Characteristics Of Dystopian Literature

Dystopia is common theme which dates hundreds of years in literature worldwide. Dystopian novels and short stories often depict a society repressed by a totalitarian government which comes to power after a cataclysmic occurrence, wielding unforgiving power and control over inhabitants for their own good. These dystopias are often perceived by the average citizen as a normal or unavoidable way of life, sometimes even a better way of life, yet there is often a single person or group of protagonists who question the justification of such living arrangements and threaten upheaval of the utopia sold by the ruling class.

One of the ideas that relates to a dystopian society is lack of freedom for citizens. In many dystopian novels citizens lack freedom. For example the novel “Brave New World” have many characteristics of a dystopian society. The irony of the world being promoted as perfect despite being the opposite is also shown in the novel. So what exactly makes Brave New World a dystopian? The society in Brave New World takes away the citizens identity and expression. The society limits the citizens ability to think on their own. In the society life basically means nothing. One of the ways that made Brave New World a dystopian society is the way the citizens were controlled. The conditions of your birth basically determined who the citizens were their entire life. The citizens were put in a caste system based on how they were born. The alphas and Epsilons. The citizens were not allowed to be or think for themselves.This makes it a dystopian society because the

A dystopian society can be accurately described as an abject habitation in which people live dissatisfied lives under total control of the government. As terrible as dystopias are, there have been many instances of such societies in the past, and a copious amount of them are found in our current time. Although it may seem that mankind would learn from past experiences and be able to prevent the formation of dystopias, all failed endeavors at utopia, in turn, lead to dystopia. A prime example of this is found in the novel Night, by Elie Wiesel. The story recounts the Holocaust, a mass genocide of Jews conducted by Adolf Hitler, who believed he could create a utopia by basically eradicating a religious group. This inhumane act created a dystopia which was extremely disparate from our modern day society. Yet, there are still apparent similarities that can be found in any community, which maintain order within. Elie’s dystopia and our present society share the large factors of government, media, and labor, but, the approach to each of these ideas is what sets our lives apart.

Years ago, Charles Darwin developed a theory of evolution. The strong will readjust and change while the weak die off. This became known as natural selection. The world is ever changing and in order to survive, one must adapt to their surroundings. Without doing so, the chances of survival are slim. Much like society today. Society has the top 1%, who are adjusting just fine to this ever changing world. But what about the other 99% of people? Majority of them are the ones struggling to change their life. Whether it be by going to school to earn a degree and a higher paying job, or cutting back on expenses to afford the necessities of life, one must adapt. Dystopian literature gives people an idea of what could happen in this ever growing, refined world. Most dystopian literatures install a sense of fear in people. A fear that society could be taken over by a select few, an unnatural force, or Mother Nature herself. The movie, In Time¸ and the story by Ray Bradbury, The Murderer, give chilling examples of what could, or could not, become of just Earth, but society as well.

Oxford dictionary defines dystopia as “an imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically totalitarian or environmentally degraded to one.” In Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 and Kurt Vonnegut’s Harrison Bergeron the government uses censorship to make everyone equal. Censorship cause utopian societies to become dystopian due to a false perception of happiness, untruthful statements and strong outliers.

Different societies have risen and fallen in the continual search for the “perfect” society. The definition of this utopia is in constant flux due to changing times and cultural values. Many works of literature have been written describing a utopian society and the steps needed to achieve it. However, there are those with a more cynical or more realistic view of society that comment on current and future trends. These individuals look at the problems in society and show how to solve them with the use of control and power. Such a society is considered undesirable and has become known as dystopian society.

What exactly is a 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 be becoming 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. Dystopian worlds are often seen as fictitious, though this may not be the case in the

First, a dystopian society is characterized by, among other things: the use of propaganda to control citizens, the restriction of information and independent thought, the constant surveillance of citizens, and the worshipping of a figurehead. We can see these characteristics very clearly in the extreme and cruel Nazi Germany created by Hitler. He used lies to deter Germany’s citizens and restricted the flow of information. Independent thought and freedom of will were against the law, and the people were under constant watch to ensure they did exactly as the government wanted. “If people are to die in the war I will not spend time on them because they did not deserve better, and if we lose than I shall not show sorrow.” (Hitler Remember.org.)

A dystopia is an oppressive society seeking absolute power. Some characteristics of dystopian society are things that dehumanized people, takes away the freedom of people, and the people always live in fear. The case of a dystopia in 1984 is that everybody is constantly under surveillance by the inner and outter party and the top party of Big Brother. In Kurt Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron" everybody is altered by having to wear weights, mask, or ear pieces so that no one person is stronger, prettier, etc. In the film In Time everybody is classified by the time they have on their arm, the more time you have the higher in power you are, those whom run out of time die. All dystopian literature whether it be a book, short story, movie share similar characteristics.

Dystopias, on the other hand, are quite corrupt. “THE YEAR WAS 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren’t only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way.” (Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. p.100) In a dystopia, there is only equality, no more. Modern day society is based on being unique; opposites.“The life where nothing was ever unexpected. Or inconvenient.

A dystopian society, usually illusory, is the reverse of an idyllic utopia: it is generally tyrannical and inhibited. Dystopian societies mirror our future- they are usually a hyperbolic familiar society with satirical exaggeration. This kind of literature is written to amend other people 's idea of the kind of society they should thrive for. As well as that, they are written to express their concerns about the future and humanity. Societies of this nature appear in many works of fiction, predominantly in novels set in a speculative future. Dystopian culture is often mused by societal collapse, dehumanization, poverty, and deprivation.

A dystopia is a place full of contempt, agony and is in no way a mediocre society which we live in today. People in a dystopia are similar to a bunch of marionette puppets; they are told how to live their life and are always controlled by a greater power. The protagonist always tries to defeat or defy the person or object of higher power in order to create a healthier society.

A dystopia is a futuristic and imagined universe in which oppressive societal control and the illusion of a perfect society are maintained through corporate, bureaucratic, technological, moral, or totalitarian control. There is a benefit or need for Dystopian Literature because it shows how real life societies can create illusions

A dystopia represents the polar opposite of a utopia. Indeed, it could even be considered a failed utopia, a failed ideal society. If one accepts this notion as fact, then it would lead to the logical conclusion that both must share some of the same characteristics. Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 portrays one such dystopia that has emerged throughout the ages clearly depicting characteristics such as conformity, isolation from external influences, and an apparent lack of poverty, misery, and war.

as many writers, critics and philosophers give different definitions for them, and many books have written about them,To show that the society as it is or how it should be. The dystopian stories are regularly stories around survival. Dystopian tales stress the feelings of the frailty of the people in the face of the oppressive. Merriam Webster also defined dystopia as "a place in which nothing is good and corruption is everywhere controls the whole society" (Webster