Click for Source Image By Irene Kovalyova
People have always liked reading fantasies, from fairy-tales to science-fiction novels. And it’s quite clear why. Seeing some magic creatures helping the main characters gives us some sort of hope that one day the same may happen to us (of course, on the condition we are good boys and girls); reading about scientific and technological innovations can give us an image of what our future (maybe even the near future, if everything goes the right way) can be. These books give us hope as well as an entertainment. So, the point is that we all love reading and making fantasies about good things. Then tell me why? Why have Dystopians become so much more popular nowadays if they show a rather gloomy future? Honestly, have we become so spoilt that we get interested in reading about people who live in an imperfect world instead of a perfect one? There are so many writers working in this genre today that it’s high time find out what a kind of a dish Dystopian's are. What are its special ingredients making us addicts immediately and what is its main aim except for the audience’s entertainment?
First of all let’s find out what it is.
People have always liked reading fantasies, from fairy-tales to science-fiction novels. And it’s quite clear why. Seeing some magic creatures helping the main characters gives us some sort of hope that one day the same may happen to us (of course, on the condition we are good boys and girls); reading about scientific and technological innovations can give us an image of what our future (maybe even the near future, if everything goes the right way) can be. These books give us hope as well as an entertainment. So, the point is that we all love reading and making fantasies about good things. Then tell me why? Why have Dystopians become so much more popular nowadays if they show a rather gloomy future? Honestly, have we become so spoilt that we get interested in reading about people who live in an imperfect world instead of a perfect one? There are so many writers working in this genre today that it’s high time find out what a kind of a dish Dystopian's are. What are its special ingredients making us addicts immediately and what is its main aim except for the audience’s entertainment?
First of all let’s find out what it is.
Click for Source Image Dystopia is an imaginary state where negative tendencies prevailed in the development of the society. Trying to solve the most serious problems the government (or any other institution with the same functions) sets some new order which is supposed to stop and prevent any of these problems in the future. As a rule this new order is based on logic and doesn’t include any kind of moral values which leads the society to moral degradation. The definition of individuality is levelled. The new system is the only thing that matters. Everyone is just a little screw in the machine and his or her main duty is to follow the rules and guard the order. Dystopian is often considered to be a logical development of Utopia where people try to do the same: to create a perfect world. But the government in Utopias bother only about the state and public issues and forgets about the inner lives of people. This leads to the main conflict of all Dystopians – conflict between human personality and inhuman social order.
Though different writers have different points of view and styles of writing there are still some features common for all Dystopians. There is always some totalitarian system, and this system usually includes all or some of the following elements. First of all that’s social segregation and castes. For example, in the novel Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, the castes are Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons or InDivergent by Veronica Roth people live in factions. Then social segregation results in social discrimination where the upper classes exploit the lower ones. In The Domination by S.M. Stirling there are citizens (they are free and can vote) and serfs who are actually slaves of the citizens. In Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games the Capitol elite uses people from 12 districts for consuming goods production and entertainment. And finally there is always someone trying to get over the system. That’s usually an outsider realizing the real nature of the system and refusing to obey it.
Though Dystopian literature has conquered its place in the Young Adult genre relatively lately, its history goes back to the 18th century. And its beginning was not shy and quiet. You could say it began with a real “Bang!”. Just remember Jonathan Swifts’s Gulliver’s Travels! There the author presents a harsh critique of various aspects of contemporary British society which was considered civilized and perfect by the representatives of this society. He also depicts what can happen if society decides to go this or that way without taking into consideration moral values and sound logic. The Next bit of the Dystopian genre comes with Samuel Butler’s Erewhon (try to read this word backwords) in the 19th century. Butler expressed the idea which has been supported by lots of other writers of the genre since then. The idea is that delusion of constant technological development can be dangerous.
And finally the 20th century came which turned into a real explosion of Dystopians: Huxley and his Brave New World, Orwell’s 1984, Gibson’s techno-thriller Neuromancer, Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and so one and so forth.
As you see the pessimistic view on the possibility of a perfect world is as old as the world just like the idea of an outsider trying to change the rotten system.
One of the main goals of Dystopians is to warn the world about the potential dangers and traps on their way to a perfect life. These novels touch upon the issues some of which we face in our everyday life and present us with questions for our future development. Maybe that’s the answer for the question “Why do we prefer this genre to any other more and more often”?
Dear readers, please, tell why you like Dystopians and what novel you consider the best example of this genre.
Though different writers have different points of view and styles of writing there are still some features common for all Dystopians. There is always some totalitarian system, and this system usually includes all or some of the following elements. First of all that’s social segregation and castes. For example, in the novel Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, the castes are Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons or InDivergent by Veronica Roth people live in factions. Then social segregation results in social discrimination where the upper classes exploit the lower ones. In The Domination by S.M. Stirling there are citizens (they are free and can vote) and serfs who are actually slaves of the citizens. In Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games the Capitol elite uses people from 12 districts for consuming goods production and entertainment. And finally there is always someone trying to get over the system. That’s usually an outsider realizing the real nature of the system and refusing to obey it.
Though Dystopian literature has conquered its place in the Young Adult genre relatively lately, its history goes back to the 18th century. And its beginning was not shy and quiet. You could say it began with a real “Bang!”. Just remember Jonathan Swifts’s Gulliver’s Travels! There the author presents a harsh critique of various aspects of contemporary British society which was considered civilized and perfect by the representatives of this society. He also depicts what can happen if society decides to go this or that way without taking into consideration moral values and sound logic. The Next bit of the Dystopian genre comes with Samuel Butler’s Erewhon (try to read this word backwords) in the 19th century. Butler expressed the idea which has been supported by lots of other writers of the genre since then. The idea is that delusion of constant technological development can be dangerous.
And finally the 20th century came which turned into a real explosion of Dystopians: Huxley and his Brave New World, Orwell’s 1984, Gibson’s techno-thriller Neuromancer, Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and so one and so forth.
As you see the pessimistic view on the possibility of a perfect world is as old as the world just like the idea of an outsider trying to change the rotten system.
One of the main goals of Dystopians is to warn the world about the potential dangers and traps on their way to a perfect life. These novels touch upon the issues some of which we face in our everyday life and present us with questions for our future development. Maybe that’s the answer for the question “Why do we prefer this genre to any other more and more often”?
Dear readers, please, tell why you like Dystopians and what novel you consider the best example of this genre.
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