“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” former President of the United States of America Franklin D. Roosevelt once stated. This statement is completely false according to various characters in the novel The Chrysalids by John Wyndham. The main fears that change the characters in the novel include Sophie Wender acting uncourageously and cautiously because someone discovers her deviation, Joseph Storm treating his son David cruelly because he asks Satan for something, and Emily Storm she goes as far as calling her niece a monster because she's scared. Fear of the unknown and fear of different things can cause people to act in ways they normally wouldn't. Sophie Wender is a very thoughtful and courageous young girl. Her best friend David states that “she is very brave” (Wyndham 11), which supports her character. Sophie has a deviation that makes her unsuitable for the society of the city of Waknuk where she lives. Having a deviation is highly frowned upon because it does not fit into the “image of God” that people expect. A boy named Alan discovers her deviation, and Sophie and her family have to run away for fear of what might happen if many people find out. Sophie is very scared about the whole situation and tells her friend David “We're leaving… Mum said we should leave if anyone found out. We almost did it when you saw them” (Wyndham 48). Having to run away because she fears the future shows that she has to act uncourageously and unlike herself and run away from her problems. Unfortunately, only at a young age does fear of the unknown transform Sophie into someone she is not. Joseph Storm is one of the main religious characters in the novel. If something is different than what he thinks the "norm" should... middle of paper... swerve, she acts just like him when faced with the fear of something different. Fear pushes people to act completely out of place. characterful and unusual to themselves. In most cases, the change in character is not positive. Sophie Wender acts uncourageously and fearfully when she runs away from fear of the unknown. Joseph Storm is not acting so out of character, but out of character for a father figure when dealing with the problem of his son asking him something he is afraid of. Finally, Emily Storm behaves very differently from her naturally caring motherly character when she calls her niece who has a deviation a monster. Fear is one of the strongest emotions humans face. In the face of fear, everyone must learn to control their emotions so they don't seem like someone they're not. Work cited Wyndham, John. The Chrysalises. Hutchinson & Co. (publishers) Ltd, 1964