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Some people dream about having an ability to communicate
through mental telepathy. Some even claimed to have this ability but it
played an important role in the novel The Chrysalids. The author created
an interesting environment. There was no communication and the only
people who could communicate between
each other were the ones that had the power of telepathy. Because in some
areas the land was so dangerous because of the radiation that people were cut
of from another and left on a small piece of land. They could not communicate.
Though-shapes not only developed the plot of the story but greatly affected the
lives of some characters and might affect Waknuk.
We all know that people in Waknuk were very superstitious
but did it actually help the plot to develop? On page 91 through
103 finally and idea gets out about some people being able to communicate
through thought-shapes. When Katherine and Sally got caught and tortured
they finally tell some of the names to the inspector. This forces David, Rosalind
and Petra to runaway to the fringes, and they established some kind of contact
with a woman from Sealant (Zealand, On page 134). The help that the
sealant woman promised is on their way to the fringes. The plot is
greatly influenced, David learns more things as the time goes on. He discovers
who is the Spiderman(Gordon) and where is Sophie. He meets them and learn
what it is like to live in the fringes. When the sealant woman rescues
David, Rosalind and Petra they are brought to a big, developed city like the
one in David's dreams. Because of the telepathy David discovers that such a
city really exists but most of all through Petra they establish contact with a
more civilized people than they are. Because of the conflicts in the
story it leads the main characters to scover the sealant city.
Telepathy not only affects the plot of the story but also
the main characters in the novel. The most obvious thing is that David,
Rosalind and Petra are saved. They have a chance to learn, experience new
things they never saw or heard before. Mike and Rachel stays behind but
hopes to come to the big city were things are different. Some characters
died in the final chapter when the helicopter makes a landing killing
everything that moves around it. The characters that died where: the spiderman (Gordon),
David's father, Sophie and all the people from the fringes and Waknuk that
where near the helicopter.
Waknuk might be affected by the discovery of the sealant
city because the reader finds out (in the final chapter) that the sealant city
is very developed and people are better educated. They are also civilized and understand
that Waknuk is a village cut off from the surroundings because of the
radiation. If Waknuk will be helped as predicted it may become a big,
civilized city like Zealand. The natives in Waknuk will stop thinking that
Tribulation was sent by God and that all deviations are devil's creation.
They might understand that the radiation might be the remaining of a nuclear
bomb or nuclear war. The sealant people might help Waknuk in education
and they themselves may build the machines like today's, and grow more
productive crops. The entire thinking and appearance of Waknuk might change.
On the other hand when the radiation will go away after a while the sealant
people might go deeper and deeper into the surrounding land.
Waknuk might be taken over by other cities because it could not and/or would
not know how to compete with the cities. This also might depend on how
are the Zealand people like. If they are so understanding and educated they
will probably help Waknuk to develop, but if the people won't help then the
`negative point' could be true.
Many things can affect the plot of a story, the characters
or the surroundings in a story. In this novel these three points were influenced
by mental telepathy. This type of story could be an example how people were
in the past (in the really world). It is an idea what could really happen
if a nuclear war would become a reality. | 
