How is the dehumanisation of individuals explored and portrayed within dystopian societies? A dystopian society is a futuristic, corrupt society which functions on the conformity and the mindlessness of their masses. This leads to the loss of individualism and diversity. Many authors have shared their concerns on society and humanity by describing how restrictive and oppressive these governments can be. This is explored in the texts 1984 by George Orwell, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, When the Sleeper Wakes by H.G. Wells and Anthem by Ayn Rand where class systems, propaganda and control dominate the society. Class systems often form the structure of a dystopian society by categorising humans based on who they are economically. This forces citizens into a mould and takes away their individuality In 1984, less than 2% form the Inner Party of Ingsoc. They make governmental decisions, create social policies and manage the work of the Outer Party. The Inner Party have the luxury of comfortable homes and personal servants. The middle class, the Outer Party is employed in the ministries of Ingsoc. Because of their intellectual ability, they are considered the most dangerous class and are most likely to rebel against the Party. They have telescreens constantly watching them and follow strict rules. Outer Party members are expected to attend community events promoting their leader, Big Brother. The rest of the population is grouped under the term “proles”. They are the labourers
The trend in dystopian societies is very intriguing and so vivid. Dystopian societies dictate many characteristics as leaders and followers usually one coming out from the shade to lead their small groups to rebel against order. Through, James Dashner literature the maze runner series he greatly displays challenges of the protagonist in a fallen society. He also takes his text to the next level by being able to display hopelessness in a series of challenges, with struggles with fear in courage as the protagonist in the book go through their trenches, long and dangerous journey. Basically the control the dystopian society creates. Since their beginning they all went through the same thing. On pg. 1. “he began his new life standing up, surrounded
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
Dehumanization in the novel Night, is shown through the actions observed by Elie Wiesel. One example is when he first arrives to Auschwitz and gets a number tattooed on himself, in which it robs the humanity and identification of him. Another example is when the selection process of prisoners is shown either between being healthy or not. So, if the person was deemed sick or unhealthy they would be sent to the gas chambers because the S.S. officers had no use for them anymore.
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.
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.
In every dystopia, the government is the face of tyranny; it rules with an iron fist, monitors the peoples and implants fear and terror in the lives. Moreover, the government has absolute control over all the society’s systems like the educational systems. Through education, the government forms the ideologies of the following generation making sure that they remain submissive like the previous ones. Basically, the government brainwashes the minds of the citizens depriving them of the freedom of choice and creating slaves that will always be loyal to the ruling system. Accordingly, Gregory Claeys explains”dystopia embodies unfreedom, and exposure to the constantly capricious rule of a supremely powerful force, which may be human, natural, superhuman or utterly artificial’’ (Claeys). Hence, the methods that the government takes, by forming peoples’ minds from childhood, make sure that the people will never question the authority or violate the social
During the holocaust, the germans saw the jews as a “tainted race”, and saw them inferior to themselves. They also sought to kill off the jewish bloodline completely.
In George Orwell’s novel, “1984”,is about a main character Winston, who is an ordinary citizen of Oceania. The totalitarian society is led by Big Brother. Television screens are strategically placed everywhere watching citizens’ every move. Leaving them in constant fear and paranoia. The corrupt society lead to some citizens wanting to rebel. If they were ever caught, they would be severely punished. This kept wearing citizens down. The dehumanization of citizens of Oceania was due to propaganda, mind control, and the lack of privacy.
class, or the Outer Party, are trying to become part of the higher class. While the poor, or
Imagine a world where mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters are no longer a part of society. Imagine a world of lifeless shells of humans. Both Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, and 1984, by George Orwell, portray such societies that have been degraded by the idea of utopia'. In such a distraught society it's no surprise that people will loss their humanity. For those characters that still had sanity, the impact of this world would twist their minds to the limit.
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.
An issue which Orwell addresses in his book “1984” that is and has been effecting society throughout history is class differences. In Oceania who ever belonged to the Inner Party was upper class. The Proles are people of the low class who are not regarded as significant to society by the party. All other such as Winston and Julia were considered the Outer Party, which were working middle class, and they were the ones who the Party wished to control. Neither the Outer Party nor the Proles had any influence what so ever on the direction their country was going or the rules that governed their lives. The Inner Party manipulated the media and gained access to citizens’ private lives in order to haven absolute control over every characteristic of human existence including
There will always will be a power or a government with a society. Whether it be as small as a group or as large as a country. According to multiple sources, government has been around since the first city-state was created. Just by this source alone we demonstrate how society has always needed an order and power: Government. Dystopian: An imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded one. Lord of the Flies, a novel that is realistic is the fact that it parallels with the real world. The moral that Golding was taking example of was the evil inside all of us. He created this novel to express dystopia, which was how boys were stuck on an island and how they created their
The definition of a dystopian society is “an imaginary society that is as dehumanizing and as unpleasant as possible.” What makes them this way is that the vast majority of people living in them have zero control or power over themselves, even if they think they do. The select people in the society (i.e. the government, the rich) are the one who pull the strings behind the scenes for the majority that are ‘below’ them. The ones with the power are in the minority and are vastly outnumbered by those without power, yet the systems are so efficient at control those without power do not have the will to rebel. Control is enforced through surveillance and monitoring of the actions of the citizens. There is also the fear of discipline if you are caught acting out of line. In each society there is an atmosphere of bleak helplessness and a lack of individuality. A dystopian society fits the definition of Foucault’s Panopticism, the society has an efficient, systematic control in which power is exerted by the few to control the many, although the system is not always a negative.
Dystopian literature and film has been quite a popular genre for readers. In most texts, they are set in a post-apocalyptic or dystopian world where the protagonist struggles to fit into these corrupted worlds and these protagonists rebel because they feel like the government has turned their backs on them, leaving them treated unfairly. The protagonist fight back in the hopes of restoring society to its sensible state. All the main protagonists in the plots are put into inhumane situations as they are controlled by the government in order to fit their ideas and beliefs or just the plain simple reason, for their own entertainment. Through the actions and perspective of these protagonists, it shows a reflection of how we deal with certain issues