The Chrysalids

Uncle Axel is used in Chapter 6 as a mouthpiece for the author's own commentary on the beliefs and behaviour of the people of Waknuk. What is the most important part of his account? What is the author satirizing?

And What is the major sin committed by the people at Waknuk according to Uncle Axel?

Asked by
Last updated by Aslan
Answers 1
Add Yours

Uncle Axel’s discussion with David about the truth of the “True Image” of man by provides David with a broader view of the world, through Uncle Axel’s experience sailing. This is in juxtaposition to what David has already told the reader about what he learned in school regarding the ethics and morality behind preserving the True Image of man. Uncle Axel’s exposition reveals the extent of the different tribes and their different genetic mutations; as Jakober observes, “everyone is someone else’s mutant.” She describes the phenomenon of Othering, the process that humans use to determine someone is other based on difference (Jakober 29-30). Waknuk has taken this process to an extreme. However, Wyndham’s portrayal of this process in his characters allows his readers to look at their own society and ask how they might be classifying people as "other." This is satirizing the Old Testament in the Bible.