1. Utopia vs. Dystopia

2. Utopia Definition: No place in Greek An ideal place or state
Any visionary system of political or social perfection

3. What would a perfect world be like?

4. Dystopia A supposedly ideal place that has some secret problems
Everything looks perfect on the outside, and people believe it, but the society is terrible
Typically impoverished, degrading, etc...
An enlightened one attempts to show the world how things can be better

6. Examples of Dystopian societies
1984 by George Orwell
The seemingly insignificant man, Winston Smith, works for the government. His job is to change the records, to change history, to rewrite the events of our past. Eventually, he can’t stand it and begins a rebellion that leads him into torture and all kinds of other trouble.

7. Examples of Dystopian societies
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Each year, the government “reaps” 2 teens from each District to have the honor of competing in the Hunger Games. The problem is only one person will make it out alive. This is the government’s way of keeping the people under control and in fear.

8. Examples of Dystopian Societies
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Everything and everyone is the same in Jonas’s community. That’s the best way to make sure no one gets hurt. The community leaders choose everything for you – your name, your family, your job, your hobbies, your world. But what happens when someone wants more than the same?

9. Examples of Dystopian Societies

10. Structure of a Dystopian Novel
Divided into 3 acts
Act 1
largely exposition, establishing the parameters of the society and introducing the characters
Usually some precipitous event occurs toward the end of Act I that introduces the conflict and begins the rising action
Act 2
contains most of the rising action as it follows the attempts of the main character to either escape or change the society
the climax—the point at which the character’s attempts to fulfill his/her desire and the society’s attempts to thwart him/her reach the point at which one side or the other must win—usually occurs either at the end of Act II or the beginning of Act III
Act 3
contains the falling action, the aftermath of the action in Act II

11. Characters in a Dystopian Novel
Representative(s) of powerful, those in control
Representative(s) of the “typical” citizen, perfectly happy with the society or blissfully unaware of the society’s flaws
staunchly patriotic and cannot comprehend anyone’s dissatisfaction with the society
sometimes these characters are passive/philosophical: they are aware of the flaws in the society (though not necessarily troubled by them), but they accept the flaws
at least one character disenfranchised by the society, who desires either to escape or to change
these characters begin the novel loving the society (and holding a high rank within the society), but events in the novel cause a change in belief
OR these characters begin the novel already disliking the society

12. Narrative POV of Dystopian novels
Almost always from the inside
Either a member of the society itself or someone who enters and is adopted by the society
Rarely will an outsider offer a convincing evaluation of the dystopian nature of the society of the novel

13. Common traits/themes of dystopian novels
The individual is worth nothing more than his or her value as part of the governmental or the “establishment” machine
Power resides either in a single dictator or in a larger governmental organization
forms of control include the means of communication, education, mass media, and popular culture
The controlling body finds and uses a scapegoat to deflect the blame for the suffering of the people (e.g., a foreign enemy, a disenfranchised group within the society, etc.)