Dystopian And Other Science Fiction Genres

Tyler, Anne. "Teenage Wasteland." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 12th ed. Boston: Longman, 2012. 188-95. Print.

Science fiction is a genre of writing involving plots and themes related to future scientific advances and major social changes, often coming from the author’s imagination rather than from factual knowledge. With the advancement of Man’s knowledge resulting from the scientific revolution, fictional predictions about the future resulted in believable new works of science fiction. Some authors pictured future technologies that would benefit mankind in some way or would let mankind explore new boundaries that had previously limited the human experience. One of these authors was Jules Verne whose imagination allowed him to pen ideas about electrical submarines and solar sails. However, other authors envisioned a bleak dystopian world in which mankind has lost many important objects, and sometimes intangible values as well. Three examples of dystopian fiction are Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and George Orwell’s two novels, Animal Farm and 1984. Through these and other

One of the fundamental principles of any young adult novel is its relatability. Oftentimes, teenagers are forced to read outdated, complicated written works for school for the sake of introducing them to the literary canon. More often than not, teenagers cannot relate to these works due to a variety of factors: the language is complex and difficult to read, there are no exciting characters or plot events, or it’s just plain old boring. As a result, teenagers turn to young adult novels as a safe haven—it is where they find books they can actually relate to. Consequently, any worthwhile young adult novel has to be both interesting and relatable, risking limited success if the latter is absent. Without a doubt, Eliot Schrefer’s Endangered is nothing short of interesting, documenting the exciting tale of a young girl’s journey throughout the Democratic Republic of Congo during heightened civil unrest. However, when it comes to the relatability of his novel, Schrefer takes a risk as a result of his setting and plot choices, but still succeeds in presenting something teenagers can relate to through the character of Sophie.

Some might claim the YA genre has grown to be too dark for its target audience. Meghan Gurdon, a firm believer of this idea, explains why she believes this in her article, “Darkness Too Visible”. Gurdon describes the experience of a mother of three in a bookstore looking to purchase a YA novel for one of her children, when she found herself leaving the bookstore empty-handed due to the content of the teen books. While teen books decades ago contained less violent/corrupted material, times have changed along with the genre. She is concerned that these books could have an effect on these young readers’ brains as they are merely transferring from childhood to adulthood. Gurdon still has faith that YA books would sell just as well and connect with young readers today without all of the dark subject matters discussed in them these days.

Dark themes are on the rise in young adult literature, and parents can’t help but wonder if this is due to the abundance of these subjects in adult literature. Literary critic Meghan Cox Gurdon’s editorial “Darkness Too Visible” and author Sherman Alexie’s response “Why the Best Kids Books are Written in Blood” have contrasting views on this subject. However, with the superior techniques Alexie Sherman is more effective. Both authors use themes and style in their writing, but with his superior use of persuasive techniques Alexie Sherman’s article is ultimately more effective.

In 1966 Truman Capote shocked the world with a novel unlike anything ever seen before. Capote’s novel “In Cold Blood” not only entranced readers with its often dark and mysterious tone, stunning imagery and controversial elements but introduced its audience to an all new genre, a non-fiction novel. In 2001 Lois T. Stover commented on the complexity and depth found in quality young adult literature, she stated that “Good young adult literature deals with the themes and issues that mirror the concerns of society … it help readers understand the complexities and shades of grey involved in dealing with these issues." “In Cold Blood” is a superb example that there is nothing simple about quality young adult literature, themes and messages found in capotes crime/thriller novel did and still relate heavily to our growing society. “In Cold Blood” explores numerous social issues; including the detrimental effects of mental illness, the banality of evil and the importance of family however it’s the commentary Capote makes on the so called “American dream” that questions its authenticity, takes centre stage throughout the novel.

In the past five years, children’s literature has had many common themes. Bullying has been a popular subject of interest at all levels of reading. This trend reflects a rising concern about cyberbullying and the sometimes dramatic effects it can have on a child’s life. Writers and parents are making an effort to show children that what they do to their peers has real consequences and to be mindful with their words and actions. Another popular subject is dystopian futures. This interest is in part due to the success of The Hunger Games trilogy, children have become interested in the future of their planet.

Teens love dystopian stories because they can relate to the hero. In “Anthem” and “Divergent” the hero is different than everyone else in the story. Also they have a feeling of being divided. Then teens can relate to the actions of trying to fit in. They even can relate to the Uncharted Forest in “Anthem” and the Walls in “Divergent” because they feel like they are being blocked off.

Teenage readers, take than anyone,undoubtedly relate to the characters’ sense of helplessness. they believe that parents, teachers, ministers, and every second authority is restricting their individuality and their freedom.

While not all works of young adult literature stand up to critical analysis, many of them do. Although no work of young adult literature may ever be raised to canonical status because of its less romantic setting or less sophisticated language, it is an important category of literature to which adolescents and young adults can relate as well as one from which they can grow personally and socially, gaining skills that can be used for critical thinking and analysis for the rest of their

He believes that “tomorrow isn’t what it used to be” and that “what we could really use right now are a few utopian novels”. These excerpts from the essay clearly define the author's position that he sees the latest trend in young adult fiction novels to be quite pessimistic and believes that there needs to be some kind of balance. He does this so that the readers of these works have the ability to experience the happy endings as well as the somewhat cynical endings of the seemingly endless array of futuristic dystopian worlds. Reeve continues to support his argument by throwing phrases such as “the apocalypse, we seem to be teaching young readers, is something that you have to take seriously” and “more worrying still is the absence of any counterbalance”, which propose that the authors of the young adult novels are finding themselves getting caught up in the worlds that they are creating and drifting further from the reality

Why is dystopian literature appealing to a variety of readers? And specifically why many of these readers whom are young adults? The article, “WHY DYSTOPIAN LIT IS SO POPULAR WITH TEENS”, states 6 reasons why dystopian literature is popular with young adults. One reason is that teens are forced to follow rules. “The future societies in these books usually live in a world with a lot of rules. The government determines what you eat, what you wear, where you work, who you love, and even when you die.” This is true for The Giver. “Even the Matching of Spouses was given such a weighty consideration that sometimes an adult who applied to receive a spouse waited months or even years before a Match was approved or announced.”(pg.48). In the Community

Making several appearances on the American Library Association’s ‘most contested books’ listings for its controversial and confronting content, The Hunger Games trilogy has become one of the most discussed Young Adult fictions since its debut in 2008. Through Suzanne Collins’ use of provocative themes of class and extreme poverty, confronting depictions of violence amongst children and the challenging of stereotypical gender roles, the novel discusses the hardships faced by children living within her harsh, yet thrilling, constructed universe. The raw and violent nature of the narrative attracts concerns from adults spanning the globe, raising questions regarding the suitability of The Hunger Games as Young Adult fiction. Through a

Indeed, the best works of literature are those which are of relevance to our lives today. Through their relevance, these novels continue to persist and endure on. Through their relevance, we can better comprehend the messages, the themes, and the ideas that are imbued in them. Rather than literature being contradictory and in conflict with the truth and unpleasant reality of daily life, it becomes a weapon through which we can be educated about the existential crises facing our world today. In fact, the statement above could not be more far and distant from the reality of literature today. It is fatally flawed. Literature, whilst at the surface, seems whimsical and amusing is, at its very core, a medium through which we are enlightened

We’re in the 21st century, and right now there is such a huge variety of contemporary literature that encourages young adults to look beyond Australian stereotypes. In this speech I will discuss why I agree with contemporary literature encouraging young readers to look beyond