The Chrysalids by John Wyndham Total Study Test and key version 1.1 by George Lamont
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Chapter I
1. What is the narrator’s dream? Describe it, how it was different than the author’s world, and why it helps establish the setting of the book. He dreams of a modern city, complete with tall buildings, care, and aircraft. The author appears to live in a pre-industrial, agriculture based society that lacks the technology of the modern times. It sets the setting of the story in the future, yet in a state de-evolved from the present day.
2. Who does the author meet, and what does he discover about this person? He meets Sophie, a girl his own age, and finds that she has six toes on each foot.
3. What promise does David make to his friend’s mother? Why is this promise important? What are the consequences for breaking the promise? He promises that he will keep secret that she has 6 toes on each foot. This promise is imperative because society is very strict about normality, and terrible things will happen to Sophie if anyone finds out.
4. What special ability do we learn that David has, and what are the circumstances under which the reader learns this? Why does this fact allow David to especially appreciate his promise? David has telepathic ability, the ability to communicate with others by thought, not through normal communications. He can communicate through “thought shapes”, and tries to do so with Sophie’s mother but fails. Her mother has only a trace of this ability, and isn’t aware of it. This abnormal ability David has places him in the same danger of Sophie of being rooted out and expelled or killed for being a “deviant”.
5. What is this society afraid of? What do they believe is behind their fear? What is the religious basis of their fears, and the rules they have made to deal with them? Society fears any deviation, fearing that the Devil creates human-like bodies in which to invade humanity and corrupt them, such as the Adam and Eve story, where Satan entered Eden in the form of a snake. The rationale is that Satan doesn’t have the perfect power of God, so he can’t make a human without some imperfection, or deviation. The people have taken literally the Genesis story, that describes how a person should look.
6. What doubts does David have about what he has learned about his friend, and how the laws of his society apply to this situation? David understands the laws about deviance, but only from constant training. He cannot believe that Sophie is the Devil’s creature, or that she is somehow “hateful in the sight of God”.
Chapter II
1. What is the name of David’s community? Who built it? What position does his family hold because of this? Waknuk was built by Elias Strorm, who claims he left the east for its “ungodly ways”. He started the community; therefore, David’s father is the unofficial head of the community.
2. What are the two books that are left to form the society? What kind of society have they created? How does the characterization of David’s grandfather demonstrate the author’s point about this kind of living? Only The Bible and a book called Nicholson’s Repentences survived, causing the surviving society to be very fundamentally Christian, and very strict about Christian laws. Elias Strorm’s very strict ways turned his beautiful wife into a withered, grey woman who was almost glad to die 1 year after David’s father was born. (It is important to note that a similar situation occurs in Dickens’ Dombey and Son, where Mrs. Dombey almost gladly dies after the birth of Paul Jr., having a most strict and single-minded husband.) The author is explaining that such a society stifles life.
3. Who were the Old People, and what were they like? What can you extrapolate (guess) about what happened to the Old People, and how is this relevant to our society now? The Old People were our modern day society, and they had our technology, myths of which amaze David’s society, who believe that the Old People were almost god-like but somehow were lost. (This is much like the Romantic Era notion of the “Golden Age”, where people were blissful and nearly perfect, soon after the Fall of Man. These golden people just disappeared in Romantic myth.) Clues in the story suggest that the Old People destroyed themselves in a nuclear holocaust, which was a serious threat to humankind in the sixties, when this book was written.
4. What is the big sign that hangs facing the main door to David’s house? Explain why this is an example of foreboding. “Watch thou for the mutant”, which warns all people, above all else, of the “danger” of mutants. This is foreboding because the reader already knows that both David and Sophie are technically mutants. We know they will be caught somehow.
5. Explain why it is significant that this fear in society comes more from Nicholson’s Repentences than from the Bible. Remember that Nicholson’s Repentences is not a real book, but one written after the Old People disappeared. It is important in Christianity to separate real Biblical text from the ideas and other books of later Christians. Many people interpret the Bible in different ways. The Bible itself does not strongly warn against mutants. Rather, Repentences is the hysterical work of a person who interprets the Biblical description of humans to be somehow very important in detecting and averting evil. The author is telling us that of the many terrible things that people do, claiming it is “God’s Will”, very little of it actually comes from the Bible.
6. What are some examples of Deviations? Anything from crops with strange forms, to misshapen animals, unusual plants, or even slightly deformed humans.
7. What are the differences between the livable areas, the Fringes, and the Badlands? Considering what the reader understands about the demise of the Old people, and the effects of radiation, explain the existence of these three states. The livable area is low on radiation, and has little deviation caused by it. Still, some variations occur, but are considered not normal. The fringes are areas where deviation is quite common, likely due to higher levels of radiation. The badlands, likely sites of nuclear attacks, have deadly radiation levels. However, the people believe it has to do with the influence of Satan.
8. How are the fringes people a threat? Why are the stories about fringes people eating children a comment on religious mythology? Fringes people have made small raids on the civilized areas for food due to less space and more fringes people. Parents tell their small children about repulsive fringes people who eat children, to keep them in line. This is much like scaring kids with stories of witches and devils. This is an example of how religious mythology deceives its followers about the true nature of evil, which is not found in devils and ghosts, but in people, even religious people.
Chapter III
1. When Sophie says that she doesn’t believe people will be able to fly, even though stories say that the Old People could, how does this show that Sophie is not the mutant people would think she is? Sophie shares the arrogant belief of humans that they have almost reached the limit of possible knowledge, even though humans always surprise themselves with amazing new discoveries. Her limited view about the future helps characterize Sophie as not a mutant, not so different from the rest of people, despite her physical anomaly.
2. What casual remark does David make in his home that alarms his family? What is their reaction, and why is it so extreme? As he tries to dress his wound from a wood splinter, his casually remarks that if he had another hand, he would be able to do it himself. Of course, with the family very committed to their idea of religion and normalcy, they are offended. They believe that David has insulted God, and that he has wished to be a mutant. They are so super-sensitive about mutations and religion that they are totally unreasonable. The author is suggesting that religion can be too extreme when the intended meaning is lost.
3. What is the terrible, but prophetic, dream that David has the night after his remark? Explain the symbolism and meaning of the dream. Also, explain how this dream is foreboding. He dreams that his father is going to slaughter Sophie like some mutant animal. Sophie begs for mercy and help, but receives none from the devout people who sing a hymn to God. The irony is that in the Christian faith, God is merciful and loves all creatures, yet these people are the opposite. David’s father then kills Sophie by cutting her throat. The symbolism is that Sophie is the innocent lamb, like Jesus, who is sacrificed by a troop of people who have missed the point about the Bible. David’s father, who believes he is doing perfect good, is actually evil, under the guise of strict religion. The dream is foreboding because it warns the reader that Sophie is in real danger.
Chapter IV
1. Who is Rosalind? What does Uncle Axel find out about David and Rosalind? What is his reaction? What must David promise to Uncle Axel? Rosalind is David’s cousin who lives as a neighbor. Uncle Axel discovers David “talking” out loud, but really communicating telepathically to Rosalind. Uncle Axel, unlike David’s father, is very open-minded about mutancy, and is very concerned but has no intention of ever reporting the two. He warns David that no one must ever know this about them, and makes David promise never to “talk” out loud again.
2. During the invasion of the normal area by the fringes people, what is special about the prisoner who is brought to David’s house? What is David’s father’s reaction to the prisoner? What can you speculate about the prisoner’s identity? He appears normal while sitting on a horse, but has “monstrously” long arms and legs. He closely resembles David’s father, and turns out to be David’s father’s brother, a deviant, who was sent to the fringes at birth. David’s father appears almost ill at the sight of his own brother, a fringes person and leader of the fringes people.
3. What argument takes place between Angus Morton and Joseph Strorm? What is the inspector’s position on the matter? How does the matter of the Dakers’ cat relate to Strorm’s character? What angry remark does the inspector say to Strorm that supports the author’s opinion of Strorm? Angus Morton gets a legitimate pair of great-horses, who are very large, but sanctioned by the government. Of course, Strorm’s misguided devotion to his version of Christian faith motivates him to demand that the horses be destroyed as Offences (deviants), even though the government has sanctioned them. He accuses the inspector and the government of being corrupt. The inspector reminds Strorm about an incident where Strorm, acting as magistrate, destroyed a neighbor’s tailless cat before the people could complete the appeal. The cat turned out to be legitimate, but not before Strorm killed it. It shows how misguided and ruthless Strorm and other fundamentalists can be about their faith. Finally, the inspector, who is reasonably understanding and liberal-minded, accuses Strorm of being a bigot and a fool, which, really, he is. Strorm proceeds to accuse the government and inspector of being the forces of evil.
4. What does the reader learn about the location of the story? It takes place on the island of Labrador, near Newfoundland, in Canada.
5. What is “Tribulation”? What Christian story does it resemble? The people in this society believe that the cause for the loss of the old people, the badlands, and the mutancy, are caused by some act of punishment by God. It resembles the story of the flood and Noah’s Ark in the Bible.
6. Explain how the Ethics teacher describes the cause of tribulation, other cases of God’s punishment, and how people need to act in order to re-attain the Golden Age. A) The cause of Tribulation is guessed to be “a phase of irreligious arrogance” in the past; perhaps the Old People didn’t worship God like they were supposed to. B) Other Christian examples of God’s punishment are the expulsion from Eden, the great Flood, pestilences, the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and the Captivity (of the Israelites by the Egyptians). C) The Ethics man explains that the religious and government leaders must carefully think about each new thing they find about the Old People, to decide if it is a sin or a step back to Grace (God/paradise).
Chapter V
1. How does Joseph Strorm explain the fact that the only field with deviations in it belongs to Angus Morton? How do you explain it? What does this tell the reader about religions linking events to causes? Joseph Strorm tells people that Morton is being punished for keeping the great-horses. However, it is likely a coincidence. It is an example of how religions explain certain causes for events, good or bad, that may in fact be random.
2. Who finds Sophie and David playing in the stream? What does he notice, and how? Why is this so serious? Alan Ervin finds them playing. Sophie starts to hide, but Alan notices a Sophie’s wet footprint of 6 toes on the rock, and knows she is a mutant. David doesn’t trust Alan, and Alan’s menacing manner suggest that he will happily report Sophie. David attacks him so Sophie can escape, but starts to lose the fight, until Sophie knocks him unconscious with a rock.
3. What does the Wender family decide to do, and why? What does David wants to do? What does David do as his last act to help Sophie? They decide to flee at once so that Sophie will not be caught. David wants to go with them, and they want him to come because David’s father is so terrible, but they cannot take him. David agrees to sleep at their house that night to buy Sophie’s family more time, even though he will be in trouble the next day.