Theme Statement: People can be discriminated against and treated differently based on their physical/mental features leading to hateful language, depression, death and acts of violence. Rationale for choices: To start with, the choices that I made for my images in my video was that I chose half images and half clips to show a balance between the two. I also wanted to make sure that some of the images and clips that were really important left an impacting effect on the audience. With regards to the voice recordings, I wanted to evenly space them out, so they weren’t just quote after quote which is why I made some clips or images longer than others just to have a space in between each quote.
For the audio, I chose music from a specific band, BTS, as they always have a more sad type of tone to their songs, but I didn’t want to include lyrics, so I chose piano versions of the songs as I felt myself that they were more impactful that way. As for my quotes, I did a steady search between the two books for the theme of discrimination, but I wanted to show a gradual and slow process as to how the characters got discriminated which is why it’s in chronological order (my video). I chose the quotes that stood out to me the most and exemplified the theme. As for the ending for the quotes, I chose the ones that best showed what discrimination can lead to. CHARACTERDavid StrormIn the Chrysalids, the main character David Strorm is considered a “ mutant” for being able to use a form of telepathy with people exhibiting the same power.
Once the people of Waknuk found out he was a mutant, they went a against him. Waknuk is a religious community that doesn’t believe in individuality. Everything must be the same and any “ deviations” are seen as hateful towards god. When faced with difficulties, individuals are pushed to their absolute limit and tend to show great achievements! You must go through obstacles and adversity. David had many challenges for him to overcome. The punishment of being a deviant is clearly stated throughout the book, for example being sent to the fringes, there is a feeling of inhumanity and being discriminated against which didn’t allow him to express his true feelings or emotions. Being a deviant/having telepathic abilities has many negative effects such as being isolated from your family and sent to the fringes though this made David a stronger person.
Having a difference made a person inhuman and therefore sent to the fringesThose in the fringe are left to fend for themselvesShowing deviations among individuals in the population results in those being moved to the Fringes, on the edge of Waknuk. David, over time, gains many opponents because of his difference. Living in a controlled community made David feel uncomfortable in his skin as he has already encountered diversity due to his differences from the people of Waknuk. Being confronted by town officials, David struggled to fit in with the people of Waknuk as he faced many obstacles regarding his deviationRecurring differences left David with no choice but to face his fears on a daily basis. “ To be any kind of deviant is to be hurt – always.” (Page 167). Waknuk functions under a set of laws and beliefs that discriminate against anyone or anything that does not look “ normal”, ultimately being sent to the fringes.
Those who look different in any way from the Image of God as set by the Definition of Man, are isolated from society, and sterilized so they cannot produce more Deviation. Being isolated from society had a positive effect on David’s, who was unfamiliar with the brave people of New Zealand, which made him feel inferior as he had to learn to adapt and overcome the feeling of never being accepted. However, in nature with his personality and character, there was a rise in strength that allowed David to overcome his obstacles. He feels inhumane due to his otherworldly ability of telepathy. Inhumanity is characterized by cruelty as well as an unjustified behavior. This inhuman behavior results in catastrophic consequences, explaining why it is feared. For example, “ The ways of the world were very puzzling…” – David, (Page 9).
There was no love and justice when it came to recognizing an individual completely different from the exact norm. Deviating features on an individual lead to victims of hate crime. Assassination of an innocent person, and ignorance among family and friends are common in such a community. Waknuk can be a harsh place. For example, “ Anne had seen this just as well as the rest of us, but now she pretended to ignore it. She began to defy her difference by refusing to respond to us, though whether she shut her mind off altogether, or continued to listen without taking part we could not tell.
” – David, (Page 42). Not only does it show how people in their society behave but is telling us that something needs to change as a whole. This also shows how people fear change, David having a feeling of inhumanity changes a way of thinking and made him more closed minded as he was afraid of the consequences.
David going through these obstacles and events represents the skills David had to overcome this event, which had ultimately resulted in a change of his character In the Chrysalids, the people of Waknuk discriminate against anyone who looks or acts differently than the “ norm” do. For example, there are signs all over David’s house saying things like “ WATCH FOR THOU MUTANT,” (Page 2). On the other hand, Sophie has only one extra toe on each foot and she had to be sent away to the Fringes for being different. Also, Aunt Harriet’s baby has the smallest little mark on her but she was still labeled as a deviation.
In Waknuk society, anyone deviating from the “ true image” of God lead to persistent judgement. For example, a plant deviation is burned, an animal deviation often slaughtered, and human with differences or who are not the “ norm” are sterilized so they cannot reproduce and sent out into the Fringes. If you are not the “ true image” of God, you are considered unusual by society in Waknuk. For example, when Sophie is depicted as a deviant, she appears to elope along with her family to protect herself. David lives in constant fear that others will discover his secret of telepathy. Sophie, a character introduced in the first part of the book had to flee the village because she had an unusual number of toes. Having to hide about Sophie’s toe was a challenge for David as he couldn’t express his emotions or opinions about one another which made him a more closed person.
In a time of trouble, the adversities David faced revealed his true character. David was isolated from his family, had a feeling of inhumanity, and being discriminated but all these adversities helped to improve David’s mental health and outlook on life, which contributes to strong character. Each adversity David overcomes, he gained invaluable knowledge while growing stronger.
LOCATIONThe society of Waknuk resembles what was the 18th century with no industrialization and lots of agriculture. People’s opinions are very much like that time as well, very social construct based and strict. They are controlled by strict morals and religious beliefs can be repressive. The people of Waknuk justify themselves with Tribulation , a period in the past when God’s wrath was visited upon His people or, more specifically, the Old People. The Old People are clearly twentieth century society.
They reference air planes, automotive biles and other twentieth-century inventions. Waknuk is a society of the future with a setting from the past. Sealand has escaped Tribulation and advanced beyond the 20th century Sealand is industrial and progressive, Waknuk is agricultural and regressiveThe middle of Labrador is affected by the nuclear holocaust to the extent that its climate is now temperate and suited to agricultural development. The farming is somewhat communal, with one large farm having a number of dependent workers. Houses are built close together for mutual protection.
Although the immediate area is fairly free of deviations, the further one goes in a . In those areas there is little control of nature by man, and all types of deviant form of life thrive. The Fringes, which follow the Wild Country as one moves further south, contains practically no normal forms of life as we know them, and beyond this belt is a vast area known as the Badlands, where the worst results of radiation are found. In the some areas nothing grows at all; everything is black char or even polished glass. Evidence in the novel indicates that the Badlands are areas of what was once southern Canada and the United States. TROPOLOGYThe Chrysalids Quotes: 1.
“ And any creature that shall seem to be human, but is not formed thus is not human. It is neither man nor woman. It is blasphemy against the true Image of God, and hateful in the sight of God.” (Wyndham, 13)Significance: This quote is related to the theme of imperfection in a person as well as the topic of blasphemies while also talking about discrimination.
This quote says that if you do not look like a human, or if you don’t have the proper characteristics of a human (like the allowed amount of fingers, toes, ears, eyes, etc.) then you are not a real human. This is concerning as it is mentioned in the first chapter, which also foreshadows what is to come later in the novel as we learn more about the characters especially David, and his journey. 3.
“ Watch thou for the mutant.” (Wyndham, 18)Significance: This quote is referring to deviations as well as the imperfect/ perfect person. This is foreshadowing what is to come later in the novel because the reader already knows that both David and Sophie are technically mutants. We know they will be caught somehow. This quote is also stating that you can’t be too sure of the people that are surrounding you, and you have to watch out for deviants because they can “ infect” you with their little imperfections. If you have a deviation, so something is physically or mentally wrong with you then you are considered evil and a blasphemy in the sight of God, and you will be banished, or killed. 5. “ The devil sends deviations among us to weaken us and tempt us away from purity.
” (Wyndham, 55)Significance: This quote is referring to two of the major themes of the book, those themes being the concept of the perfect and imperfect person, as well as a strong reference to the theme of discrimination. This quote follows those themes because it states that if you are deviational, then you are sent by the devil, and you are impure. This would mean that the deviational person is not how God would have liked it, and that means the deviational person would have to get punished for being such an embarrassment to God as well as the Old People.
7. “ Anne’s suicide was a tragedy, but no one saw any mystery about it. A young wife, pregnant with her first child, thrown off her mental balance by the shock of losing her husband in such circumstances; it was a lamentable result, but understandable.
” (Wyndham, 93) Significance: This innocent man (Anne’s husband) was murdered by one of the mutants because if she had told him, he would have told the rest of the people in the village, causing the mutants to be murdered. If the towns people didn’t hate the mutants as much as they did, the mutants never would have had to kill an innocent man, but they did it for survival. These village people of Waknuk think that these “ mutants” are a threat, they are so scared of them that they think they must kill them. Anne would still be alive if the people of Waknuk were different, and so would her husband. 10. “ A series of memories cut off what my eyes were seeing—my Aunt Harriet’s face in the water, her hair gently waving in the current; poor Anne, a limp figure hanging from a beam; Sally, wringing her hands in anguish for Katherine, and in terror for herself; Sophie, degraded to a savage, sliding in the dust, with an arrow in her neck… Any of those might have been a picture of Petra’s future.” (David, pg 187)Significance: This passage is important because it shows how much David fears, and cares, for Petra.
He’s scared for Petra and he wants to protect her, which is why he is glad to leave. He is reflecting on all the horrible things he has seen happen to people he know, and he wishes to leave it all behind. He realizes that Waknuk considered the “ safest and purest town” is actually the most dangerous.
David recounts all of the ways in which the women he cared about in the novel have been hurt by the intolerance and so-called “ justice” of the society he lived in. The imagery of these women’s deaths, all violent in their own way, signifies the idea that David must protect his younger sister Petra from a life lived in the bleak and extremely discriminative world of Waknuk. The people of Waknuk killed an innocent girl for having 6 toes on each foot, which shows how much hatred is building up within the community, and how discrimination can ultimately lead to death. THE KITE RUNNER QUOTES2. “ You’re part of the problem, Amir. If idiots like you and your father didn’t take these people in we’d be rid of them by now. They’d just all rot in Hazarajat where they belong.
” (Hosseini 41)Significance: Assef is stating that the Pashtuns have all the power, social position, opportunity, and prestige and the Hazaras have none. He calls Amir an “ idiot” because he wants Amir to realize that Pashtuns shouldn’t have any type of relationship with Hazaras (that Pashtuns should always be at a higher level than Hazaras). He uses the word “ rot” to dehumanize Hassan and portray him as someone who doesn’t matter and is irrelevant. He is implying and foreshadowing in the novel that if he had the opportunity, he would kill every Hazara to get rid of them.
4. “ Lately, it seems all he wants to do is sleep. He does his chores—I see that—but then he just wants to crawl under his blanket” (Hosseini 81)Significance: The blanket could be a symbol of Hassan hiding his pain or his depression.
After Assef rapes Hassan for being Hazara, Hassan becomes very depressed and stops playing with Amir and never comes out of his room. Amir starts to get very worried about Hassan, everyone in the house thinks Hassan is just sick. Before the incident Hassan and Amir would play every day.
Hassan got his innocence taken away from him, and he became a scared child. Things between Amir and Hassan are different now; they hardly see or speak to each other anymore. Amir feels so much guilt that he can hardly stand being around Hassan. When they do get a chance to talk, Amir usually gets mad at Hassan and Amir ends up crying after Hassan leaves.
This child mistreatment was an awful thing to happen to Hassan. If it had been Amir, it wouldn’t have happened because Amir is a Pashtun and not a Hazara. 6. “ The Taliban’s said he was a liar and a thief like all the Hazaras and ordered him to get his family out of the house by sundown” (Hosseini, 230).
Significance: This quote shows how discrimination can lead to death. Rahim Khan is implying that Hassan didn’t do anything wrong, he was just looking after the house for a friend. The Taliban’s think the Hazara people are liars and thieves so they didn’t believe him.
When they told him to get himself and his family out by sundown he argued with them, they shot him in the middle of the street while people were watching. His wife, witnessing what happened, ran out into the street and the Taliban’s shot her to. Both dead, leaving their son to be sent to an orphanage. Hassan shouldn’t have been murdered for such a senseless thing like that; he was treated like trash just for his religious views and the way he looked.
8. “ Afghanistan is like a beautiful mansion littered with garbage, and someone has to take out the garbage” (Hosseini, 298). Significance: I believe that in Assef’s mind, this justifies ethnic cleansing of the Hazaras. The metaphor in this is him saying that there is a lot of garbage in his beautiful Afghanistan which he’s comparing to garbage, meaning people who deserve to be killed, according to his own opinion. He is practically committing a genocide, going after each of these people he considers garbage (the Hazaras) and killing them, thus justifying his own belief they are not worthy of being alive. The taliban think that the Hazara’s are thieves and liars and don’t deserve to live in the same country as the all mighty Taliban people. The Taliban’s starting a war in Afghanistan showed that they think they are better than everyone else and that whoever isn’t a Hazara or whoever stands in their way should be killed.
9. “ So, Amir Jan, you’re going to tell us why you have brought back this boy with you?”…While you’re busy knitting sweaters, my dear, I have to deal with the community’s perception of our family. People will ask.
They will want to know why there is a Hazara boy living with our daughter. What do I tell them?” (Hosseini, 380)Significance: This is an example of how someone is willing to discriminate just to save their reputation. The society has become so prejudiced against Hazaras that people will do whatever they feel like to discriminate against them. It’s ironic because we wouldn’t expect the General to be more concerned with his status than the fact he may have offended his son in law or Sohrab. He basically didn’t want to be accepting of another human being as he didn’t want to be identified as a fool. PERSPECTIVEThe author is mainly concerned with sociological and psychological issuesMost of the characters fall into groups as the the Waknuk group is held together by its religion, the Fringes people by their deviations, and David and his group by their telepathic abilities. The story is told in the first person perspective. It is a more personal account and David speaking makes the horrors more unbearable for the readers and this causes the intensity of the discrimination to be even higherThe conditions of David’s civilization are different from our own world and can be related partly by David (as a child) explaining them to SophieSince David is young, not everything that comes out of his mouth is true so, Uncle Axel explains things he doesn’t understand to him. Because Axel is a broad-minded, thinking person, the reader is given a less prejudiced account than he might have received from someone like Joseph Strorm (David’s father).
