Somewhere along those lines
Chrysalid: of or relating to Chrysalis
Chrysalis: pupa of a moth or butterfly enclosed in a cocoon.
How apropos. That a beings ability to become what it is destined to become is dependent upon its residence within a rigid, unyeilding environment and its isolation from the outside world is, of course, a notion best investigated in the comfort and safety of our cushy chairs and cuddly blankets.
We tend to rationalize things, we humans. We like to make it ‘fit’ even when, for all intents and purposes, it shouldn’t. Why must a young boy not even a man go through the horrors of being faced with the abject hatred turned towards him through no fault of his own, the knowledge that his own father has joined the hunting party to capture, study, torture, and probably in the end kill him, the reality of said torture being inflicted upon girls he is linked with, and the responsibility of life and death decisions? In our ‘neat packaging’ we attribute it to that old adage ‘what doesn’t kill you will make you stronger’. No person should need to be THAT strong. To contemplate killing your love/cousin and your sister simply to spare them the humiliation, pain, and torment sure to be visited upon them…that is something noone should have to deal with. The sad fact? Wyndham has managed, not only to create a brilliant work of speculative fiction, but of an all too accurate work of social and historical import.
The Salem Witch trials. Nazi Germany. Slave America. So many lives lost to the blind hatred of DIFFERENCE…senseless…and oh so factual.
I must apologize, though, for my so far bleak portrait of the work. It would be so very wrong to paint the book black and dismiss it as depressing drivel. That is not my aim whatsoever and I have no other expression in my vocabulary other than an emphatic ‘God NO!’ to deny this. Hope is cleverly woven in the words of David and his uncle Axel. That a child can see the senselessness of the discriminations of his society and a man raised in firmly held beliefs can discount and produce doubt in the ‘True Image’ is a blazing spark of hope. Also, that Wydham himself can be so insightful and address this delicate and timeless issue is an elevating hope for the future of mankind.
To add a sidenote, I also have an issue with the Sealanders. their obvious arrogance and disdain for those who don’t have the ability to mind-speak is no better than the discrimination faced in the beginning towards the ‘mutants’. [extreme sidenote: I wish I was a telepath..or could fly...or had a tail......]
hmm…I think I’ve run out of words……..
I found this to be a very insightful take on the novel. I would have to agree that it does speak a lot to human nature and the need to categorize people as ‘same’ or ‘different’. It is only too true that throughout history there has been awful atrocities and persecution all in the name of “different”. But really one need look no farther then a high school today to see people breaking off into ‘bands’ and casting off those they deem unworthy of them. The Waknuks and the Sealandera are both guilty of viewing anyone different as being unworthy and beneath them.
I always got the impression that the Salem (and indeed most) witch trials were about dealing with the fact that you treated your neighbour like crap. Indeed, an argument about the witch trials which could be extended to difference is that accusations of witchcraft were used to justify the maltreatment of the “witches”.
In short, it’s not that people hate difference, but that hating difference is the only alternative to confronting the evil of your actions.
***
And to be fair to the people of Waknuk – they are hunting a strange and deadly mutation which can apparently read minds and is utterly undetectable. They don’t KNOW that the young folks can’t read minds – and it doesn’t take a genius to quickly realize some of the implications of being able to send and receive thoughts and impulses.
Yes, they could go with the option of being completely open and accepting – but how can they trust these people? After all, they can read minds – no doubt they know the fears and worries of their inquisitors, and are just telling them what they want to hear. What if they’re in league with other telepaths in the fringes? What if they’re evil? What if they use their mind control powers to dominate those around them and assume control of the settlement? Having telepaths around means you have no secrets. You have no privacy. And that means you have no control.
Seriously, hunting down and exterminating telepaths is the MOST understandable of their murderous rampages. And if the Zealanders are examples of what telepaths turn out to be…well, I’ll take the bigoted folks trying to survive over the bigoted folks with a desire to create a “master race”.
Its not so much that they’re telepaths..the people of Waknuk have been hunting, killing, terrorizing, discriminating against “mutants” long before David and the others come along. Its already established that anything different is evil. As for the trust of them, the fact that they can read minds doesnt change who they are, who theyve always been. Ask them about it. Treat them the same as you always have. As for taking the bigoted folks over the master race, Id take neither. Zealand can’t be the only land still livable. I’d rather make a home somewhere where I feel safe.Or even the Zealanders. I dont condone their actions in killing but they merely accelerated what was going to happen anyway. And they showed a modicum of remorse (The line where she refers to any life lost as a waste) unlike the Waknuks. (some exceptions to every rule of course)
The problem with telepaths is that you simply can’t trust them to give you an honest answer, because they are telepaths. They don’t HAVE to. They can tell EXACTLY what you will believe. Hell, a powerful one can pretty much tell people what to do. Yes, the Chrysalids can’t do that – but how can you trust them. Maybe they’re just reading your mind and telling you something you will believe.
See, the problem is you wouldn’t be allowed to make a home with the Zealanders. They would kill you, or simply refuse you entry. Admittedly, there is a chance that you are a telepath, and are simply the only one within range of yourself, but I think it more likely you’re normal. In which case…
And the Waknuks are (slowly) changing. Remember – the word from the capital becomes more lenient every year. Something tells me that human mutants would stop being a problem at some point in the future.
In other words, the Waknuks are moving towards becoming a more tolerant society (well, being dragged kicking and screaming. The point remains).
The Zealanders, on the other hand, are trying to move toward becoming a different species, which somehow requires they kill normal folks should they get in their way in any fashion.
Not to mention the New Zealanders abandon Matthew and Rachel. Say what you will about the Waknuks – they wouldn’t leave someone they saw as human among a bunch of folks they saw as ravening lunatics and evildoers.
Ok. The kids in the books share thoughts among themselves because they all have the same ability. They do not hear the thoughts of people who do not share their ability. And we have no evidence to support that the Zealander’s would kill normal ppl. It was explained in the book that they are sad for those who cannot experience what they themselves can.
Also, at the end, the killing is indeed inevitable. What do you propose would happen if they didn’t spiderweb everyone and tried to land? Upon exiting they would have been attacked and there you have it, an entire trip, wasted. DOA!
Ohfertheluvvagawd. I KNOW the kids don’t hear the thoughts of those without the ability. But there is NO way for the people of Waknuk to know that. They can be TOLD that, but how do you convince them? I was demonstrating the thinking that would run through the head of somebody being told by someone they knew could read some thoughts that “No, really, I can’t read everyone’s thoughts!”
You MIGHT convince them by letting them kill you and not dodging the blow, but that’s a bit hard to organize.
You’re telling me they can fly across two oceans in a few hours and they have yet to invent tear gas? Or a net-taser? Or a non-killing version of their contracting web?
I mean, the first two were (to the best of my knowledge) doable in 1955.
If you have to know everything in order to trust someone, how do you trust at all? The issue is that the Waknuks could have trusted them the same way they trust everybody else. Thats what trust is. You don’t need to know for sure, just trust. And besides, if they were dangerous they could have done something long before the Waknuks finally figured it out. As for the tear masks, I only said the Zealanders were the lesser of two evils. Not perfect. And by no means irreprehensible. So their killing? May not have liked it but you don’t need to like everything in order to make a decision. In fact, that’s life.