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A good book should make it easy for the readers to connect with the story, no matter what the topic is. Dystopian literature is no exception to this. The often frightening novels offer readers a new set of eyes to look through at their society. The texts frequently expand and dramatize already existing real-world problems, causing the consumers to begin to think of what their lives would be like. These worlds of fiction became a reality exactly mirroring the writing.
Dystopias are able to push already real problems just far enough to make people fear the future slightly more. Readers can connect with the texts in such a way that they begin to see and understand issues more clearly when they are set up in a story-like format. People’s views on government and social constructs are subject to change from reading dystopian literature.
Fear In the Form Of Writing
The twentieth century was a time that brought many changes to the world in nearly every aspect. Many of these adjustments were good and beneficial to society, but there was an equal if not greater amount of shifts that had much darker undertones than many people failed to recognize. As technology advanced, it became more readily available for citizens in the United States and especially to the government. A good portion of these machines were used to benefit the country, but that did not stop them from being used negatively. Cameras developed better quality, and telephone lines became gateways to wire tappings. It was easy to even hire a private investigator to do all of the hard work for you in surveying a person.
A large amount of the population did not recognize that this was going on, and the sectors that did initially did not see it as a massive problem. However, dystopian author George Orwell did. Orwell authored the book 1984, a novella that had a focus on government surveillance. The novel follows Winston Smith, a member of “the Party,” and his life under the eyes of their supreme ruler, Big Brother. In his writing, Orwell communicated the point that he believed people would never be able to exist normally if the government was constantly observing them. His book, being a success, opened the eyes of those who read it to not be as accepting of these new shifts in their society.
Much like his other writings, he used his work to comment on the direction society was heading in. He was able to communicate his thoughts on the changes being made in the world and show people the issues that were hidden within them. 1984 helped people see that this heavier form of government surveillance was not fully protecting them, as it was opening doors for their privacy to be slowly taken away.
Pigs, Puppies, And Propaganda
Not every dystopian work is simple for the reader to connect with, but all of them carry meaning that, once recognized, have the same effect as one that was made straightforward to understand. An example of this is Orwell’s other famous novel, Animal Farm. In this story of a farm that has been taken over by the barnyard animals, he shows how easy it is for people to be blindsided by their leaders. The story mirrored the communist ideals the Russians were enforcing at the time and offered a different way of looking at the situation to better understand what was going on and why it was so bad.
Even though reading a story about pigs overthrowing a farmer and appointing one pig as the dictator does not seem like it would be incredibly educational, this dystopian writing showed that being well educated and informed is crucial to prevent being taken advantage of by a selfish and dishonest leader.
Out For Fresh Air
Another major series of events in the twentieth century was the rise of technology. As technological advances increased, machines became larger parts of people’s everyday lives. Televisions replaced books, and radios replaced orchestras; these new adaptations slowly changed so many classic aspects of the world. Yet, although these machines were making life easier and more enjoyable, it was driving a wedge through society. Technology kept people separated, a theme that is shown in Ray Bradbury’s The Pedestrian.
In the short story, the world had become completely changed by technology. Everyone in the world spent all their free time watching television inside of their dimly-lit homes instead of going outside or socializing, except for a man named Leonard Mead. He is the only person in this society who has not been wholly changed by the new advancements made to the world. He still goes out for walks every night, keeps the lights on in his house, and continues to write as an occupation, even though it barely counts as a job anymore because of no one except for him purchases books, newspapers, or magazines. One night when he goes out for fresh air, he is confronted by the only police car left in the city. Since no one ever went out anymore, there was no more crime leading to the police force being completely taken apart except for one car that was operated by a machine. It takes Leonard away to a psychiatric hospital because he was displaying “regressive tendencies.” Even though all he had been doing was going for a walk, in this reality, that is considered incredibly old-fashioned and that if anyone is out doing that, they are insane.
This story might seem a little extreme, but it made critical commentary on the changes that the world was beginning to go through. Unfortunately, everyone was so blinded by the brand new shiny machines that were so interesting and made life so much easier that they were letting them completely take over their lives. The Pedestrian showed readers what might happen if they allowed themselves to become separated by technology and how these advancements might not only have good effects.
Real-Life Fahrenheit 451
In Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, he writes of a society that burns books as a form of censorship. There have been instances of this happening in the world outside of fiction, and there is fear of censorship becoming large again. Dystopian books are crucial in encouraging people to examine their government decisions, which the actual government themselves do not appreciate. There is always a chance that dystopian novels that argue against society’s ideas could be prevented from being published, stopping the lessons within them from ever reaching the readers. Another critical piece of this novel is the character development of the main character, Guy Montag.
Throughout the story, his opinions on the world and his job as a fireman who burns books take a complete turn where he acknowledges the deep-down desires he has to break away from the constraints of his life and career. This demonstrated to the readers that it is possible to free themselves from the conformities the government was slowly putting around them. It is essential for people to be able to read freely what they want, including dystopian literature. As terrifying as they are, Dystopian works are major pieces in preventing people from following government without questioning like a flock of sheep. People deserve to be given a chance to strengthen their ability to stand up for what they believe in and not be unknowingly led astray, and dystopian novels offer people that chance.
The Dystopian Literature Impact
People will not always listen if you tell them what can happen in the future if there is nothing to compare the idea to. Dystopian media offers a piece of work to look at and see what the world could turn into. Being able to read a story of a horrifying society resulting from extreme versions of real-life issues gives readers a push to open their eyes and provide them with the motivation to question the authority and constructs around them. People are better able to relate to dystopian stories because they are able to take intense topics and put them in a format with themes readers are able to connect with. Reading the worlds in dystopian writing can be terrifying in showing different versions of our reality, set to an extreme level.
Despite being fictional, that does not take away from the strong effect the stories can have on readers. Stories are always more frightening when they are close to reality. It is easy to turn a blind eye to the new adaptations that shift society because terrible things frequently get sugarcoated over to prevent those affected from realizing how terrible they truly are. Sure, we do not live in a world where it is viewed as insane to go out on walks, but we are all aware of how strong of a hold technology, especially television, has on us.
As frightening as it is to read about society’s where everything seems completely upside-down, but there is still a magnetic pull that draws readers in. Being forced to look at life in a new lens as terrifying as it can be, is exciting and makes you thinks of things in a different light. Dystopian literature is able to hit the perfect mix of both interest and fear, making it hard for the readers to put them down.
