Redefining Dystopia: An Analysis of 'The Double'

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The film adaptation of The Double directed by Ayoade presents a fantastic portrayal of the retro dystopian world created by Fydor Dostoevsky’s and depicts the central idea of a mysterious doppelganger. However, beyond the premise of Dostoevsky’s world and a few loosely based scenes, The Double (2013) brings a different spin to The Double rather than a true adaptation. Both narratives show the doppelganger and protagonist as having an initially amiable relationship which quickly deteriorates. Yakov Petrovitch Golyadkin and Simon James are similar in their social anxiety and have a vision of who they wish to be. Dostoevsky’s novel displays Golyadkin on the verge of insanity and blends reality with fiction whereas Ayoade’s adaptation portrays a more rational motive behind James’ actions.
Dostoevsky foreshadows a double and displays Golyadkin’s social anxiety by relaying Golyadkin’s thoughts in chapter one “Or should I pretend it’s not me, but someone else remarkably like me, and look as if …show more content…

Golyadkin is seen with his doctor, early on in the novel, speaking about various issues which makes Golyadkin seem unstable. Simon James, on the other hand, has more rational motives in wanting to impress the Colonel and attain his love interest provides clearer reasons to his actions. Throughout Dostoevsky’s story, reality and fiction is blended more and more, leading to uncertainty whether the supposed actions of Golyadkin’s doppelganger is real or merely Golyadkin’s imagination. This completely contrasts Ayoade’s adaption where James’ counterpart seems real and not a figment of imagination. Ayoade’s ending to The Double (2013) provides a happy ending where James leaves for the hospital with his love interest. Dostoevsky’s intentions of mixing what is real and what is not is “lost in translation” as Golyadkin’s grim ending leaves much to the reader’s

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