11 thoughts on “#2 Understanding Conflict in Chrysalids”
The Chrysalids is an extremely interesting book in regards to its many effective uses of conflict. I recognized 3 effective, different uses of conflict within the story. To begin with, person versus person conflict is evident in many parts of the book. An instance of this would be when David, the main character, fought off Alan Ervin when he saw Sophie’s toes to try and keep Alan occupied while he bought time for Sophie to get away (44 Wyndham). Another type of conflict that affects the story is person versus society. An example of this would be all of the teachings David’s father reminds him of, the education system in David’s environment and the way the law officials told David he might be put away in jail for protecting Sophie, a deviant (51 Wyndham). Finally, Person versus self is quite faintly portrayed within the text as well. It shows within the writing when David keeps questioning his view on the world, deviation, as well as priorities in his life, versus what he was taught all his life (62 Wyndham) & (63 Wyndham). I love the different conflicts in this book because there’s so many different types of varying intensities of conflict. All of which contribute in one way or another, to the story. The author is stirring up quite a lot conflict using effective propaganda techniques. They are using word power, monster making, the bandwagon, bias and symbols. The author is showing that society is using each of these propaganda techniques so that people would stay fearful of deformities and deviations. All of them helped society get a Us versus Them mentality against the deviations, and vice versa. An example of this would be the Fringe raids. In conclusion, this book’s conflicts are very interesting because of how many different types it uses, the way propaganda is woven into the conflicts, and because of the resulting Us versus Them factor in the story.
-Tae Hyun-
“Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!” – Monty Python
The overarching theme of theocratic social laws and their interaction with David, our lead, seems to be the conflict of note in John Wyndham’s The Chrysalids. In a timeless way I suppose, they remain relevant to our current times. Although I have some problems with David and his reactions to the events around him (for the same reason I have a problem with tumblr-feminist YA books that give renaissance-era midwives the minds and thoughts of 20th century feminist theorists), they strike anyone who regularly picks up a newspaper as disturbingly familiar. Sure, almost Nazi-like ideas of purity aren’t exactly what we’re seeing, but read about female genital mutilation and the fanatical gusto in which the all-male clergy of these areas pursue it, and you’ll catch my drift.
Saying David versus Goliath is pulling an old rabbit out of an old hat, but this rabbits still got bite. David versus his physically as well as socially imposing father, David versus the sheer pious enthusiasm among his family and neighbours, David versus a big, scary, undeveloped, proto-industrial (that seems on the brink of religious schism), world.
I’m not finished yet, but I’ve got a feeling he’s in for a treat.
The conflict that occurs is mostly, person/group vs. society. The author uses bias, word power, monster making, bandwagon, and symbols all very effective forms of propaganda. The bias is obvious, because of the deviations and offences being cast out of society for many but stupid miniscule reasons. Word power being, used to describe how the mutants are mentally un-fit to exist and also physically unfit as well. The monster making is also easy to notice, as having a 6th toe, or 3rd arm, or extra finger, makes them instantly evil and products of Satan. The bandwagon, being imposed by the inspectors, checking every new born child and making sure that its normal and not an abomination. This in turn pressures people to turn against one another, because of the fear of the harsh punishments for knowing a deviation and not reporting it. Then finally, they use the bible and the book of repentances as a symbol of what a true man and woman should look like. In conclusion the us versus them mentality can be turned vice versa, and the variety of conflicts is very interesting in the Chrysalids.
The society plays an important role in the central conflict. The society’s view about Deviations and Blasphemy is racist, furthermore, has killed thousands of people, who are considered as deviations or blasphemy, and broke their families’ hearts.
David, the protagonist of the novel who is considered as a deviation, is rebelling against the society’s attitude. After he and his group’s secret has been discovered, David, with his cousin Rosalind and his younger sister Petra, run away from the society and decide to live in the Fringes. However, their action of fleeing does not stop the society’s desire of hunting and capturing them.
Instead of capturing them for examination, the society can show kindness to David and the rest of the children that the society can help them to understand their supernatural abilities, consequently, David and other kids will not run away from home. Furthermore, the society can observe the children’s special gifts closely without concerning about those children’s actions of trying to escape.
Possible Spoilers.
—–
The conflict in the Chrysalids is mainly Character(s) vs. Society. Us vs. Them, as we talked about last week. The Us would be David and the other telepaths, while the Them would be their community. David and the telepaths are “mutants” and they don’t think anything is wrong with them. The think they might be the TRUE image of man, for in the Bible it was said that God could read minds. They think that God took that power away from humanity as punishment. Again, Us vs. Them.
Another type of conflict in this novel is Character(s) vs. Character(s). An example would be Anne vs. the telepaths. Anne wanted to marry Alan, but the telepaths disapproved. The thought of marrying a “norm” was inconceivable. But Anne just wanted to be like the normals and she was in love. So, she married Alan, and David considered murdering her to keep her silent about their ability. Anne became one of Them.
We are back to Us vs. Them. In every story there is an Us, and there is a Them, and if you look, you will find them
The conflict in the Chrysalids is mainly character vs society. David’s character through out the book mentions societies large hatred toward abominations and blasphemies. David disagrees with the murder and harsh punishment of the deviations and his views are easily hidden from others due to the large amount of anti-mutant propaganda. David has a deviation which has gone unnoticed because it is not a physical deviation, has grown up with only a few people who knew about his secret. However, David has now been forced to face the conflict he has been avoiding his life because of Sophie. Sophie has a very noticeable deviation and could easily get spotted by others. David has to attack Allan after he spotted Sophie’s extra toe which mad e him directly involved with Sophie’s deviation.David has continued to escalate his conflicts with society since he ran away which gave the government a very good reason to hunt him.He also has the constant conflict with his dad who has polar opposite views on deviations. He constantly believes that his fathers actions are immoral and unjustified.As David continues to develop the conflict in the book, it becomes increasing easy to see that David has very different ideas compared to most of society.
In John Wyndham’s “The Chrysalids,” I was able to identify several different instances of conflict different types of propaganda which are all associated with our definitions and modern-day understanding of the subjects. The conflict which the deviants have to endure as society dictates can easily affect the psychological stress of the themselves on high levels. To those with minds unable to think outside of society within the novel, the world may simply seem normal, fair, and just (Joseph’s perspective). As for others who may have sympathy for the deviants or are deviants themselves, may feel opposed to the occuring conflict (Uncle Axel and David’s perspective).
Society in the novel seems to utilise all the propaganda types from the given “Propaganda Toolkit,” from word power to symbols, and an emphasis on the bandwagon and bias. In the novel, if anyone mentions deviations in a manner relating to themselves or others, they are swiftly punished. This makes it seem that if you are in opposition to society, you are alone, and the natural instinct of humans is to conform in order to survive. It also eliminates any sort of rebellious speech, which makes it seem that everyone is focusing on society’s side. Monster making is also a clear technique, as the novel states that society “ceremoniously slaughters” any sort of offence, and deprives blasphemies of their rights as human beings. The frequent use of The Bible as a symbol can also give people the illusion of redemption if they abide by the laws created by society.
The one important fact about the novel is that there are few ways that society can rid itself of its laws completely, but many ways that it can improve them. On the negative side, if it were to cope with mutants, normals may reproduce with them, which could result in all kinds of negative genetic mutations, resulting in the decline of man to ever reach its peak. This is not true in David’s case, for his deviation seems to be a gift, and possibly even an step forward evolutionarily. If normals were to separate themselves from the deviations, there would be even more of the Fringes people, suffering from a lack of the essential things in life, such as water and food. The only solution that may be “better” would be to mutually provide food and water for each other, but even then it doesn’t seem as though society would be able to provide enough for the Fringes, given that so much of their farmland suffers from mutation. There could easily be better treatment of deviations, considering all this. We can only hope that such a situation does not befall our civilization.
Overall, in the novel, it seems that all of society’s crude laws are manifestations of man’s will to keep their tradition. This includes the other civilizations of deviants, that seek to keep social order according to the members of their population. Though society could come up with other ways to keep their population in check (and Joseph could be more forgiving), it is not truly evil, and seems only to be a victim of man’s fear of change.
In the book, the society is arguably the antagonist. The protagonist, David, certainly rebels against the society. To analyze this conflict, we look at its source. David possesses telepathy power, which allows him to communicate with other people with this power in “thought-shapes.” He also dreams about a city which he have never been exposed to since he was young. In both of these circumstances he is told to keep it a secret forever, which definitely gives a sense of exclusion and loneliness against the society which compels him to do so. He is forced “to remain silent in simple errors, to listen patiently to silly arguments based on misconceptions, to do a job in the customary way when one knew there was a better way” (Wyndham 82). This plants the seed of rebellion, and Sophie germinates it. Sophie has an extra toe, and she gives David a sense of how cruel the society can be, that if she is to be discovered, her life would be at stake simply for something that wasn’t her fault. His father, Joseph, gives the seed the soil to grow upon. He is a rigid man who takes the Repentance and the Bible literally, and puts Purity above all. Joseph is the religious leader of the town, and therefore he is associated with the society’s value in David’s mind. When he beats David for Sophie’s whereabouts, David develops a hatred for him, and associates his beating with the society’s cruelness. Uncle Axel provides sunlight for the seed. He describes to David how the world truly is outside, and breaks David’s belief that what the priest says is wholly true. Aunt Harriett waters the seed, as she comes to David’s mother to exchange baby with her mutated child and is swept out of the door. David sees the passion she has for her child, and heard her grievous words, which makes him further believes that Deviations are not evil. The seed sprouts, and David begins his revolution against the society.
I think the book Chysalids is a very interesting and deep meaning book. It also has a lot of conflict which are complicated and presents the darkness and unfairness in the society. In this book, i think the main types of conflicts are person v.s society, person v.s person, and person v.s himself. David, more than any other characters, represents the conflicts. He knows that he is supposed to suffer the very strict rules of his society and live in the judging of God . However, he is a brave and curious boy and his characteristics make it difficult to do any of them. He friend Sophie, who hides the fact that she has six toes. Anything considered abnormal to David’s society deserves a punishment. So David fights against it. The socond confllict in this book is man versus man. When the Fringe people battle with Waknuk.The Waknuk people also think that the Fringe people are hiding David, Rosalind, and Petra who are on the communitiy’s “Most Wanted List.” The Fringe people are trying to protect themselves and fight against those who have puniushed them. In a variety of locations the two parties fighting resulting many Fringe people die. While the Waknuk people and Fringe people are fighting, the Sealand people come to rescue the shape-thinkers. The Sealanders threads to kill everyone. The third type of conflict is internal. At the very beginning of the book, Sophie has to fight with herself whether to tell David her six toed foot or not. She gets hurt and trapped in the rocks, but in that case she would have to let David know that her unusual number of toes, something she has so carefully hidden all her life. In letting David knowing her secret, she makes a close and tust-worthy friend and David learns that people who are different and did not follow the god, are not really disgusting and evil, something he has been brought up to believe. So in my opinion, the conflicts in this book are meaningful and show humanity.
The conflict in John Wyndham’s novel “The chrysalids” is between the telepathic children and intolerant society. The society in The chrysalids either kills or banishes people who are “different”. And these telepathic children are “different”, so, they will be expelled or killed if the authority knows they are different. These telepathic children don’t want to be punished. As a result, they should either hide the truth that they are telepathic, or escape from the control of that intolerant authority.
Another minor conflict in Chrysalids is conflict between people. They don’t feel guilty to kill people when they think they are in danger of being discovered. No one can blame that because staying alive is always the priority of man. But the other conflict between people is more interesting, a person can harm a group including him/herself when he/she feels sad, even though the group is made up by his/her friends. That is really interesting because it makes some sense but it’s not logical at all. (hopefully I didn’t spoil)
The other conflict which is hidden in the text is religion vs real life. What would people do if following the creed of a religion is harmful to themselves? Chrysalids gives us a good answer. Religion can never really defeated human instincts when people are forced to believe in it .
The Novel “The Chrysalids” is jam packed with conflict and disagreement, which together pose the reader to sucessfully comprehend the complexity of the theme and hidden messages.The first and foremost conflict that can be observed in the beginning of the book is when Sophie hesistates to tell David about her secret. (Man vs Self). This situation is a direct example of how even small occurrences and events can unravel and unfold a bigger story – a conflict, to be exact, if looked for.
Adding on to my statement regarding the complexity of the various conflicts in the novel, Uncle Axel also faces the Man vs Self conflict in many situations. He is unsure of whether he should or not share his own views with David, keeping in consideration his young age. However, Uncle Axel, being the loving and responsible Uncle that he is, told David about his own views and offered him helpful advice regarding handling his gift of clairvoyance and extra sensory telepathy.
In chapter 12 we tragically find out that our lovely telepaths have been unfortunately recognized for who they are, as David is sharply awakened from the signal of some of his telepactic buddies stating that some of the Chrysalids have been captured. This episode distinctively brings forth one of the most popular literary conflicts (in the eyes of our deteriorating world) – Man vs Society. David and his concomitant telepaths are now in a race against all odds. They are going against the wishes of their home, and their society. The Chrysalids are trying their hardest to escape the evil hands of the trecherous consortium of the Waknuk society. In this situation, it can be inferred that the entire Waknuk society is using opression in order to get a hold of the Chrysalids, making them the antagonizing force against our Protagonist and (well, co protagonists, if you may). This Man vs Society conflict is no ordinary obstacle. It is rather a new beginning. It is the point where the pen starts to write a new chapter in the history of the stagnant and despondent world in which our ever so brave Chrysalids live. It is the time when David and his other Deviations shall rise and once and for all do what they have always desired, and live how they have always wished,
Because of the many types of conflict so beautifully depicted in this novel, we acquire the ability to further ingrain our understanding of group dynamics, and widen our knowledge base about the works of the human (deviated, in some cases) mind. Conflict, my friends…is not always the horrific thing we humans percieve it to be…. it can also bring a fruitful end…. This, in The Chrysalids, I wait to see.
Grant & Tressel Book Clubs 2013 
The Chrysalids is an extremely interesting book in regards to its many effective uses of conflict. I recognized 3 effective, different uses of conflict within the story. To begin with, person versus person conflict is evident in many parts of the book. An instance of this would be when David, the main character, fought off Alan Ervin when he saw Sophie’s toes to try and keep Alan occupied while he bought time for Sophie to get away (44 Wyndham). Another type of conflict that affects the story is person versus society. An example of this would be all of the teachings David’s father reminds him of, the education system in David’s environment and the way the law officials told David he might be put away in jail for protecting Sophie, a deviant (51 Wyndham). Finally, Person versus self is quite faintly portrayed within the text as well. It shows within the writing when David keeps questioning his view on the world, deviation, as well as priorities in his life, versus what he was taught all his life (62 Wyndham) & (63 Wyndham). I love the different conflicts in this book because there’s so many different types of varying intensities of conflict. All of which contribute in one way or another, to the story. The author is stirring up quite a lot conflict using effective propaganda techniques. They are using word power, monster making, the bandwagon, bias and symbols. The author is showing that society is using each of these propaganda techniques so that people would stay fearful of deformities and deviations. All of them helped society get a Us versus Them mentality against the deviations, and vice versa. An example of this would be the Fringe raids. In conclusion, this book’s conflicts are very interesting because of how many different types it uses, the way propaganda is woven into the conflicts, and because of the resulting Us versus Them factor in the story.
-Tae Hyun-
“Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!” – Monty Python
The overarching theme of theocratic social laws and their interaction with David, our lead, seems to be the conflict of note in John Wyndham’s The Chrysalids. In a timeless way I suppose, they remain relevant to our current times. Although I have some problems with David and his reactions to the events around him (for the same reason I have a problem with tumblr-feminist YA books that give renaissance-era midwives the minds and thoughts of 20th century feminist theorists), they strike anyone who regularly picks up a newspaper as disturbingly familiar. Sure, almost Nazi-like ideas of purity aren’t exactly what we’re seeing, but read about female genital mutilation and the fanatical gusto in which the all-male clergy of these areas pursue it, and you’ll catch my drift.
Saying David versus Goliath is pulling an old rabbit out of an old hat, but this rabbits still got bite. David versus his physically as well as socially imposing father, David versus the sheer pious enthusiasm among his family and neighbours, David versus a big, scary, undeveloped, proto-industrial (that seems on the brink of religious schism), world.
I’m not finished yet, but I’ve got a feeling he’s in for a treat.
The conflict that occurs is mostly, person/group vs. society. The author uses bias, word power, monster making, bandwagon, and symbols all very effective forms of propaganda. The bias is obvious, because of the deviations and offences being cast out of society for many but stupid miniscule reasons. Word power being, used to describe how the mutants are mentally un-fit to exist and also physically unfit as well. The monster making is also easy to notice, as having a 6th toe, or 3rd arm, or extra finger, makes them instantly evil and products of Satan. The bandwagon, being imposed by the inspectors, checking every new born child and making sure that its normal and not an abomination. This in turn pressures people to turn against one another, because of the fear of the harsh punishments for knowing a deviation and not reporting it. Then finally, they use the bible and the book of repentances as a symbol of what a true man and woman should look like. In conclusion the us versus them mentality can be turned vice versa, and the variety of conflicts is very interesting in the Chrysalids.
The society plays an important role in the central conflict. The society’s view about Deviations and Blasphemy is racist, furthermore, has killed thousands of people, who are considered as deviations or blasphemy, and broke their families’ hearts.
David, the protagonist of the novel who is considered as a deviation, is rebelling against the society’s attitude. After he and his group’s secret has been discovered, David, with his cousin Rosalind and his younger sister Petra, run away from the society and decide to live in the Fringes. However, their action of fleeing does not stop the society’s desire of hunting and capturing them.
Instead of capturing them for examination, the society can show kindness to David and the rest of the children that the society can help them to understand their supernatural abilities, consequently, David and other kids will not run away from home. Furthermore, the society can observe the children’s special gifts closely without concerning about those children’s actions of trying to escape.
Possible Spoilers.
—–
The conflict in the Chrysalids is mainly Character(s) vs. Society. Us vs. Them, as we talked about last week. The Us would be David and the other telepaths, while the Them would be their community. David and the telepaths are “mutants” and they don’t think anything is wrong with them. The think they might be the TRUE image of man, for in the Bible it was said that God could read minds. They think that God took that power away from humanity as punishment. Again, Us vs. Them.
Another type of conflict in this novel is Character(s) vs. Character(s). An example would be Anne vs. the telepaths. Anne wanted to marry Alan, but the telepaths disapproved. The thought of marrying a “norm” was inconceivable. But Anne just wanted to be like the normals and she was in love. So, she married Alan, and David considered murdering her to keep her silent about their ability. Anne became one of Them.
We are back to Us vs. Them. In every story there is an Us, and there is a Them, and if you look, you will find them
The conflict in the Chrysalids is mainly character vs society. David’s character through out the book mentions societies large hatred toward abominations and blasphemies. David disagrees with the murder and harsh punishment of the deviations and his views are easily hidden from others due to the large amount of anti-mutant propaganda. David has a deviation which has gone unnoticed because it is not a physical deviation, has grown up with only a few people who knew about his secret. However, David has now been forced to face the conflict he has been avoiding his life because of Sophie. Sophie has a very noticeable deviation and could easily get spotted by others. David has to attack Allan after he spotted Sophie’s extra toe which mad e him directly involved with Sophie’s deviation.David has continued to escalate his conflicts with society since he ran away which gave the government a very good reason to hunt him.He also has the constant conflict with his dad who has polar opposite views on deviations. He constantly believes that his fathers actions are immoral and unjustified.As David continues to develop the conflict in the book, it becomes increasing easy to see that David has very different ideas compared to most of society.
In John Wyndham’s “The Chrysalids,” I was able to identify several different instances of conflict different types of propaganda which are all associated with our definitions and modern-day understanding of the subjects. The conflict which the deviants have to endure as society dictates can easily affect the psychological stress of the themselves on high levels. To those with minds unable to think outside of society within the novel, the world may simply seem normal, fair, and just (Joseph’s perspective). As for others who may have sympathy for the deviants or are deviants themselves, may feel opposed to the occuring conflict (Uncle Axel and David’s perspective).
Society in the novel seems to utilise all the propaganda types from the given “Propaganda Toolkit,” from word power to symbols, and an emphasis on the bandwagon and bias. In the novel, if anyone mentions deviations in a manner relating to themselves or others, they are swiftly punished. This makes it seem that if you are in opposition to society, you are alone, and the natural instinct of humans is to conform in order to survive. It also eliminates any sort of rebellious speech, which makes it seem that everyone is focusing on society’s side. Monster making is also a clear technique, as the novel states that society “ceremoniously slaughters” any sort of offence, and deprives blasphemies of their rights as human beings. The frequent use of The Bible as a symbol can also give people the illusion of redemption if they abide by the laws created by society.
The one important fact about the novel is that there are few ways that society can rid itself of its laws completely, but many ways that it can improve them. On the negative side, if it were to cope with mutants, normals may reproduce with them, which could result in all kinds of negative genetic mutations, resulting in the decline of man to ever reach its peak. This is not true in David’s case, for his deviation seems to be a gift, and possibly even an step forward evolutionarily. If normals were to separate themselves from the deviations, there would be even more of the Fringes people, suffering from a lack of the essential things in life, such as water and food. The only solution that may be “better” would be to mutually provide food and water for each other, but even then it doesn’t seem as though society would be able to provide enough for the Fringes, given that so much of their farmland suffers from mutation. There could easily be better treatment of deviations, considering all this. We can only hope that such a situation does not befall our civilization.
Overall, in the novel, it seems that all of society’s crude laws are manifestations of man’s will to keep their tradition. This includes the other civilizations of deviants, that seek to keep social order according to the members of their population. Though society could come up with other ways to keep their population in check (and Joseph could be more forgiving), it is not truly evil, and seems only to be a victim of man’s fear of change.
In the book, the society is arguably the antagonist. The protagonist, David, certainly rebels against the society. To analyze this conflict, we look at its source. David possesses telepathy power, which allows him to communicate with other people with this power in “thought-shapes.” He also dreams about a city which he have never been exposed to since he was young. In both of these circumstances he is told to keep it a secret forever, which definitely gives a sense of exclusion and loneliness against the society which compels him to do so. He is forced “to remain silent in simple errors, to listen patiently to silly arguments based on misconceptions, to do a job in the customary way when one knew there was a better way” (Wyndham 82). This plants the seed of rebellion, and Sophie germinates it. Sophie has an extra toe, and she gives David a sense of how cruel the society can be, that if she is to be discovered, her life would be at stake simply for something that wasn’t her fault. His father, Joseph, gives the seed the soil to grow upon. He is a rigid man who takes the Repentance and the Bible literally, and puts Purity above all. Joseph is the religious leader of the town, and therefore he is associated with the society’s value in David’s mind. When he beats David for Sophie’s whereabouts, David develops a hatred for him, and associates his beating with the society’s cruelness. Uncle Axel provides sunlight for the seed. He describes to David how the world truly is outside, and breaks David’s belief that what the priest says is wholly true. Aunt Harriett waters the seed, as she comes to David’s mother to exchange baby with her mutated child and is swept out of the door. David sees the passion she has for her child, and heard her grievous words, which makes him further believes that Deviations are not evil. The seed sprouts, and David begins his revolution against the society.
I think the book Chysalids is a very interesting and deep meaning book. It also has a lot of conflict which are complicated and presents the darkness and unfairness in the society. In this book, i think the main types of conflicts are person v.s society, person v.s person, and person v.s himself. David, more than any other characters, represents the conflicts. He knows that he is supposed to suffer the very strict rules of his society and live in the judging of God . However, he is a brave and curious boy and his characteristics make it difficult to do any of them. He friend Sophie, who hides the fact that she has six toes. Anything considered abnormal to David’s society deserves a punishment. So David fights against it. The socond confllict in this book is man versus man. When the Fringe people battle with Waknuk.The Waknuk people also think that the Fringe people are hiding David, Rosalind, and Petra who are on the communitiy’s “Most Wanted List.” The Fringe people are trying to protect themselves and fight against those who have puniushed them. In a variety of locations the two parties fighting resulting many Fringe people die. While the Waknuk people and Fringe people are fighting, the Sealand people come to rescue the shape-thinkers. The Sealanders threads to kill everyone. The third type of conflict is internal. At the very beginning of the book, Sophie has to fight with herself whether to tell David her six toed foot or not. She gets hurt and trapped in the rocks, but in that case she would have to let David know that her unusual number of toes, something she has so carefully hidden all her life. In letting David knowing her secret, she makes a close and tust-worthy friend and David learns that people who are different and did not follow the god, are not really disgusting and evil, something he has been brought up to believe. So in my opinion, the conflicts in this book are meaningful and show humanity.
The conflict in John Wyndham’s novel “The chrysalids” is between the telepathic children and intolerant society. The society in The chrysalids either kills or banishes people who are “different”. And these telepathic children are “different”, so, they will be expelled or killed if the authority knows they are different. These telepathic children don’t want to be punished. As a result, they should either hide the truth that they are telepathic, or escape from the control of that intolerant authority.
Another minor conflict in Chrysalids is conflict between people. They don’t feel guilty to kill people when they think they are in danger of being discovered. No one can blame that because staying alive is always the priority of man. But the other conflict between people is more interesting, a person can harm a group including him/herself when he/she feels sad, even though the group is made up by his/her friends. That is really interesting because it makes some sense but it’s not logical at all. (hopefully I didn’t spoil)
The other conflict which is hidden in the text is religion vs real life. What would people do if following the creed of a religion is harmful to themselves? Chrysalids gives us a good answer. Religion can never really defeated human instincts when people are forced to believe in it .
The Novel “The Chrysalids” is jam packed with conflict and disagreement, which together pose the reader to sucessfully comprehend the complexity of the theme and hidden messages.The first and foremost conflict that can be observed in the beginning of the book is when Sophie hesistates to tell David about her secret. (Man vs Self). This situation is a direct example of how even small occurrences and events can unravel and unfold a bigger story – a conflict, to be exact, if looked for.
Adding on to my statement regarding the complexity of the various conflicts in the novel, Uncle Axel also faces the Man vs Self conflict in many situations. He is unsure of whether he should or not share his own views with David, keeping in consideration his young age. However, Uncle Axel, being the loving and responsible Uncle that he is, told David about his own views and offered him helpful advice regarding handling his gift of clairvoyance and extra sensory telepathy.
In chapter 12 we tragically find out that our lovely telepaths have been unfortunately recognized for who they are, as David is sharply awakened from the signal of some of his telepactic buddies stating that some of the Chrysalids have been captured. This episode distinctively brings forth one of the most popular literary conflicts (in the eyes of our deteriorating world) – Man vs Society. David and his concomitant telepaths are now in a race against all odds. They are going against the wishes of their home, and their society. The Chrysalids are trying their hardest to escape the evil hands of the trecherous consortium of the Waknuk society. In this situation, it can be inferred that the entire Waknuk society is using opression in order to get a hold of the Chrysalids, making them the antagonizing force against our Protagonist and (well, co protagonists, if you may). This Man vs Society conflict is no ordinary obstacle. It is rather a new beginning. It is the point where the pen starts to write a new chapter in the history of the stagnant and despondent world in which our ever so brave Chrysalids live. It is the time when David and his other Deviations shall rise and once and for all do what they have always desired, and live how they have always wished,
Because of the many types of conflict so beautifully depicted in this novel, we acquire the ability to further ingrain our understanding of group dynamics, and widen our knowledge base about the works of the human (deviated, in some cases) mind. Conflict, my friends…is not always the horrific thing we humans percieve it to be…. it can also bring a fruitful end…. This, in The Chrysalids, I wait to see.