the chrysalids - in depth

The Chrysalids, by John Wyndham, is a book that focuses on the despair of our society in
the past, present, and future. The primal natures of man resurfaces throughout the story. The
story begins even before the first page. The story takes place in a futuristic Newfoundland, after a
severe nuclear war. The people now refer the war as "Tribulation". This war introduces the first
theme: the extent man will go to for his own benefit, even if it means almost destroying the earth.
Much of this has to do with differences. We often only want to accept "normal"

people into our own society. What is a "normal" person? The Chrysalids is a story that has much
to do with this common nature of humans.

"And god created man in his own image. And God decreed that man should have one body, one head, two arms and two legs; that each arm be jointed in two places and end in one hand; that each hand should have four fingers and one thumb; that each finger shoul...