Uncle Axel In The Chrysalids By John Wyndham

The powerful and gripping novel The Boy Who Dared, written by Susan Campbell Bartoletti, is a Newbery Honor book. The novel is based on Helmuth Hubener who lived during the Holocaust when the Nazis were rising to power in 1933. Helmuth was one of the very few young boys who tried to expose Hitler to the people of Germany. Hitler was torturing the Jews and declaring wars on countries just because he wanted war. He also ruined Jewish shops and destroyed their futures. The Boy Who Dared shows historical accuracy in many ways, especially as it focuses on Helmuth’s life, the

Journal One in The Alternative by Galen Leonhardy, tells the story of a teacher who helps open an alternative school in Kozol Creek, Idaho, and the struggles he faces in attempting to implement a collaborative education process. The author writes of teachers who let students run free through the halls or simply ignored kids because they did not know how to handle them. He also writes of teachers who strive for a more personalized education by learning who their students are and understanding the environment from which they come. I have also dealt with both kinds of teachers in my educational experience, as I was a student of an alternative school. Mr. Lamar, to me, represents what a teacher should be. His personal dedication to making a difference in students’ lives and his willingness to go the extra mile by empowering students to take responsibility for their education changed how I perceived my own education. Mrs. Patton, on the other hand, is a teacher I would much rather forget. Her militarized style of teaching made learning an afterthought to the daily complications we encountered in the classroom. Both Mr. Lamar and Mrs. Patton taught me the importance of being included in your own education.

Although both the previous events did put David into an adverse position, the following experience changed David’s outlook on life for the better. Finally there was someone to tell David the true meaning of mankind, Uncle Axel. Uncle Axel tells him to be proud of his telepathic abilities, instead of praying to be what everyone else thinks is the true image. Uncle Axel also changes David's outlook on the true image of man, he explains to him how it's not one's physical features that define him, but what's in his mind.

The reading of interest is “Anybody’s Son Will Do” by Gwynne Dyer. The author was primarily focused on the intense resocialization civilians experience during military basic training. The idea is that those who enter basic are socialized into soldiers and killers, which in return creates efficiency. Dyer argues that any man can be changed through physical and mental pressure, isolation and exhaustion, all after losing their civilian identities.

“Motivation is something which builds your mindset, it gathers your senses and pulls you up from laziness and inactivity to do something, to achieve something, to build something. It is a force which wakes up your sleeping mind to get going. It doesn't let you sleep until you have achieved your dream”(Jakhar). In John Wyndham’s novel, The Chrysalids, Joseph Strorm is motivated by upholding his families’ reputation through religion. He learns from the mistakes that his father made when he was a leader, proves how motivated he is by punishing his brother and sister-in-law, and he is an abusive and strict father.

Uncle Tungsten is Oliver Sacks’s description of his early life filled with the logic, excitement, and anomalies of chemistry. In the beginning, Oliver Sacks is fascinated with metals and their properties, largely influenced by his Uncle Dave, who is better known as Uncle Tungsten. He asks Uncle Tungsten, his parents, and many others, questions about anything that intrigues him typically with chemistry in mind.

Uncle Hub and Uncle Garth are both in Erickson’s stage of Ego Integrity vs Despair (McLeod, 2013). They both are reflecting on their youth. They attempt to relive it through their antics of fighting, attempting to hunt a lion, retelling old war stories, and buying an airplane. They both

Family. It is a very fluid yet rigid idea. It has a wealth of definitions, all of which range in degree and magnitude, and vary from person to person; yet the concept of how a family should work and operate is very concrete in most American minds. Family is a bond that is crafted every second of everyday until it is powerful, and this can shape beliefs, outlooks, and confidence. A study found that children with father figures that are highly involved benefit because an immense range of emotions are modelled to them as children, and consequently they will be more adapt at recognizing and expressing their own emotions. In contrast children

The Chrysalids takes place in Waknuk, a society based on rigid laws and a strict religion. The citizens value what they believe to be normal, enforcing harsh consequences for those who go against the norm or possess traits that are undesirable or feared. Their society developed with strong influences from The Bible and Nicholson`s Repentances, with laws and customs put in place to keep Tribulation from happening again. Deviations and otherwise undesirable traits are not tolerated in this society, anything in question or suspicious is carefully inspected to ensure it is not an offense. The people of Waknuk are a very traditional, law-abiding community built on generations of fear and extreme regulations.

“‘She was competent, decisive, self-reliant; perhaps she intimidated them, for before long they drifted their attentions elsewhere’” (93).

Sophie allows for doubt to pierce its way into David’s life for the first time. At the start of the novel, when David first meets Sophie, he gets an insight into a deviant’s life. She has proven to be the first blow to efficiently impact David’s thoughts and make him question the authenticity of his society’s belief system. “It is hind-sight that enables me to fix that as the day when my first small doubts started to germinate.”

He transforms from a Waknuk society member to a person who is leading an escape and battle against his former society. David has known about his telepathy for a long time, which is considered a deviation in Waknuk. He transforms into someone who is in full control of his powers and understands his telepathy for what it is. In the eyes of the Waknuk society, David is changed from normal to deviant. He then is not accepted for who he is and must run away to another land. He envisions this land as a magical place that he sees in his dreams. Instead he comes to dark, evil place called the Fringes. This is a form of transformation for David as he realizes that the world isn’t really a safe place. It is a place filled with deviations and mutants. As David journeys through his life, he becomes a trustworthy and protective person. An early example of this, is when he found out that Sophie has six toes. Instead of reporting the genetic mutation, David decided to protect Sophie's secret to keep her safe. The fact that he kept this secret reveals the change and transformation in David's overall character. He goes from being a young boy who does what he is told, to being a rebel leader for the deviant

But you seem... serious enough to handle it.” (210). The fact that David trusted Tally so fast and told her about his parents escape, even though he said he does not tell people for years, seems suspicious and makes me think that maybe he turns out to be the bad guy and is trying to trick Tally by telling her all these

As you read further you will realize how Dom thinks differently now, changed, and learned how to take care of himself. In the beginning of the book Dom’s family was his jewish, blood relatives. In the book it states, “...’please, visit Uncle Aurelio and Aunt Rebecca at work’... See Napoli.

In the Chrysalids, a young boy named David lives in a society where perfection is the norm. David possesses a telepathic ability which is kept hidden from the residents of Waknuk due to it being considered a deviation. Although it is kept a secret, David shares this information with few people, one being his Uncle Axel, whom he trusts. Uncle Axel is David’s greatest ally because he supports David by offering advice and protecting him from the start of his journey to the end.