Hypocrisy, Bigotry and Ignorance free essay sample

The Chrysalids by John Wyndham, there are many examples of how hypocrisy, bigotry and ignorance are evident in David’s society. People in Waknuk, including the main character, David, are ignorant to the world around them. Through the first few chapters of the novel, David is a prime example of ignorance, being so young and having a lack of knowledge on what Deviations are actually like. Bigotry is also evident in the Waknuk society, and Joseph Strorm is a prime example of that. Finally, in chapter four, we see an example of hypocrisy through David’s uncle. At the beginning of the novel, the best example of ignorance is the main character, David Strorm. David is just a kid at this point in the book. All his life he has heard how terrible deviations are, and has had it drilled into his head countless times on how any creature who is not formed exactly how it is written in their version of the bible is not human and is hateful in the sight of god. We will write a custom essay sample on Hypocrisy, Bigotry and Ignorance or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page David even grew up with his parents telling scary tales of people in the Fringes (the place where Blasphemies are sent), threatening to send people like Hairy Jack if they didn’t behave. On page 21 it says â€Å"Be good now, or I’ll fetch Old Maggie from the Fringes to you. She’s got four eyes to watch you with, and four ears to hear you with, and four arms to smack you with. So you be careful. † Because of these stories, kids such as David in Waknuk believe that all deviations are atrocious creatures, even though many deviations are actually barely noticeable. When he meets Sophie and sees her sixth toe, he is puzzled. On page 14, David says â€Å"A blasphemy was, as had been impressed upon me often enough, a frightful thing. Yet there was nothing wrong about Sophie. She was just an ordinary little girl † David is ignorant because he goes for years believing these creatures are horrifying, having a lack of knowledge on what people with Deviations are really like until he ultimately meets Sophie. The best example of a bigot in this book would be Joseph Strorm, a man who is extremely faithful and strict about his bible teachings, and believes that anything different from the norm is wrong. This is shown on page 26 where David only wished for a third hand and Joseph replied You my own son were calling upon the Devil to give you another hand! Joseph behaves as if every person should think and be the same; and if you dont, people believe you are sent from the devil. He also tells David on the same page â€Å"You do know and yet, knowing this, you deliberately wished yourself a Mutant. That is a terrible thing, an outrageous thing. † Joseph wont handle or deal with anyone who seems to be, or wants to be, abnormal. With Joseph, his way is right and he is completely intolerant of any other opinion or way of thinking. An example of hypocrisy in The Chrysalids would be the incident with the great horses in chapter four. In this chapter, Angus Morton, David’s uncle, acquires a pair of great horses standing twenty-six hands high. From the moment he saw them, David’s father, Joseph Strorm, was positive they were deviations and demanded that the horses be destroyed as Offences, even though they were sanctioned by the government. Angus Morton showed a clear example of Hypocrisy in this chapter because although he is supposedly against all deviations, he bought the horses anyways because they could get double, maybe even triple, the amount of work done that an average horse could do. Theres a good profit there, a good incentive to get them passed but that doesnt mean that theyre right. † The government are also hypocrites in this chapter because even though they do not allow any other type of deviations, they allowed the horses because they were so profitable. This shows that in their society, deviations that make the government a profit, or help the people of Waknuk are allowed to slip by, where as people like Sophie are exiled immediately.