1. Dystopian Novels

2. Definition Check: Utopian Utopian refers to human efforts to create a hypothetically perfect society. It refers to good but impossible proposals - or at least ones that are difficult to carry out.

3. Dystopian versus Utopian Dystopian is the opposite of utopian; it is often a utopia gone sour, an imaginary place or state where everything is as bad as it could possibly be.

4. Essential Features: Dystopian societies are undesirable or even horrifying. Dystopian societies are usually futuristic and fictional. Dystopian depictions can be regarded as warnings. Dystopian fiction is both about today and tomorrow. Dystopian fiction comments on our own society.

5. Dystopias The motif of dystopias has always been oppression and rebellion. The oppressors are almost always much more powerful than the rebels. Oftentimes the rebels most battle to: Stay alive Remain human Remain an individual with one’s own thoughts

6. Living in a dystopia As the citizens of dystopian societies often live in fear, they become paranoid and egotistical, almost like hunted animals. Dystopian citizens experience a profound feeling of being monitored, shadowed, chased, betrayed or manipulated.

7. Dystopias and Technology The dehumanization of society may also be connected to the benefits and hazards of technological progress. In Dystopia, the borderline of humanity is often blurred and the very concept of humanity distorted.

8. Dystopian Novels Dystopian novels usually include elements of contemporary society and are seen as a warning against some modern trend. Writers use them as cautionary tales, in which humankind is put into a society that may look inviting on the surface but in reality, is a nightmare.

9. Examples of Dystopian Novels 1984 Brave New World Fahrenheit 451 A Clockwork Orange Animal Farm The Time Machine

10. Fahrenheit 451 Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (1953) –The story takes place in the twenty-first century, in an America where books are banned. –Society feels that “opinion” books contain conflicting theories which are disruptive to society. –The penalty for owning one is having one's house and books burnt by "firemen." –451° F is stated as “the temperature at which book paper catches fire and burns…”

11. Relation to the Real World In the novel, Bradbury combined several issues of his contemporary society: –The burnings of books in Nazi Germany. –Stalin's suppression of authors and books in the Soviet Union. –The explosion of a nuclear weapon. "I meant all kinds of tyrannies anywhere in the world at any time, right, left, or middle," Bradbury has said.

12. Relation to the Real World The author also addresses the concern that the presence of fast cars, loud music, and advertisements creates a lifestyle with too much stimulation where no one has the time to concentrate. He also addresses concerns about censorship at the expense of personal expression.

13. Summary The dystopian literature of the period reflected the many concerns that resonated throughout the twentieth century. The concept of a dystopia was introduced to help reveal the potential consequences of a utopia turning against itself.

14. Do they work? What do you think about forming a utopia? Is it possible to create a perfect world in which to live?