The Chryslids - Plausible
“The Chrysalids” by John Wyndham is an entertaining yet plausible story. It compels the reader to think about human nature and our attitude to the world around us that we often take for granted.
The setting of “The Chrysalids” is several hundred years after a nuclear war. What is left of civilization is a few small towns here and there all over the countries of the world. The population is by the leadership what the “true image” is apparently meant to be. If you are not of the true image then you are sent to live in the fringes.
Many people and animals are born with birth defects caused by the nuclear radioactivity that is still present from the nuclear destruction of previous years. The population that is considered of the “true image” are cruel to the “freaks” or “mutants”.
Some of the people in the novel are also very bigoted like David’s father. He thinks he is the king of the castle and can’t be wrong. If he says something it should happen like where he has an argument with the inspector about the giant horses or when he burnt that families cat because it didn’t have a tail eg “It is your moral duty to issue an order against these so called horses!!” Various people including David’s father all agree that deviants are from the devil and should be castrated or thrown out of society.
Another thing is that people are forced to agree with the laws and if they don’t they are also thrown from society where they would either be killed or spend the rest of their miserable lives in the sloughs of the fringe people.
Their attitude towards the world is OK I suppose. They don’t really use that much of the worlds resources in Waknuk or any of the other little towns around. They don’t need to think about how much longer the supplies of these materials are going to last because all that they are using at the moment is trees, which they seem to have plenty of, and water which they get from wells and rivers. There food they grow or hunt and cook and bake things over open fires I would assume.
There is also the stench of “judgementalness” and loneliness reeking from the pages. Take Miss Polly Baker, she has five children of whose fathers have forsaken her and the children. She doesn’t ask the community for a dime of support, hasn’t slept with anyone’s husband or underage boy. Yet, she is ridiculed by the community of being a “whore” and even her children are looked at as unworthy although they’re the most innocent of them all. Miss Polly and her children have no other choice but to keep to themselves. Miss Polly Baker has even been barred from participating in communion at the church! Rev. Hooper is well respected among the community and as aforementioned, “highly esteemed.” (Hawthorne, Eldritch Press) There was no proof he committed a sin other than that he was human. As soon as he wore the black veil, he was gossiped about. His fiancé left him yet ironically ended up being his nurse on his deathbed. He used to be invited to dinners and weddings, no gets no invitations for
shows the effect of the society on them, the loss of hope they had in
George Orwell (1903-1950 ), whose real name was Eric Arthur Blair, was born in 1903 in Motihari, Bengal, India. His father, Richard Walmesley Blair was a civil servant for the British colonial government. In 1904 he moved with his mother and sister to England and was educated at Eton. He began to write at an early age, and was even published in college periodicals, but he did not enjoy school.
“The pen is mightier than the sword”, a popular saying, and one that is unequivocally true. Although physical force and power can manipulate someone into acting a certain way, it is not as effective as intelligence. Intelligent people can use the force of their words to extents that physical strength does not extend. Furthermore, intelligent people can use things like propaganda, lies, and deceit to get whatever they want. This is clearly proven by the actions of the pigs in the Animal Farm. Because of their high levels of intelligence compared to the other animals of the farm, the pigs are able to manipulate everyone else to achieve their own personal means through the use of propaganda, lies, and deceit. Propaganda can be seen clearly in the role of the pig Squealer, although it is prevalent throughout the story. In this case, propaganda is used by the pigs to tell the other animals exactly what they want to hear, and to cover up any sort of mistakes on the parts of the pigs. Lies are used to further the personal agendas of the pigs, as well as damage the name of Snowball in the eyes of the animals. Propaganda is used as a defensive measure on the part of the pigs, whereas lies are used as an offensive maneuver by the pigs to strengthen their positions. Deceit is used by the pigs to placate the animals, a maneuver that can be seen as neither offensive nor defensive. Deceit is most prevalent in the maxim of “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others”
A wise boar, Old Major, expresses a dream of a world where animals live with no human oppression to the rest of the animals in Manor Farm. However, only three days after his speech, he dies, leaving three younger pigs to take over his place and lead the other animals toward Major’s dream. They create the Seven Commandments of Animalism, which set values against acting human-like, and paint them on the wall of the barn. One night, the animals succeed in rebelling against Mr. Jones, the owner of the farm. Initially, farming goes well after the rebellion. However, one of the power-hungry pigs, Napoleon, begins to run a totalitarian dictatorship with an eloquent pig, Squealer, by his side. He also trains puppies, whom he takes from their parents, into vicious guard dogs and uses them to enforce his plans. One by one, the Seven Commandments are broken and altered by Napoleon, who gradually acts more and more human-like. Finally, only one rule remains on the barn wall, “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others” (Orwell 133). Napoleon and the other pigs eventually walk upright, wear clothing, indulge in alcohol, and even sleep on beds (all of which were originally forbidden in the Seven Commandments), while the other animals work all day with little food. By the end of the book, the other farm animals can no longer tell the difference between the pigs and humans when other human farmers are invited over for dinner. “The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which” (Orwell 139).
Napoleon’s greatest challenger is Snowball. Napoleon has been evil from the start but now, with Mr. Jones gone there is no-one strong enough to oppose him. He can finally do as he pleases. He only needs to convince the animals. He has always wanted his own way and it seems he will go as far as it takes, even condemn Snowball’s work on the windmill. He knows very well that with the construction of the windmill under Snowball’s guidance, Snowball will be viewed as ‘better’ and would give him power. Power, that he believes, is rightfully his. He knows the windmill will benefit his welfare yet he is still willing to oppose this idea in order to keep Snowball from taking any power. Snowball was a real threat to Napoleon. Unfortunatel...
Contamination from the depleted uranium weaponries and other pollution caused by war is alleged for the rise in congenital birth defects, cancer, and other illnesses (Jamail, 2013).
Mutations caused by the radioactive fallout of the Chernobyl disaster have included growth of extra appendages, deformation of body parts and several other health effects. The Chernobyl disaster was caused by a neglected reactor that caught fire and exploded due to low safety regulations in place in the nuclear industry. The reactor that caught fire and exploded was Reactor 4. The Chernobyl power plant was on the outskirts of the town of Pripyat.The fallout due to the explosion has damaged the environment, and the normal levels of radiation are not expected to return to normal for millions of years. The effects of the neglect and explosion of Reactor 4 is now responsible for the safety protocols of today’s nuclear industry.
Humans are more like the X-Men then they have ever dreamed possible. Studies show that each and every single human in our species have more than two hundred mutations weaved in and out of our DNA. A genetic mutation is a perpetual change in the DNA sequence that makes up a gene. These mutations can occur in two different ways; they can be acquired during one’s lifetime or they can be inherited from one’s biological parents. Some mutations are absolutely harmless; these are the mutations that take up most of the typical human’s body. Nevertheless, there are also some genetic mutations that are harmful to the body. For example, one in every six hundred and ninety-one American babies are affected by Down Syndrome, a form of a genetic mutation. It is estimated that just under six million people worldwide live with the condition today. Down Syndrome is defined as a congenital disorder arising from a chromosome defect, causing intellectual impairment as well as physical abnormalities. In simpler words, Down Syndrome causes humans to have differences in their physical appearances as well as a disability with their mental/learning abilities. This noxious genetic mutation has had different causes and effects for separate people.
farm as well as the pigs. They did not mind lying to the animals and
Old Major was going to tell the animals what they must do and Old Major dies. Once Old Major dies the animals start fighting back against Mr. Jones. The animals even ended up getting rid of Mr. Jones.
There is a substantial amount of conflicts that occur in this satirical story. Often these conflicts are between the pigs and the rest of the animals. Only a minute portion of the animals didn’t really have some sort of conflict with Snowball, Napoleon, Squealer, or the rest of the dominating pigs. Overall, Snowball was a better leader than Napoleon, yet the animals reacted differently to Napoleon than to Snowball.
After the Animal Revolution the pigs take the initiative and place themselves in charge because of their claim of having higher intelligence. Over time this power begins to distort the basis of their revolt by recreating the same social situation they were previously in. “When the pigs takeover they claim that their goal is to preside a farm of equal animals, all working together to support one another, yet power quickly proves too much for a pig.” Though the animals originally took over the farm to increase the animal’s independence as a whole, because of the pig’s superiority they soon take the place of the humans further limiting their independence.
The biggest inequality on Animal Farm was that none of the animals had any say against the word of Napoleon. It was an absolute dictatorship. After Snowball was expelled from the farm, Napoleon annoucned that there would be no more Sunday meetings, in which decisions had always been debated. Instead, they would all just assemble to receive orders for the week. When some of the younger pigs began to protest,
This book largely details the experiences of the scientist, Nikolaus Riehl, who spent 10 years as a captive of the Soviet Union. He worked on the production of pure uranium for the Soviet nuclear bomb program. This relates to the topic of Human Beings and Their Control Over Nature with respect to the production of nuclear weapons.