Oppression In The Chrysalids

Children are unsafe when facing oppression in society because they are raised to think it is normal. David Strorm was raised in an oppressive household. He always thought that mutants are these horrible monsters but when he meets one for the first time, he realizes that they are just like him. In his novel, The Chrysalids, the author John Wyndham argues for what differentiates humans from offenses. He also sets up a mood that David is living in some sort of sect as he reveals how the people of Waknuk turn to an oppressive view of their society.

Waknuk’s moral perspective of society shows how much David is blinded by what is right or wrong. Wyndham reveals the rule in their society that if a woman has three mutant babies, then her husband

They’ll take my baby away like they took the others… Henry will turn me out, He’ll find another wife who can produce proper children”(71). At first, David thinks that it is normal since he was taught this while growing up. He realizes how horrible it is when Aunt Harriet comes over to ask for Petra to try and trick the inspector. When David’s mom hears about this idea, she goes on a rant about how her baby is a monster. Then when Joseph Strorm hears about it he claims that she created a mockery of god and that she has produced a defilement. Aunt Harriet was deeply saddened which led to her suicide. His father’s actions have a considerable effect on David in the way he teaches his ideas to him. David’s dad, Joseph Strorm is basically the leader of Waknuk. He wants the entire town to have this purity free of mutants and will do whatever it takes to remove them. When an animal has deviances, he sacrifices it; when the crops have deviances, he burns the entire field. He is unhappy with just the small mention of a mutant. When David said “I could’ve managed if I had another hand” (26) . He scolded him because he wished to be a mutant. Joseph Strorm has impacted David so much that David sees Joseph

Joseph Strorm says that if it isn’t written then it is blasphemy towards god. He is influencing people to think that an offense is this big thing that they should get rid of while it isn’t such a big deal. Because he has been brainwashing people so much that people are starting to give in and let those intrusive thoughts overpower them. By doing this he has successfully made Waknuk believe that mutants are these horrible monsters. Wyndham also reveals the way the elders tell the kids about the terrors of the mutants. They narrate stories of Old Magie and Hairy Jack being monsters from the fringes and will come and eat them if they misbehave. They are using fear to control and expand their ideas onto them. By doing this they are able to continue their ideas about their oppressive society and the problem with mutants. There are also posters and crosses on the dresses, and every woman wears the same dress with a cross on the chest. The posters are all similar in their content of talking about the severity of mutants and preaching daily to clear the world of them. These posters are also the cause why so many people with deviances stay away from the town. They feel unsafe because of the fear they generate which results in them either committing suiciding like Anne, or living on the run like Sophie and her parents. But they have so many of these posters everywhere that they’re changing how they think. Their