Hope

Hope is the meaning of life, which is the reason for staying alive, and having something to live for. When Martin Luther once said, “Everything that is done in the world is done by hope,” he meant that if you never have hope, nothing can be accomplished. Hope is what the characters in John Wyndham’s book; The Chrysalids lived for. First, the characters set goals   for themselves to achieve, which drove hope. Next, the characters knew that there was a possibility that the future would hold a better life than the present. Finally, positive character relations gave inspiration, which drove hope. Clearly, hope and inspiration are expressed consistently throughout the book.

Primarily, the characters set goals for themselves to achieve, which drove their hope. The main and most important goal in the Waknuk society was the goal of eliminating deviations. Joseph Strorm’s goal was to eliminate all offences, and blasphemies, so he could live in a place that respected the “true image of god’. Joseph was able to have hope in eliminating all deviations, because he knew that god, The Bible and The Repentances all believed that the world should be comprised of people that obeyed the “true image.” When heading to the Fringes, the single goal of all characters was to escape and have freedom. David Rosalind and Petra had to leave Waknuk, and escape safely to the Fringes. They were determined to make it, because David would not let anything bad happen to the others. David was hoping that they would escape without harm, and one night while Rosalind was sleeping, David had a conversation with Michael. After talking to Michael, he told Petra, “Hush, darling. It isn’t going to happen, because we aren’t going to let them catch us.” (pg 144)) When he told Petra that nothing was going to happen, he was solidifying their goal. The final goal that the characters had was the goal to please, living to please. Anne loved Alan deeply, and she married, so she could please him.. Anne felt...