Two Common Motifs In Dystopian Literature

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Dystopian literature is important because warns us of the possible future we as a society can potentially face, and sometimes informs us ways we could avoid it. There’s certain motifs in stories that can demonstrate information about parts of a dystopian societies.Two common motifs that fit “The Pedestrian” written by Ray Bradbury and “Back to the Future 2” directed and written by Robert Zemeckis. would be corporate control and a dystopian protagonist because both societies seem to be controlled by people with a lot of money, both have people getting severely punished over little things by higher ups, a protagonist who wants things to go back to the way they were, and the protagonist feels like an outcast because how much they dislike the way things work in the society they live in.

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For example in The Pedestrian, the main character, Leonard Meade, was walking down the street observing all the houses he saw watching their viewing screens. ”it was not unequal to walking through a graveyard where only the faintest glimmers of firefly light appeared in flickers behind the windows... there were whisperings and murmurs where a window in a tomb-like building was still open.” This quote shows how the rich companies that own the viewing screens are taking control over the people in that society. They convince them that those are all you need to live a good life, just so they can become more rich and powerful. Similarly in Back to the Future 2, the main character ,Marty McFly, time travels to a dystopian future where he discovers his enemy, Biff Tannen rules over everything. ”Narrator:

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