Lesson 2: Dystopias
In this unit, you will be asked to read your novel and think about it in two ways:
1. How can you relate this story to your own life or to the world today? You will do this reflection in the form of a Reader Response Journal (lesson 3).
2. What is the foundation of this novel's dystopia? How has the author created this society and what makes it tick? You will do this analysis in the Novel Notes that will be provided for you (lesson 4).
If you google the term 'utopia', you will find some of the following definitions:
“an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 bookUtopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt to create an ideal society, and fictional societies portrayed in literature. It has spawned other concepts, most prominently dystopia.” (Wikipedia)
noun
1. an imaginary island described in Sir Thomas More's Utopia (1516) as enjoying perfection in law, politics, etc.
2.( usually lowercase) an ideal place or state.
3. ( usually lowercase) any visionary system of political or social perfection.”
(dictionary.com)
So, in summary, a utopia is an idealized perfect world with a just legal and political system where people are treated fairly and with equality. In other words, it is a vision of the world as we would like it to be.
A dystopia is the opposite:
A dystopia (from Ancient Greek: δυσ-, "bad, ill", and Ancient Greek:τόπος, "place, landscape"; alternatively cacotopia,[1] or anti-utopia) is the idea of a society in a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian, as characterized in books like Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four. Dystopian societies feature different kinds of repressive social control systems, various forms of active and passive coercion. Ideas and works about dystopian societies often explore the concept of humans abusing technology and humans individually and collectively coping, or not being able to properly cope with technology that has progressed far more rapidly than humanity's spiritual evolution. Dystopian societies are often imagined as police states, with unlimited power over the citizens. (Wikipedia)
noun
a society characterized by human misery, as squalor, oppression,disease, and overcrowding. (dictionary.com)
In other words, a dystopia is a repressive, controlled society that strives for and appears to be perfect, but which is actually a nightmare – a warning for the future of our world if we are not careful.
Each of the novels on the list, and the bonus movies as well, are based on the concept of a dystopia. They are all meant to be viewed as futuristic representations of our society where attempts have been made to deal with the conflicts apparent in any society, but where these attempts have lead to repression and control over the majority of the population.
1. How can you relate this story to your own life or to the world today? You will do this reflection in the form of a Reader Response Journal (lesson 3).
2. What is the foundation of this novel's dystopia? How has the author created this society and what makes it tick? You will do this analysis in the Novel Notes that will be provided for you (lesson 4).
If you google the term 'utopia', you will find some of the following definitions:
“an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 bookUtopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt to create an ideal society, and fictional societies portrayed in literature. It has spawned other concepts, most prominently dystopia.” (Wikipedia)
noun
1. an imaginary island described in Sir Thomas More's Utopia (1516) as enjoying perfection in law, politics, etc.
2.( usually lowercase) an ideal place or state.
3. ( usually lowercase) any visionary system of political or social perfection.”
(dictionary.com)
So, in summary, a utopia is an idealized perfect world with a just legal and political system where people are treated fairly and with equality. In other words, it is a vision of the world as we would like it to be.
A dystopia is the opposite:
A dystopia (from Ancient Greek: δυσ-, "bad, ill", and Ancient Greek:τόπος, "place, landscape"; alternatively cacotopia,[1] or anti-utopia) is the idea of a society in a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian, as characterized in books like Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four. Dystopian societies feature different kinds of repressive social control systems, various forms of active and passive coercion. Ideas and works about dystopian societies often explore the concept of humans abusing technology and humans individually and collectively coping, or not being able to properly cope with technology that has progressed far more rapidly than humanity's spiritual evolution. Dystopian societies are often imagined as police states, with unlimited power over the citizens. (Wikipedia)
noun
a society characterized by human misery, as squalor, oppression,disease, and overcrowding. (dictionary.com)
In other words, a dystopia is a repressive, controlled society that strives for and appears to be perfect, but which is actually a nightmare – a warning for the future of our world if we are not careful.
Each of the novels on the list, and the bonus movies as well, are based on the concept of a dystopia. They are all meant to be viewed as futuristic representations of our society where attempts have been made to deal with the conflicts apparent in any society, but where these attempts have lead to repression and control over the majority of the population.