Speculative Fiction: The Genre Of Dystopian Fiction

Fahrenheit 451 a dystopian novel full of social commentary and so much more, comparing reality in a commentary to our real problems as a society. In every example presented in this essay a clear picture of a dystopian society is painted. From Fahrenheit 451 to District 9 every author revealed major characteristics that all dystopian societies have. I main set of characteristics were common in every example which was propaganda and corruption which would lead to abuse of power. These types of books and films allows us to experience a society which is degrading and unfair and allow us to appreciate the still messed up society we live in now.

A dystopian film is a genre that can be described as a dark vision of the future. A dystopian film is normally set in the future. Dystopian films have dystopian worlds. Dystopian worlds are shown as worst case scenarios worlds, like for example the city was very overpopulated and polluted. These are the complete opposite of a Utopian world. Two key aspects in a dystopian text are the reflections of society and futuristic settings and how they have changed overtime. The two texts I will use to support the points are Fahrenheit 451 and The Island.

Bradbury’s stories follow a similar genre which is a dystopian feeling where the characters realize what the world has come to be (“Fahrenheit”). Fahrenheit 451, takes place in a dystopia or “... a dehumanizing environment… where the state keeps citizens in thrall be denying them the kinds of positive, useful intellectual stimuli found in books” (Huntington 107). A dystopia is a future where life is appalling. In their attempt to make a perfect future, the government instead created a dystopia where people are destroying their only sense of truth, joy and humanity (Hamblen). Bradbury is trying to convey that, “Dystopian novels show that any attempt at establishing utopia will only make matters much worse” (Dietz). Without keeping the past in mind the future will only become worse. The people may believe they are making a difference when in reality they are creating havoc for the world around

Since the age of Thomas Moore, intellectuals have been fascinated by the idea of an ideal society where all is well and total happiness is readily available to all of its members. Such ideals of a ‘utopia’ continued throughout the centuries until it reached a major pivoting point in the nineteenth century. Historical events such as the Second World War, the Cold War, the emergence of McCarthyism, and the creation of a nuclear bomb left people with a heavily misanthropic view of the world. People started to question the practicality or realistic possibility of a utopian society, thus creating the genre of dystopian literature. (Gerhard, 2012) A dystopia is a society that could be characterized as a utopia gone wrong—a society that started with

The novel Anthem by Ayn Rand is a great example of dystopian literature. The natural world is banished, independent thought is restricted and citizens live in a dehumanized state showing that Anthem is a true example of dystopia.

‘Dystopian novels help people process their fears about what the future might look like; further, they usually show that there is always hope, even in the bleakest future.’ -Lauren Oliver.

A popular sub-genre commonly mentioned when one thinks of a dystopia is the ever so terrifying rogue technological future society that we one day might become. What is it that makes this idea so popular and so scary? It is the fear hidden within the unknown, the question of, what if we become too advanced. A trend can be seen within this genre, technology is created and it becomes so powerful that the citizens that use it become so obsessed that they become blind to what’s around them. Two prime examples of this are Minority Report and Fahrenheit 451, they share many similarities within the plot line as well as the characters and perhaps even the moral lessons that run at the heart of the stories.

Dystopia is a popular genre in which authors write about a fictional society that is perceived to be perfect and ideal by the vast majority of the people in it. Authors must intrigue the reader, and this is difficult because they have to somehow illustrate a future that is vaguely similar to ours. However, it has to be completely fictional, which makes it tough to formulate realistic storylines. Nevertheless, these authors use literary elements to counter these difficulties and produce realistic characters and you can see this when Ray Bradbury, Ayn Rand, and James Dashner use symbolism in their respected novels, Fahrenheit 451, Anthem, and The Maze Runner. This literary technique gives Dystopian Literature the uniqueness and adds the key elements to make the story flow.

Dystopia, an imaginary place where people live dehumanized and often fearful lives. In Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut and The Giver by Lois Lowry, both societies are robbed of their human attributes and live in fear of the government. Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut illustrates how life would be if everyone was equal in every aspect. The citizens are attached to “handicaps” that deprive them of their intelligence, an attempt to prevent a rebellion. For the most part, people followed the regulations that were evident until Harrison Bergeron, son of George and Hazel Bergeron, realized that the handicaps were inhumane. As a dystopian protagonist, Bergeron aired on live television, after being in confinement, and expressed the many flaws

Brians describes the dystopia genre and its origins; lists prominent novels; summarizes common ideas and themes expressed. He relates ideologies at the time of Fahrenheit 451 's creation with those in contemporary society. Brians connects the recurring themes of the genre with both the novel and modern society; particularly of suppression, control, blind conformity, and the dangers of mass media.

Have you ever thought about what our society is going to look like in, say fifty years? Many people do especially teenagers, they think about it and that is why books with a dystopian societies are popular among teenagers. This is something that every person thinks about at least once, and that is why they stay so popular even after being written for so many years, they just appeal to the teenage mind. The main question is why does dystopian literature appeal so much to the young adults, what is making dystopian literature so entertaining? Teenagers feel like they can relate or think, what if this was to really happen? The authors Ayn Rand and Veronica Roth promote individualism and selfless acts in the novels they wrote, but sometimes that is not always the best thing. After all these years, reading and writing dystopian literature is still

A dystopian society is a dysfunctional society that is marketed to its citizens as a utopian society. It includes elements such as a lack/ downplay of religion or one government sanctioned religion that everyone must follow. The government either uses force and or fear to control its population. There is a suppression of freedom of speech and a suppression of intellectualism. In this society, there is a protagonist who rebels against the status quo. In Fahrenheit 451, this protagonist is Montag. Once an oppressor of freedom and intellectualism by burning books, Montag goes against the norms of his society and uncovers the truth about the society. In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury elucidates that technology imprisons the human mind, limiting individual

Dystopian novels have an entrancing factor that allows them to captivate the American public like no other genre. The mass popularity gained by these novels can be seen dating all the way back to 1950’s with the publishing of George Orwell’s 1984, and through the present day with the publication of various dystopian novels such as Divergent, Maze Runner, and The Hunger Games. The main reason why these dystopian worlds resonate with so many people is because they address present day problems in outlandish but conceivable ways, "whatever its artistic or philosophic qualities, a book about the future can interest us only if its prophecies look as though they might conceivably come true."(Beauchamp). While The Handmaid 's Tale focus on a variety of issues, such as the mistreatment of women, it also realistically illustrates the mental deterioration that occurs during prolonged periods of isolation in captivity. Atwood clearly emphasizes this point through the inclusion of Offred 's inner thoughts; which in turn, help to illuminate to the reader the process of this deterioration. Atwood also shows how the Republic of Gilead uses totalitarianism tactics, which parallel those used in North Korea, in order to remain in control. In The Handmaid’s tale, a dystopian novel, Margaret Atwood uses imagery and allusion throughout the novel to illustrate how the republic of Gilead uses techniques to deteriorate one 's mind in order to maintain their power.

Dystopian stories are usually set in an unfavorable society in which to live, where the antagonist is the society itself, and the protagonist is the person who is looking towards changing this society and fixing its flaws, who believes that they can make a difference by overthrowing the government or escaping from it. The conflict is often not solved, or the hero fails to solve it, and the dystopian society continues as it was before. Harrison Bergeron is an example of a dystopian story where society has intensely controlled the population’s unique qualities to make everyone exactly equal. People’s talent, beauty, intelligence, and any other quality that makes them different is brought down and destroyed by forcing them to wear handicaps, masks, and weights. Harrison Bergeron is the protagonist of the story. He disagrees with the society’s way of living and is arrested for it, but he takes a step forward to change it. The author takes on different varieties of tone throughout the story such as gloominess, despair, and joy, which clarify the idea that he disagrees with this society’s

People use literacy to express their thoughts, feeling and sometimes experiences. Some stories are similar and others are not, these stories are then categorized into different genres to have a universal organization for the many literature pieces we have. I have decided to read and analyze a collection of stories that all fall under the genre of dystopian fiction. By imagining and writing about the extremes of a society, which are dystopian societies in these stories our present society is enabling itself for the actions, it needs to take in the chance of a similar event. Human instinct finds comfort in a situation that one has experienced before but the fear of the unknown causes threat. If you have been through a situation you are more