The Pros And Cons Of Dystopian Society

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.

The next generation of the United States is in huge trouble. Slowly in front of our eyes America is becoming a dystopian society. Although, the United States was created to be close to perfect, as years go by we can see the dangerous reality of how far the US is from being perfect. Our society is going through a tough time right now and while it may not seem that our country is in trouble we will soon realize. So how does our modern society relates to a dystopian society? A dystopian society is an imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded one. Dystopia is also a term that that defines a corrupt government that projects a false image. This relates to the modern American society because it relates to how citizens are treated by the government. Our government enjoys throwing false images to the citizens of the country. The government also enjoys hiding things from the citizens to make everything seem better than it actually is in reality. Characteristics that a dystopian society lack are freedom, self-control, and individualism. Although, it is hard to accept the fact that our country is headed towards a downfall, we have to realize that our society is becoming a dystopian society.

A dystopian society is an illusion of a perfect society. Think of a world where having fun isn’t allowed. Nothing that has been created is fun no sports, no computer games, no music and everything in life has a purpose. You are forced to work for the rest of your life a job that the government chose. The government chooses who you are going to marry, where you are going to live and how much you are going to make. However, one person is assigned a job that he enjoyed and is fun. It is so fun that he become the best in the field. He then goes on to become the boss of everybody in that field and starts to boss around the people at the firm. If somebody says something that he does not agree with they get fired. The keys aspect of a dystopian society can either be a control of information, a singularity in power or ruling in fear and the purpose of these stories to the reader is what would happen if we let it run its course?

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.

Our modern day society may have some problems but it could be a lot worse. In dystopian societies everything is controlled and is hard to deal with. Modern day society and dystopian societies are very different though, they both have a need for laws like in The Giver.

Dystopian societies starkly resemble our own. They emphasize the idea that if preventive measures are not taken now, there will be turmoil later. They serve as a reminder that if the weakness and passions of man are pursued, disorder will be fostered.

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

dystopian communities, there is always some form of suffering occurring. A dystopia never benefits society as a whole and will provide nightmares for those who do not benefit. A civilization following dystopian characteristics involve illusions of prosperity, people being singled out, and a strong sense of corruption. Dystopian civilizations are full of suffering whether it be covered up, out in the open, or even done in a ceremonious nature.

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 mainly asks one question and that is, “What if?” Typically, their government, beliefs, and way of life are different from what we would find normal. All the literary works demonstrate a society unlike ours including: To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, “Harrison Bergeron” by Harrison Vonnegut, “The Pedestrian” by Ray Bradbury, Anthem by Ayn Rand, 1984 by George Orwell, and Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer.

A dystopia is an imaginary, imperfect place where those who dwell are faced with terrible circumstances. The novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley illustrates the concept of a dystopia. A utopia is an ideal place where everything is perfect, but in the novel, it becomes apparent that the author is trying to demonstrate the negative effects on a society when it attempts to become an unreachable utopian society. Brave New World is seen as a dystopia for many reasons, as citizens are deprived of freedom, programmed to be emotionless and under the control of a corrupt dictatorship. These points illustrate the irony of a society’s attempt to reach utopia by opposing ethics and morality; citizens are tragically distanced from paradise,

More defined it as a place that notably "[had] no chance to loaf or kill time, no pretext for evading work… no chances for corruption" (49). As Ferns defines, it is “desirable, but at the same time unattainable.” (39) According to Sisk, dystopia, “utopia's polarized offspring”, “pessimistically [extrapolates] contemporary social trends into oppressive and terrifying societies”. To use a simpler lexical definition, according to Merriam-Webster, a dystopia is “an imaginary place where people lead dehumanized and often fearful lives”. In other words, dystopia is in opposition to an ideal place, and a dystopian text serves to interrogate current-day norms and exaggerate them, and this usually culminates in a controlling, oppressive government, which mostly uses propaganda and censorship (often of the past) to effect control and repress independent thought, causing people to lead degraded

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.