Dystopia or Utopia
Weston Boone
Mrs. McCrady
D.C. English 101
20 October, 2014
Dystopia or Utopia? In the books 1984 by George Orwell, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury all have a theme of dystopia. Dystopia means an imperfect society. It is the opposite of utopia, which means a perfect society with no flaws. Dystopia is the word that comes to mind with the stories and political horrors with government control, politicians, and community leaders being those who are most opposed by the audience and the main characters in the stories throughout Brave New World, 1984, and Fahrenheit 451. First, in the book 1984 by George Orwell, dystopia is shown right off by the futuristic setting. Orwell shows the theme dystopia with the futuristic setting in 1984 by using the Thought Police and vaporization. The Thought Police are constantly monitoring the thoughts of Oceania citizens, to make sure they do not disobey “The Party” or “Big Brother”. In the book it says several times “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU!” (Orwell 3), this saying creates fear in the citizens, and reminds them they are always being watched by their government. They do this to make sure the current government will stay in control. If any citizen ever even thinks about going against or betraying “The Party”, they get vaporized immediately. Being vaporized means that they basically make the citizen completely disappear and they also make it seem like they never existed. The author causes the reader to be afraid by using these forms of technology that are impossible in our world currently; this enhances the theme of dystopia. The main character Winston Smith, is always fighting his urge to go against and betray “The Party” because he knows what the consequence will be if he ever does betray them. This also greatly enhances the theme of dystopia in 1984. Second, the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury has an underlying theme of dystopia as well. When reading just the first few pages of this
Mrs. McCrady
D.C. English 101
20 October, 2014
Dystopia or Utopia? In the books 1984 by George Orwell, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury all have a theme of dystopia. Dystopia means an imperfect society. It is the opposite of utopia, which means a perfect society with no flaws. Dystopia is the word that comes to mind with the stories and political horrors with government control, politicians, and community leaders being those who are most opposed by the audience and the main characters in the stories throughout Brave New World, 1984, and Fahrenheit 451. First, in the book 1984 by George Orwell, dystopia is shown right off by the futuristic setting. Orwell shows the theme dystopia with the futuristic setting in 1984 by using the Thought Police and vaporization. The Thought Police are constantly monitoring the thoughts of Oceania citizens, to make sure they do not disobey “The Party” or “Big Brother”. In the book it says several times “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU!” (Orwell 3), this saying creates fear in the citizens, and reminds them they are always being watched by their government. They do this to make sure the current government will stay in control. If any citizen ever even thinks about going against or betraying “The Party”, they get vaporized immediately. Being vaporized means that they basically make the citizen completely disappear and they also make it seem like they never existed. The author causes the reader to be afraid by using these forms of technology that are impossible in our world currently; this enhances the theme of dystopia. The main character Winston Smith, is always fighting his urge to go against and betray “The Party” because he knows what the consequence will be if he ever does betray them. This also greatly enhances the theme of dystopia in 1984. Second, the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury has an underlying theme of dystopia as well. When reading just the first few pages of this