Thesis statement: An analysis of the key literary elements in “Amaryllis” by Carrie Vaughn and “Jordon’s Water hammer” by Joe Mastroianni clearly illustrates the main characteristics and classification of the dystopian genre.
Intro:
Brief background about dystopia genre
Short stories discussed- “ Amaryllis” by Carrie Vaughn and “Jordon’s Waterhammer” by Joe Mastroianni
Brief summary of the two short stories
Essay covers setting, plot development and character development. It analyses the dystopian genre
Both short stories retrieved from “Brave New worlds” by John Joseph Adams. (Dystopian shot story collection).
Setting
Most stories set in the dystopian genre follow a similar guideline.
Set in a society worse than the readers
Amaryllis: a futuristic world where human population is spinning out to control.
Jordon’s Waterhammer: set in an over controlled underground mining community made up of only males.
A figurehead or concept is worshipped by the citizens.
Amaryllis: the concept that population control will solve all their problem, even though this may cause more problems for future generations as there won’t be many people left because women are very rarely allowed to become pregnant.
Jordon’s Waterhammer: The concept that men are only tool sand nothing else. That the purpose of living is to mine ore.
Citizens are perceived to be under constant surveillance
Amaryllis: families are constants inspected to maintain population control.
Jordon’s
people within a minority group, as a way to control their fertilization and combat overpopulation.
In the dystopian worlds created by the film director Andrew Niccol and renowned author George Orwell, notions of control and freedom are explored. Both worlds contain an overarching power that governs the rest of the population and restricts freedom of individuals, these powers also aid in the progression of technology, which further act to control individuals. The characterisations of the protagonists of each text portray the lack of freedom from the perspective of those that are affected. Both authors use a variety of techniques to portray themes of control and freedom in their texts.
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Being a man isn’t always easy, for most of their life they are taught to show no affection and to be tough in almost every situation. The tragedy of machismo is that a man is never quite man enough. “Hunters in the Snow”, by Tobias Wolff, three hunting buddies, Frank, Tub and Kenny, set out on a hunting trip together as they have done for years. Tub, who is over-weight, self-conscious and a good friend, shows some of his weaknesses, strengths and hardships that are sometimes placed on men in different situations.
Torture, murder, oppression; these despicable acts are prime tenets in the governments of 1984, by George Orwell, and 2081, by Kurt Vonnegut. Inhuman acts are commonplace in many fictional worlds, but these two works showcase characters losing their humanity and being subjected to terrible acts. In both 1984 and 2081, dehumanization and inhumane acts are expressed through the removal of free expression and physical violence designed to break deviants.
1984 is a classic piece of British literature that serves as the most prominent example of the dystopia genre. In this nover George Orwell tells the precautionary tale of what might happen if the society goes totalitarian. In this essay I would like to talk about the role of women in the novel.
A comparison of dystopian texts explores contemporary issues of society and integrates them into an alien world. The Handmaid 's Tale by Margaret Atwood illustrates the nature of society as far from ideal, and the destructive nature of oppression. Similarly, Gattaca by Andrew Niccol epitomises the characteristics of a dystopian text, by highlighting the subversion of natural processes, suppression of identity and oppression present in society. Both texts explore similar themes that reflect a society 's deepest fears to the audience- dehumanisation.
On the surface, dystopian fiction is a bleak, depressing genre that offers ‘a detailed and destructive presentation of the very worst of social alternative’ , but in actuality it is a means of speculation that reveals to the audience the real threats in society. It extrapolates contemporary socio-political trends taken into extremes , which compels its audience to re-examine the values of their society, resulting in an optimistic tale that gives the audience hope to escape their pessimistic future. Anthem by Ayn Rand (1937) is a detailed portrait of a collectivist society overstated for the purpose of satire and storytelling. As a politically conscious writer, Rand writes to communicate to her audience her political perception into the destructive psychology of collectivism. This exposes the audience to the risks of conformity, along with providing means to avoid this dystopian imagination crystallising into reality.
In her essay “Throwing Like a Girl,” Iris Marion Young examines why women move differently than do men. She discusses the apparent observable differences in bodily comportment, physical engagement with things, ways of using the body in performing tasks, and bodily self-image of feminine existence. Young makes the argument that the differences between men and women are not caused by a mysterious “essence” or by any biological or anatomical limitation, but, rather, we are socialized into “being” in our bodily space by the situation surrounding our existence.
The qualities of Dystopia apparent in 1984 and V for Vendetta through the absence of Independence and Freedom provide groundwork for the texts classification
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3. What similarities and differences do these stories have in common, considering where and when they take place
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Although at face value the poem “dandelion” by Julie Lechevsky may appear to just be about dandelions, after taking a closer look at the metaphors, personifications, and other literary devices that are used, it is clear that the poem is about how attention isn’t always a good thing. Lechevsky does this by showing how dandelions are well known but not in a good way, and how her parents give her too much attention.
We are able to see that language in both the texts maintain the dystopian societies. However as well as authoritarian manipulation of language, the dystopian genre is created through the authors styles of writing.