The Chrysalids offers numerous possibilities for an essay about staying true to oneself. The corollary statement, regarding choosing to conform, may be explored in relationship to the imposition of rules and laws, and the characters’ limited ability to decide for themselves—the fundamental question of free will.
In this post-apocalyptic novel, the protagonist, David, must keep a secret just in order to survive. Not just his Labrador society overall but his own father punishes every sort of deviance. David’s type of difference, however, is not evident on the outside. The author contrast this character with Sophie, whose “deformity” is highly visible: she is born with six toes. The restrictive norms are so harsh that punishment includes killing, so those who disagree or do not fit in have escaped into an anarchic subsistence in the Fringes.
An effective essay might concentrate on a contrasting pair of characters, such as David and Sophie, on the basis of their vivid differences. While both of them suffer for their nonconformity, they also make distinct decisions about how best to maintain their integrity. The author also offers David and his sister, Petra, who are both telepathic but in highly different ways. This pair of siblings might be contrasted to their father, the strict patriarch, and their uncle, Spider, a rebel leader in the Fringes. What price has each of them paid for adhering to their beliefs? Beyond their individual stances, what influence have they had on the larger social world they inhabit? Clearly, the excessively rigid control in Labrador has largely negative effects. The author suggests, however, that the lawlessness of the Fringes can have equally devastating consequences.
To ensure that the essay has broad-based relevance, it would probably be useful to tie the ideas to philosophical perspectives about personal convictions. A well-known example is Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay on self-reliance, in which he states, "Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist."
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