harriet’s death was not for nothing it proved to us that not everyone is strong enough to stand up for themselves and fight because they are afraid they will get hurt.
In the end we can conclude that, Discrimination within the novel has a negative impact on many of the characters mental stability, wellbeing and the feeling of being safe , it is unfair and makes the characters question themselves and their surroundings, and it also results in war, death and being an outcast. Therefore discrimination is not only a dangerous thing in the old society but in today’s society