Dystopian Literature
A dystopia is a community or society, usually fictional, that is in some important way undesirable or frightening. Such societies appear in many works of fiction, particularly in stories set in a speculative future. Dystopias are often characterised by dehumanisation, totalitarian governments, environmental disaster, or other characteristics associated with a cataclysmic decline in society. Elements of dystopias may vary from environmental to political and social issues. Dystopian societies have culminated in a broad series of sub-genres of fiction and are often used to raise real-world issues regarding society, environment, politics, religion, psychology, spirituality, or technology that may become present in the future. For this reason, dystopias have taken the form of a multitude of speculations, such as pollution, poverty, societal collapse, political repression, or totalitarianism.
Click on the materials below to support your analysis of the Dystopian Short Stories. These stories can be used for both the end of year exam and your connections report.
Click on the materials below to support your analysis of the Dystopian Short Stories. These stories can be used for both the end of year exam and your connections report.
The Machine StopsThe story describes a world in which most of the human population has lost the ability to live on the surface of the Earth. Each individual now lives in isolation below ground in a standard 'cell', with all bodily and spiritual needs met by the omnipotent, global Machine. But what happens when the machine stops? Follow the above link to access an audio-version of E. M. Forster's classic dystopian story.
|
Pythias"Sure, Larry Connaught saved my life - but it was how he did it that forced me to murder him!" Click on the link below to read the rest of Frederik Pohl's short story 'Pythias':
|
Nineteen Eighty-FourNineteen Eighty-Four is a novel by George Orwell that follows the life of Winston Smith who lives in a dystopian world ruled by a tyrannical Party and its totalitarian ideology. The Oceanian province of Airstrip One is a world of perpetual war, omnipresent government surveillance, and public mind control, headed by Big Brother.
Follow the above link to access an online version of the novella. |
The War of the WorldsThe War of the Worlds tells the story of a Martian invasion of Earth with thousands of tripod machines descending upon our planet focused on annihilating the human race. Time is running out as mankind battles to stay alive...
Follow the above link to access resources of the many interpretations and versions of H.G. Wells' original novel. |
Planet of the ApesPlanet of the Apes tells the story of an astronaut's crash-landing on a planet ruled by apes, where the humans are the ones kept in cages. In Tim Burton's 2001 remake, Mark Wahlberg plays Captain Leo Davidson, who is the man on the run trying to escape back to Earth...
Follow the above link to access resources connected to the film. |