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.
7th Grade English TEKS
7.12. Characteristics of Genres
A) Identify the purposes of different types of texts
B) Recognize the distinguishing features of genres
7.11. Literary Response
B) Interpret text ideas through varied means
D) Connect, compare, and contrast ideas, themes, and issues in texts
7th Grade Social Studies TEKS
Critical Thinking Skills
B) Analyze information using various methods
D) Identify points of view from the historical context and frame of reference
Image obtained from Thomas Morus’s book Utopia by Johann Froben in 1518

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.
7th Grade English TEKS
7.12. Characteristics of Genres
B) Recognize the distinguishing features of genres
7.11. Literary Response
D) Connect, compare, and contrast ideas, themes, and issues in texts
7th Grade Social Studies TEKS
Points of View in a Democratic Society
Identify different points of view of political parties and interest groups
Science/Technology/Society.
F) Make predictions about consequences resulting from future discoveries
Critical Thinking Skills
B) Analyze information using various methods
D) Identify points of view from the historical context and frame of reference

4. 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.
7th Grade English TEKS
7.12. Characteristics of Genres
A) Identify the purposes of different types of texts
B) Recognize the distinguishing features of genres
7th Grade Social Studies TEKS
Science/Technology/Society
F) Make predictions about consequences resulting from future discoveries
Critical Thinking Skills
B) Analyze information using various methods
D) Identify points of view from the historical context and frame of reference

5. Examples of Dystopian Novels
1984
Brave New World
Fahrenheit 451
A Clockwork Orange
Animal Farm
The Time Machine
7th Grade English TEKS
7.11. Literary Response
A) Offer observations, connections, and questions in response to the text
B) Interpret text ideas through varied means
7th Grade Social Studies TEKS
Critical Thinking Skills
D) Identify points of view from the historical context and frame of reference

6. 1984
1984 by George Orwell (1948)
The setting is the future world of 1984, where the head of government is the all-knowing Big Brother.
The hero’s longing for truth and decency leads him to secretly rebel against the government.
He is arrested by the “Thought Police” who torture the hero to “reeducate him” and force him to love the Big Brother.
7th Grade English TEKS
7.12. Characteristics of Genres
A) Identify the purposes of different types of texts
7.11. Literary Response
A) Offer observations, connections, and questions in response to the text
B) Interpret text ideas through varied means
D) Connect, compare, and contrast ideas, themes, and issues in texts
7th Grade Social Studies TEKS
Points of View in a Democratic Society
Identify different points of view of political parties and interest groups
Science/Technology/Society
F) Make predictions about consequences resulting from future discoveries
Critical Thinking Skills
B) Analyze information using various methods
D) Identify points of view from the historical context and frame of reference

7. Relation to the Real World
1984 serves as a cautionary tale against totalitarianism
Totalitarianism - A centralized government that does not tolerate parties of differing opinion and that exercises dictatorial control over many aspects of life
7th Grade English TEKS
7.12. Characteristics of Genres
A) Identify the purposes of different types of texts
7.11. Literary Response
A) Offer observations, connections, and questions in response to the text
D) Connect, compare, and contrast ideas, themes, and issues in texts
7th Grade Social Studies TEKS
Points of View in a Democratic Society
Identify different points of view of political parties and interest groups
Science/Technology/Society
A) Compare types and uses of technology in the past and present.
F) Make predictions about consequences resulting from future discoveries
Critical Thinking Skills
B) Analyze information using various methods
D) Identify points of view from the historical context and frame of reference

8. Relation to the Real World
The regime in the book could represent a futuristic England or United States, since Orwell was worried about their increasing power during his lifetime.

9. Relation to the Real World
There are direct parallels between the book and the society at that time:
Leader worship – similar to Big Brother, dictators Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler were revered and followed absolutely
Joycamps - a reference to Jewish concentration camps
Thought police – a reference to the Gestapo, the secret police of the Nazis
The Use of Propaganda – similar tactics were used in the totalitarian regimes of Hitler and Stalin

10. Brave New World Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1932)
At first, the world it describes sounds like a utopia: humanity is carefree, healthy, and technologically advanced.
Warfare and poverty have been eliminated, and everyone is permanently happy.
However, all of these things have been achieved by eliminating family, cultural diversity, art, literature, science, religion, and philosophy.

11. Relation to the Real World
The issues raised in the book were influenced by the issues of Huxley’s time.
The Industrial Revolution had brought massive changes to the world.
Mass production made cars, telephones, and radios cheap and widely available.
The effects of World War I and totalitarian regimes were still being felt.
Huxley used his book to express the fear of losing individual identity in the fast-paced world of the future.
7th Grade English TEKS
7.12. Characteristics of Genres
A) Identify the purposes of different types of texts
B) Recognize the distinguishing features of genres
7.11. Literary Response
A) Offer observations, connections, and questions in response to the text
B) Interpret text ideas through varied means
D) Connect, compare, and contrast ideas, themes, and issues in texts
7th Grade Social Studies TEKS
Points of View in a Democratic Society
Identify different points of view of political parties and interest groups
Science/Technology/Society
A) Compare types and uses of technology in the past and present.
F) Make predictions about consequences resulting from future discoveries
Critical Thinking Skills
B) Analyze information using various methods
D) Identify points of view from the historical context and frame of reference

12. Relation to the Real World
One event that influenced Huxley was an early trip to America.
Huxley was outraged by the commercial-led cheeriness and selfish nature of many of the people.
There was a strong fear in Europe of worldwide Americanization.
7th Grade English TEKS
7.11. Literary Response
A) Offer observations, connections, and questions in response to the text
B) Interpret text ideas through varied means
D) Connect, compare, and contrast ideas, themes, and issues in texts
7th Grade Social Studies TEKS
Points of View in a Democratic Society
Identify different points of view of political parties and interest groups
Science/Technology/Society
A) Compare types and uses of technology in the past and present.
F) Make predictions about consequences resulting from future discoveries
Critical Thinking Skills
B) Analyze information using various methods
D) Identify points of view from the historical context and frame of reference

13. Relation to the Real World
Therefore, in Brave New World, Huxley explores the fears of both Soviet communism and American capitalism.
Worse, he suggests that the price of universal happiness will be the sacrifice of everything important in our culture: motherhood, home, family, community, and love.
7th Grade English TEKS
7.11. Literary Response
A) Offer observations, connections, and questions in response to the text
B) Interpret text ideas through varied means
D) Connect, compare, and contrast ideas, themes, and issues in texts
7th Grade Social Studies TEKS
Points of View in a Democratic Society
Identify different points of view of political parties and interest groups
Science/Technology/Society
F) Make predictions about consequences resulting from future discoveries
Critical Thinking Skills
B) Analyze information using various methods
D) Identify points of view from the historical context and frame of reference

14. 1984 versus Brave New World
The major difference between the two books is in 1984 people are controlled by constant government surveillance, secret police, and torture.
In Brave New World humans are controlled by technological interventions that start before birth and last until death, and actually change what people want.
7th Grade English TEKS
7.12. Characteristics of Genres
A) Identify the purposes of different types of texts
7.11. Literary Response
A) Offer observations, connections, and questions in response to the text
D) Connect, compare, and contrast ideas, themes, and issues in texts
7th Grade Social Studies TEKS
Points of View in a Democratic Society
Identify different points of view of political parties and interest groups
Critical Thinking Skills
B) Analyze information using various methods
D) Identify points of view from the historical context and frame of reference

15. 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…”
7th Grade English TEKS
7.11. Literary Response
A) Offer observations, connections, and questions in response to the text
B) Interpret text ideas through varied means
D) Connect, compare, and contrast ideas, themes, and issues in texts
7th Grade Social Studies TEKS
Points of View in a Democratic Society
Identify different points of view of political parties and interest groups
Science/Technology/Society
F) Make predictions about consequences resulting from future discoveries
Critical Thinking Skills
B) Analyze information using various methods
D) Identify points of view from the historical context and frame of reference

16. 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.
7th Grade English TEKS
7.11. Literary Response
A) Offer observations, connections, and questions in response to the text
B) Interpret text ideas through varied means
D) Connect, compare, and contrast ideas, themes, and issues in texts
7th Grade Social Studies TEKS
Points of View in a Democratic Society
Identify different points of view of political parties and interest groups
Science/Technology/Society
A) Compare types and uses of technology in the past and present.
F) Make predictions about consequences resulting from future discoveries
Critical Thinking Skills
B) Analyze information using various methods
D) Identify points of view from the historical context and frame of reference
Image taken on May 6,1933, as Nazis ransacked libraries in Berlin; four days later as part of large public burnings of books viewed as "un-German," thousands of books were thrown into a huge bonfire.

17. 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.
7th Grade English TEKS
7.12. Characteristics of Genres
B) Recognize the distinguishing features of genres
7.11. Literary Response
A) Offer observations, connections, and questions in response to the text
B) Interpret text ideas through varied means
D) Connect, compare, and contrast ideas, themes, and issues in texts
7th Grade Social Studies TEKS
Points of View in a Democratic Society
Identify different points of view of political parties and interest groups
Science/Technology/Society
A) Compare types and uses of technology in the past and present.
F) Make predictions about consequences resulting from future discoveries
Critical Thinking Skills
D) Identify points of view from the historical context and frame of reference

18. Summary everyone equal, thinks the same way
Goals Methods Used Theme
everyone equal, thinks the same way
force, spying, secret police
evils of totalitarianism
no war or poverty, only happiness
change what people want
sacrificing culture for “happiness”
absence of things disrup-tive to society
book burnings, no personal expression
consequences of fast-paced
society
1984
Brave New World
Fahrenheit 451

19. 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.