Dystopian Literature
1984 is classified as a dystopian novel, a novel whose society features a controlling government bent on
corruption, terror, and mind control.
Think of other films, plays, short stories, or novels that fall under the dystopian genre. Create an art
project that illustrates some of these films and literatures—and their settings, plots, and characters. In
your visual display, include representations and objects that illustrate each work. Be prepared to explain
why you selected each dystopian work, as well as what characteristics of it make it dystopian.
Dystopian Literature:
Dystopian works are a subgenre of science fiction that occur in anti-utopian (or the opposite of perfect)
societies that often feature totalitarian governments bent on corruption, terror, and sometimes mind
control.
A few examples of dystopian literature:
“Fahrenheit 451”, Ray Bradbury
“Harrison Bergeron”, Kurt Vonnegut
“Logan's Run”, William F. Nolan, George Clayton Johnson
“The Giver”, Lois Lowry
“The Time Machine”, H.G.Wells
“Fahrenheit 451”, Ray Bradbury
In a fictional future, firemen do not put out fires but start them. Their main role is to burn books. In
order to eliminate free thinking, imagination and contradiction, the government has outlawed books
and instead offered shallow video productions and advertisements, in order to keep its citizens content.
The main character, Guy Montag, is a fireman, but after meeting the open-minded Clarisse McClellan,
he begins to questions the rules imposed by an oppressive government. Aided by a retired teacher,
Montag renounces his job and the artificial society he loves in and becomes one of the Book People, a
group of outcasts dedicated to preserving the forbidden knowledge in books.
The main theme of the book is the importance of knowledge and how without it, a corrupt government
can control its citizens without them suspecting they are being manipulated.
The novel falls under the dystopian genre because it depicts an imagined future society under the
control of am oppressive government which maintains the illusion of a perfect society.
“Logan's Run”, William F. Nolan, George Clayton Johnson
The novel imagines a future society in which the problem of increasing population versus decreasing
resources was solved by imposing a maximum age until someone can live – 21 years old. There is a
Central Computer which controls every aspect of the domed cities of the future, including monitoring
the age of the population through different colored implants in the palm.
When someone reaches that age, the flower-like implant turns black and they willingly submit
themselves to being killed by a toxic drug.
However, there are rebels called Runners, who refuse to die at the age of 21 and attempt to flee from e
the domed cities, searching for a place called Sanctuary, where they can live in safety.
Logan 3 is the main character of the novel, a Sandman tasked with apprehending and terminating
Runners. He reaches the last day of his life and wants to discover Sanctuary, with the idea of destroying
it and becoming a hero to the world he lives. He makes friends with Jessica 6, whose brother had been a
runner and they are both chased by Francis, another Sandman intent on stopping them.
Over the course of the book, Logan changes his mind about runners and the society that kills its citizens
when they reach 21. Upon reaching the final stage of their journey, Francis catches them but reveals
himself to actually be part of the organization which aids runners on their way to Sanctuary. Francis is in
reality Ballard, a 42-year man who hid in plain sight. His palm implant malfunctioned when he turned 21
and he used surgery to maintain his youthful appearance. Logan and Jessica embark on their last part of
their journey to Sanctuary, by taking a rocket to Argos, an abandoned colony in space, near Mars.
The main theme of the novel refers to what are people willing to give up in order to live comfortably and
without worry. For some not even death is an obstacle, if it means that someone or something takes of
them and meets all their physical needs.
The novel is of the dystopian genre because it describes a future in which the human population is
under the complete control of a Central Computer, which controls every aspect of one’s life, killing all
who reach the age of 21. The law is enforced by Sandmen, whose job is to apprehend and kill anyone
who wants to escape from the cities controlled by the Computer and the population is kept under
control by having every physical need met – food, drugs, sex, and comfort.
“Harrison Bergeron”, Kurt Vonnegut
In a future America, the government imposes the idea of equality among its citizens by attempting to
forcefully bring everyone to the same level of intelligence, beauty, skill or strength. There is an agency
called The Handicapper General, which imposes certain physical restraints, called hadicaps, on those
who demonstrate to be above average. For example, those who are intelligent are fitted with implants
which generate loud noises at frequent intervals and therefore do not permit them to think.
Harrison Bergeron is a brilliant young man, with above average intelligence, great physical strength and
determination. For all those reasons he is imprisoned, but escapes and storms into a TV studio, where
he frees himself from all imposed handicaps and declares himself emperor. One beautiful ballerina from
the studio dances with him, and all the while the musicians play their instruments, happy to be free of
their handicaps.
But the live transmission is interrupted by Diana Moon Glampers, The Handicapper General. She enters
the studio, mortally shoots Harrison and the ballerina, and then orders the musicians to put their
handicaps on.
Harrison’s parents, who were watching the TV transmission, witnessed their son’s death, but were
unable to feel anything or to concentrate because of their handicaps.
One of the themes in this short story is the meaning of equality: the totalitarian government imposes an
artificial equality on all its citizens, to the detriment of innovation. By making everyone average, the
government ensures that no one can rebel and will do as they’re told.
The short story is dystopian because it paints a terrifying picture of a government which robs the citizens
of their personality and uniqueness.