What is DYSTOPIA ?

Definition : “An imaginary place where the state of being is very bad or oppressive.” The
word dystopia comes from Greek root words that mean “bad place.”
Match the following stories with the corresponding types of Dystopia displayed :
The Handsmaid’s tale___ The Hunger Games ___ Divergent ___ 1984 ___
by Margaret Atwood by Susan Collins by Veronica Roth by George Orwell

a. bureaucratic control - a government with relentless regulations rules.

b. corporate control - a large corporation controls people through media or products.
c. philosophical control - an ideology enforced by the government controls society.
d. religious control – a faith enforced by the government controls society.

Fill in this chart about the main characteristics of a dystopia :

1. Conform ____ Continuous observation of a place or person in order to gather information
2. Utopia ____ Everyone in society believes in identical or consistent ideals
3. Uniform expectations ____ To "fall in line" or comply with certain standards or attitudes of society.
4. Propaganda ____ To take away the ability for people to think for themselves.
5. Surveillance ____ A perfect society, free of pain, war and disease.
6. Restriction of Thought. ____ Information, usually biased or misleading, used to promote an idea or cause.

Fill in the blanks in this text with the words below:

worse - restriction – overthrow - language - totalitarianism - utopian
Through the tale of a group of farm animals who …………………… the owner of the farm,
George Orwell explores themes of ……………………, the corruption of ideals, and the power
of ……………………. Animal Farm is a dystopian text because it portrays a world where the
characters seek to have a perfect or …………………… society, but their plight results in a
world that is …………………… than the world they changed.
Other traits of a dystopia in Animal Farm are restrictions, fear, conformity, and control. One
quality of a dystopia that is very well represented in Animal Farm is …………………….

Answer the following questions about Animal farm:

1. What is a plight ? ……………………………………………………………………….
2. What power has language in Animal farm ? ……………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………...
3. How is restriction very well presented in Animal farm ? ………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………...……