2. DYSTOPIA AS TWENTIETH CENTURY GENRE
As it was stated in the previous chapter, the 20th century was marked by the movement of modernism, and its focus on such themes as estrangement and fragmentation, and the concern of people about the loss of established values and meanings. What was especially characteristic to the period of modernism was a shared sense of crisis and a constant feeling of an impending apocalypse. This pessimistic mood affected arts including literature as well.
The Hungarian Marxist critic George Lukács stated that modernist literature became too concerned with the depiction of a “nightmare world” of alienation. Many writers were acquiring new techniques, played with linguistic elements and experimented with form, …show more content…
This is the society that is perfectly planned, especially in laws, government, and social conditions. The basis for such flawless utopian society is obvious and rather powerful; these dreams for perfect place to live are rooted in various religious, political, economic and other concepts. The examples are as following: dreams of paradise, beliefs in socialism, roots in communes, and so on.
Therefore, unlike utopia’s, dystopian plots take place in the horrible new world; dystopian fiction usually involves a character who questions norms and standards of society, which creates the element of textual alienation. Another feature of dystopia is the government that controls the economy, the social order and other spheres of life and makes them work. The abuse of power, constant control and surveillance make readers feel insecurity, instability and …show more content…
Undoubtedly, the books of this genre can still raise awareness and give new information, enlighten and educate readers. Dystopias can still inspire people to fight against ignorance and humility. What is more, dystopias teach people how important it is to have free access to information from different sources, to distribute knowledge and remember the past, to develop critical thinking and have an independent opinion, and to have hopes, but if needed to be ready to fight for the better future.
It is clear that dystopia occupies a highly essential position in the field of science fiction, but it also plays a role of great importance in political fiction and according to M. D. Gordin, especially in anti-Soviet fiction. Among the greatest representatives of dystopian genre there are such writers as H. G. Wells with his science fictional view on contemporaneity, E. M. Forster and his story The Machine Stops, and more noted works that can, undoubtedly, be called classical, or canonical dystopias, such as Yevgeny Zamyatin’s We, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, and George Orwell’s Nineteen
As it was stated in the previous chapter, the 20th century was marked by the movement of modernism, and its focus on such themes as estrangement and fragmentation, and the concern of people about the loss of established values and meanings. What was especially characteristic to the period of modernism was a shared sense of crisis and a constant feeling of an impending apocalypse. This pessimistic mood affected arts including literature as well.
The Hungarian Marxist critic George Lukács stated that modernist literature became too concerned with the depiction of a “nightmare world” of alienation. Many writers were acquiring new techniques, played with linguistic elements and experimented with form, …show more content…
This is the society that is perfectly planned, especially in laws, government, and social conditions. The basis for such flawless utopian society is obvious and rather powerful; these dreams for perfect place to live are rooted in various religious, political, economic and other concepts. The examples are as following: dreams of paradise, beliefs in socialism, roots in communes, and so on.
Therefore, unlike utopia’s, dystopian plots take place in the horrible new world; dystopian fiction usually involves a character who questions norms and standards of society, which creates the element of textual alienation. Another feature of dystopia is the government that controls the economy, the social order and other spheres of life and makes them work. The abuse of power, constant control and surveillance make readers feel insecurity, instability and …show more content…
Undoubtedly, the books of this genre can still raise awareness and give new information, enlighten and educate readers. Dystopias can still inspire people to fight against ignorance and humility. What is more, dystopias teach people how important it is to have free access to information from different sources, to distribute knowledge and remember the past, to develop critical thinking and have an independent opinion, and to have hopes, but if needed to be ready to fight for the better future.
It is clear that dystopia occupies a highly essential position in the field of science fiction, but it also plays a role of great importance in political fiction and according to M. D. Gordin, especially in anti-Soviet fiction. Among the greatest representatives of dystopian genre there are such writers as H. G. Wells with his science fictional view on contemporaneity, E. M. Forster and his story The Machine Stops, and more noted works that can, undoubtedly, be called classical, or canonical dystopias, such as Yevgeny Zamyatin’s We, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, and George Orwell’s Nineteen