Argument

The choice of this topic was based on the fact that I am passionate about dystopian
literature and its ability to raise the reader’s awareness towards political and social aspects that
he might otherwise ignore.

This passion started a few years ago when I first read The Hunger Games and Divergent
and was really shocked by the societies that were presented in them. These novels made me think
why and how these societies reached this condition, whether our own society could possibily be
in those scenarios and what can we as individuals do to avoid them from happening.

Following this curiosity I dove into the dystopian novels that truly gave birth to this genre
and noticed the turn that dystopian literature took nowadays compared to the 20th century literary
works. That is how I got introduced to the great Orwell’s novels such as 1984 and Animal Farm
that are still relevant today and can give the reader an overview of the struggles that people
experienced during the era of Stalinism. However, these novels felt as only the tip of the iceberg
as I immersed myself into novels like Fahrenheit 451 or Huxley’s Brave New World that depict
social issues regarding technological advancements making them highly relatable to our current
society and raising awareness about the possible outcomes we could encounter if precautions are
not taken.

When authors choose to write a dystopian novel they reflect about the the manner in
which the contemporary man comprehends his environment and about certain practices that
could lead to irreversible effects.

My goal for this paper was to define what the dystopian genre really is and to analyze the
main characteristics the novels that fit this genre have in common. Thus, by tracing dystopia to
its origins I came the concept of Utopia and the literary works that are based on it.

By comparing dystopian and utopian works I realized that regardless of their purpose or
intentions what they both have in common are totalitarian states.
 Working on this degree paper was a pleasant experience especially because I was able to
focus on the books I am passionate about and that greatly influenced my attitude and thought
process regarding politics and environmental issues.