The Chrysalids
Novel Setting and description

           In the novel The Chrysalids, the setting is a very important part of the story and shows why society in Waknuk works the way it is. The novel's setting is in the future after what we believe was total atomic nuclear devastation of the world.

          The setting in the book describes Waknuk as being quite a normal society, but the further you go away from it, the worse the setting becomes. Waknuk is mostly farm land, with forests and a mountain nearby. Next there is the Wild Country, where there is a fifty percent chance of having an animal breed genetically incorrect animals. The plants are mostly normal, but often you will find some strange and often savage animals and plants. After the Wild Country are the Fringes, where there is strange vegetation and people who roam the lands who are outlaws. The Badlands are as far as the habitants of Waknuk know, which is just like black desert stretching for hundreds of miles with not a single living thing to dot the landscape.

          Waknuk's society is very strict to "keep pure the stock of the Lord" and to "watch for the mutant". Any deviation was of the devil, and was to be burned, killed, or thrown into the Fringes. There was an inspector who inspected babies, people, and other things which could be a deviation of the true image of God, or was not of the proper look or type. It was wrong to even talk about being like a mutant, as when David's father gets very upset because David was talking about if he had another arm.

          The first nice setting was when David was in the woods and met Sophie for the first time. He had been sliding down a sandy runnel, and wanted Sophie to do it too.

          One of the reasons why the setting is important is also because the areas around Waknuk do not keep the pure stock of the Lord, and are considered to be of the devil. The setting shows us why they feel is is required to keep only normal animals in Waknuk, or they would multiply and cause chaos.