Chrysalids: Authority as a theme

In addition to civilians, authority figures must be kept in check. In the chrysalids, we see a prime example of the detriment caused by when there is a large gap in power of authority figures and commoners. When this happens in the real world, there are always revolutions sooner or later. Predominantly, people are unhappy with their way of life. The same thing happens in the Chrysalids. Here I will dissect the situation of when David says that if he had a third arm he could have taken bandaged his arm. There are always mindless people who obey the authorities with often disturbing zealotry, like Mr. Strorm (David's father). Even though Mr. Strorm only has real authority over his his family since it is a very traditionally structured, he still takes the example of the higher government and enforces the status quo with gusto. As happens with the people who try to stand up to the government, the authority figure cracks down. In the case of David, he gets a rapid scolding and is forced to serve a punishment. This is merely because he said he could have done something if he had an extra arm. When it is in the favour of peoples opinions, could and want and did can be ambiguous at best. Ifs can become "wishes", and the whole point of a statement can be thoroughly misunderstood. While this is an exaggerated case of what happens in the real world, there are strong socio-political messages incased in this book, and I look forwards to writing more on these topics.