The Chrysalids Essay, Research Paper

Some people dream about having an ability to communicate through mental

telepathy. Some even claimed to have this ability but it played an

important role in the novel The Chrysalids. The author created an

interesting environment. There was no communication and the only people

who could communicate between each other were the ones that had the power

of telepathy. Because in some areas the land was so dangerous because of

the radiation that people were cut of from another and left on a small

piece of land. They could not communicate. Though-shapes not only

developed the plot of the story but greatly affected the lives of some

characters and might affect Waknuk.

We all know that people in Waknuk were very superstitious but did it

actually help the plot to develop? On page 91 through 103 finally and

idea gets out about some people being able to communicate through

thought-shapes. When Katherine and Sally got caught and tortured they

finally tell some of the names to the inspector. This forces David,

Rosalind and Petra to runaway to the fringes, and they established some

kind of contact with a woman from Sealant (Zealand, On page 134). The help

that the sealant woman promised is on their way to the fringes. The plot

is greatly influenced, David learns more things as the time goes on. He

discovers who is the Spiderman(Gordon) and where is Sophie. He meets them

and learn what it is like to live in the fringes. When the sealant woman

rescues David, Rosalind and Petra they are brought to a big, developed city

like the one in David’s dreams. Because of the telepathy David discovers

that such a city really exists but most of all through Petra they establish

contact with a more civilized people than they are. Because of the

conflicts in the story it leads the main characters to discover the sealant

city.

Telepathy not only affects the plot of the story but also the main

characters in the novel. The most obvious thing is that David, Rosalind

and Petra are saved. They have a chance to learn, experience new things

they never saw or heard before. Mike and Rachel stays behind but hopes to

come to the big city were things are different. Some characters died in

the final chapter when the helicopter makes a landing killing everything

that moves around it. The characters that died where: the spiderman

(Gordon), David’s father, Sophie and all the people from the fringes and

Waknuk that where near the helicopter.

Waknuk might be affected by the discovery of the sealant city because

the reader finds out (in the final chapter) that the sealant city is very

developed and people are better educated. They are also civilized and

understand that Waknuk is a village cut off from the surroundings because

of the radiation. If Waknuk will be helped as predicted it may become a

big, civilized city like Zealand. The natives in Waknuk will stop thinking

that Tribulation was sent by God and that all deviations are devil’s

creation. They might understand that the radiation might be the remaining

of a nuclear bomb or nuclear war. The sealant people might help Waknuk in

education and they themselves may build the machines like today’s, and grow

more productive crops. The entire thinking and appearance of Waknuk might

change. On the other hand when the radiation will go away after a while

the sealant people might go deeper and deeper into the surrounding land.

Waknuk might be taken over by other cities because it could not and/or

would not know how to compete with the cities. This also might depend on

how are the Zealand people like. If they are so understanding and educated

they will probably help Waknuk to develop, but if the people won’t help

then the `negative point’ could be true.

Many things can affect the plot of a story, the characters or the

surroundings in a story. In this novel these three points were influenced

by mental telepathy. This type of story could be an example how people

were in the past (in the really world). It is an idea what could really

happen if a nuclear war would become a reality.