Religiosity and Presumed Superiority: People Are Influenced by Their Society in 'The Chrysalids' Anonymous 9th Grade

It is inevitable that individuals prominent in a person’s life will influence the opinions and actions of that individual. If a person is raised in a religious household, it is most likely that further generations of that family will practice that specific religion. Unless, there is an individual or group of people that show up in their lives and provide them with a new way of thinking, leading to an alteration in their opinions. However, this is very uncommon when dealing with bigoted people which someone may see many examples of in John Wyndham’s The Chrysalids. In the novel, three very opinionated societies struggle to keep an open mind and are unaccepting of one another. They are quick to call each other abnormal and think themselves better. It is easy to acknowledge, the reason for this is their intolerance to surround themselves with people who have alternative opinions from their own. The people the characters in John Wyndham’s The Chrysalids surround themselves with, influence their views about what an anomaly truly is, which causes a great disagreement on the topic of superiority amongst the people of Waknuk, The Fringes, and Sealand. The Waknukians’ belief in their superiority to others is formed and continuously...