The Chrysalids Essays - Social Science Fiction, The Chrysalids

The Chrysalids Question 7. : Examine the role played by, at least, two minor characters in the presentation of the novels themes. In the novel The Chrysalids by John Wyndham, several minor characters are presented to help convey the themes of the text. Alan Irvin, Sophie Wender, and Axel Morton are several of the minor characters, who are presented in the novel, that assist in the communication of themes to the reader. These characters help develop themes such as intolerance, and the nature of a closed society. John Wyndham also employs various literary techniques including personalisation, and development of character depth, which are imposed upon the characters to better convey the themes of the novel. Axel Morton is a well-travelled person who has seen much more than most of the people who lived in Waknuk. He is one of the few in Waknuk society who had ventured down the coast, and in doing so he saw things, which made him question the religious indoctrination, which occurred in Waknuk. Axel questions the so-called True Image which is preached by the orthodox members of Waknuk society as his travels showed him just how many apparently deviational people thought that they were in the True Image in reference to the Old People. Whether they have seven fingers, or four arms, or hair all over, or six breasts, or whatever it is thats wrong with them- think that their type is the true pattern of the Old People, and anything different is a deviation. This quote from Axel Morton shows that no one could really be sure of what the True Image was, because as stated in the novel, no texts from when the Old People were around stipulated what was or wasnt deviational. Axel Morton had a much diffe rent value system to the other people of Waknuk, and did not believe that deviations were as bad as they were made out to be. Axel Morton reiterates the theme of the nature of a closed society, as he is one of the few members of the Waknuk community, who has alternative knowledge to that which is preached by members of the town in which he lives. The theme of the nature of a closed society refers to the fact that people who live in such communities arent able to question what they are taught as they are they are deprived of the knowledge which travelling and other people can teach them. When reading the novel it is clear that Axel identifies with the texts criticisms of intolerance. Axel disagrees with the intolerance toward things different from the normal, as he himself is not physically the same as others in Waknuk. Axel Morton however is not a deviant because his abnormality was obtained after birth in a sailing accident. He was standing in the customary way, with much of his weight upon the thick stick he used because his leg had been wrongly set at sea. This quote reveals Axel Mortons difference from the norm, and although it is not a huge variation, he still had to cope with that difference, and his inability to perform certain tasks that others could do. Although this difference from the norm was not deviational, he was still able to sympathise with true deviants, as he knew what it was like to be different to others around him. His difference form the norm was not the only reason for which he sympathised with deviants, but his knowledge also of other places and people, allowed him to have an open mind about certain viewpoints, which others did not. Axel Morton as a character is used to convey the theme of intolerance in the novel, in the sense that he disagrees with the intolerance of others around him, and criticises the intolerant beliefs upon which the society is based. Sophie Wender is a minor character in the novel who also conveys the theme of intolerance. Sophie Wender is a deviant in the sense that she had six toes instead of the normal five. For this very small deviation she is completely ostracised from the society in which she lives and banished to the fringes. Wyndham effectively uses David Strorm the narrator of the novel, to positively