Kanu Ugonna,
English 4U,
Mr Wallace,
30th May, 2018. Genre Research To begin with, the dystopian genre has be classified as one of the very popular genre’s in the present world today, regrading how it is able to disclose and make us aware of what is silently going on in our societies today .The term “dystopia” can be described as a place where totalitarian government is enforced, people are under surviellance, and are assigned levels based on their capabilities. According to the Merriam Webster Encylopedia of Literature, a dystopia is defined to be “ an imaginery place where people are dehumanized and often fearful lives.” Likewise, a prevalent contrast to the term “ dystopia”
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The dystopian genre first emerged dating as far back as the 19th century, and was used as way of criticizing both the issues of communism and slavery. It also came into existence after the events of the Enlightenment and French Revolution, as it was in response to the supposed struggle for the maintenance of a Utopian society in that time. The genre did not become well known in the young adult genre till 1993, when a famous writer, Lois Lowry released his own first book. Eventually, after the year 1993, the dystopian genre became mainly aimed at young adult readership instead. Today, the dystopian genre is very popular for it is able to reflect not only reality, but also ideology, science and technology, including various political systems. In addition, the dystopia is a popular literary genre that entertains its readers and educates them to enable them realize the type of society they dwell in. It also serves as a means of warning to mankind to help prevent the occurence of …show more content…
The first dystopian novel that ever came into existence was titled “The time machine”, by H.G Wells and was published in the year 1895. It was a very popular novel throughout the 1800’s and was able to showcase a destructive nature of a stratified society. Another very renowned dystopian novel in the early years was “We”, which was written by Yevgeni Zamyatin. The novel describes the satire about life events in a futuristic state, by creating a place called “ One state” which was located in the middle of a jungle. The people of the state are made to live in glass buildings, have names based on numbers and wear identical uniforms. The antagonist in the novel are the “ Benefactors” with the help of the “Guardians” that regulate the lives of the people in the “ One state” to take part in great operations that would prevent them from having imaginations and passion for anything. Also, in the early days another very popular dystopian novel was the Gulliver’s travels written by Jonathan Swift, who was known for his great works, including other dystopian stories written by him. The novel was published in the 1726 and as time went on a film adaptation of the novel was released. The novel talks about an English man, by the name Gulliver, who
Authors of dystopian literature often write in order to teach their audience about issues in the real world. Dystopian
The Hunger Games and Fahrenheit 451 are both great examples of dystopian fiction. A dystopia is a fictional world that takes place in the future that is supposed to be perceived as a perfect society, but it’s actually the opposite. Other things that a dystopian society might display are citizens both living in a dehumanized state and feeling like they’re constantly watched by a higher power. Dystopias are places where society is backwards or unfair, and they are usually are controlled by the government, technology, or a particular religion. The Hunger Games and Fahrenheit 451 are both in the dystopian fiction genre because the societies within them show the traits of a dystopia. Both of them also have characters that go against the flow of the normal world.
"The truth is, dystopian fiction presents a fun house mirror of our collective selves." However, authors tend to take dystopian literature to an extreme. For example when you look at yourself in a fun house mirror, you may look extremely tall, rather short, or your face may expand. Well, that's similar to how authors write about dystopians. A dystopian is a perfect society that has pretty much "fallen apart".
Dystopian America What exactly is dystopia, and how is it relevant today? E.M. Forster’s The Machine Stops uses a dystopian society to show how one lives effortlessly, lacking knowledge of other places, in order to show that the world will never be perfect, even if it may seem so. A society whose citizens are kept ignorant and lazy, unknowing that they are being controlled, unfit to act if they did, all hidden under the guise of a perfect utopian haven, just as the one seen in The Machine Stops, could become a very real possibility. There is a rational concern about this happening in today’s world that is shared by many, and with good reason.
Wright, Juntus. “Dystopias: Definition and Characteristics.” Read Write Think. NCTE, 2011. Web. 25 Jan. 2011
It is of mixed opinions as to the popularity of modern society and that of the current government. Some believe the United States is, frankly, the best and most free country. They are those who enjoy the freedoms granted by the government and indulge themselves into the American culture. Others are not as fond; always searching for an excuse to criticize the current happenings, whether they be in the government or on the streets. In previous decades, such as the 1940s, the majority of citizens shared the more patriotic view. When comparing the current United States as a whole to that of a dystopian society, it becomes clear that the former faction may be looking through rose colored glasses. The dystopian motifs in George Orwell 's 1984 stemmed
Dystopias in literature and other media serve as impactful warnings about the state of our current life and the possible future. Two examples of this are in the book Fahrenheit 451 and the movie The Truman Show. Both works show the harmful effects of advancing technology and the antisocial tendencies of a growing society. The protagonists of these stories are very similar also. Guy Montag and Truman Burbank are the only observant people in societies where it is the norm to turn a blind eye to the evils surrounding them. Fahrenheit 451 and The Truman Show present like messages in very unlike universes while giving a thought-provoking glimpse into the future of humanity.
A dystopian text is a fictional society which must have reverberations of today’s world and society and has many elements and rules that authors use to convey their message or concern. Dystopian texts are systematically written as warnings use to convey a message about a future time that authors are concerned will come about if our ways as humans continue, such as in the short stories called The Lottery by Shirley Jackson and The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury. Dystopias are also written to put a satiric view on prevailing trends of society that are extrapolated in a ghoulish denouement, as in the case of the dystopian film Never Let Me Go directed by Mark Romanek. Dystopian texts use a variety of literary devices and filming techniques to convey their message, but in all three texts there is a main protagonist who questions the rules of society, and all citizens carry a fear of the outside world who adhere to homogenous rules of society.
Imagine being in a game where everyone dies except for one victor, and you have to risk your life to save your little sister’s life. Also imagine not being able to speak freely in your own home. These are some examples of how dystopian governments take control of the people in the societies in dystopian novels. The governments of 1984 and The Hunger Games share the dystopian goal of dehumanizing their citizens in order to maintain and win control over the citizens. The Party and the Capitol are after power, and whoever has control of the people in a society has all the power.
Imagine a chaotic society of people who are so entangled by ignorance and inequity that they do not realize it; this would be called a dystopian society. Dystopian societies are very popular among many fictional stories. In fact, in the stories Fahrenheit 451 and “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, dystopian societies are represented. In many of these stories, the people in the fictional societies are violence-loving, irrational people who always seem to do what people of the U.S. society would consider "immoral." These stories are not a representation of how the U.S. society is now, but how it could be in the future. Unlike the society of Fahrenheit 451, the U.S. allows people
Dystopian novels are written to reflect the fears a population has about its government and they are successful because they capture that fright and display what can happen if it is ignored. George Orwell wrote 1984 with this fear of government in mind and used it to portray his opinion of the current government discretely. Along with fear, dystopian novels have many other elements that make them characteristic of their genre. The dystopian society in Orwell’s novel became an achievement because he utilized a large devastated city, a shattered family system, life in fear, a theme of oppression, and a lone hero.
A dystopian society can be defined as “a society characterized by human misery”. 1984 by George Orwell and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury both demonstrate dystopian societies. However, that does not mean they do not their differences. In each society the government has different ways of controlling and limiting its citizens for doing only what they want them to do. In 1984, violators are brainwashed into loving and following Big Brother as if they never knew the truth and return back to their everyday lives. Fahrenheit 451 also punishes violators in a way that makes them regret and scared to ever do it again instead of making them forget.
Dystopia is a term that defines a corrupt government that projects a false image. Thus, in a dystopian society, we have the belief and comfort that the society is proper to its followers. One good example of dystopian society is the Hunger Games. The terms that describe dystopia towards the Hunger Games are a “hierarchical society, fear of the outside world, penal system and a back story” (“Dystopia”). The Hunger Games that follows, the term that defines dystopian fiction.
In many cases, people think of a dystopia as a foreign concept. However, the concept and presence of dystopias is quite prevalent in the modern world. From Nazi Germany during World War II to the modern day communist country of North Korea, each of these dystopias has a distinct set of characteristics that make it dystopian—an illusory perfect society created by the government for those who live in that community. As such, there is not an all-inclusive list of traits that every dystopian community shares; three characteristics that are pertinent to most dystopias are oppression, limited education, and isolation from the outside world.
Gulliver's Travels is a great novel written by Jonthan Swift. It is about voyages of Gulliver-main character-to different countries. Gulliver's Travels is a political allegory of England at Swift's time. the word allegory means a simple that can be objects, characters, figures or colors used to represent an abstract idea or concepts. Swift uses this novel to criticize the political condition of England at the 18th century and to make a satire of the royal court of George 1 . Gulliver's Travels has established itself as a classic for young people. Its appeal to young minds is due to the fact that it is, on the surface, an adventure story of strange wonderful lands. As a matter of fact, it is taken by the mature reader as an allegory work of England at Swift's time.