In the Chrysalids,what is the relation betweem David and his father?

David's relationship with his father is a strictly ordered one. David's father is the Magistrate of Waknuk. This means that he is responsible fro enforcing all the laws pertaining to deviations and Blasphemies. He is a hard, unrelenting disciplinarian who zealously upholds the strictest command of the law. Since he is like this because of his character traits and his job, he treats David the same way.

He is demanding and harsh and gives David hard punishments when David crosses a line toward deviation or Blasphemy. However, something in David's relationship allows him to be a boy of independence and compassion and devotion and to grow up into being a courageous loving man. So David's relationship with his father is more complex than it may seem on the surface.