Dystopian Hope
15 April 2008, 2:00 am by Matt Shafer
Utopian tales have a long tradition of literary popularity, going back to the genre’s namesake Utopia. But in more recent times the world of literature has been expanded by the logical opposite of the utopia: the dystopia, or “negative utopia.” Dystopian novels are the dark analogue of their utopian cousins. They depict civilizations where everything is dehumanized and horrific, and where humanity suffers from a lack of true freedom and liberty — all is the opposite of the blissful utopian dream.
Three of the most popular dystopian novels, and three of my favorite novels in general, are Orwell’s 1984, Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, and Huxley’s Brave New World. But disturbingly, all three of these classic tales of the future have striking parallels in the world of today — contemporary forebodings of the novels’ nightmarish societies.
When one considers the omnipresent eye of Big Brother in 1984, or the hot flames of the firemen burning books in Fahrenheit 451, or the frightening intricacies of the structured civilization of Brave New World, the dark shadows of these terrible fictions loom in the mist of contemporary society. The books deliver powerful stories and powerful warnings, warnings that an enlightened populace would be best not to leave unheard. Indeed, it is the recognition of their relevance that has rendered dystopian novels such as these enduringly popular over the last century.
One might say that the novels promise doom and gloom, the perpetuation of a downward slope for humanity, and ultimate bondage rather than final liberty. But the true message of these classics is quite the opposite. By giving a warning, by exposing the dangers hidden in the world, dystopian works implicitly promise that mankind can avert this fate and work toward a brighter destiny. The very act of sounding the alarm presupposes that a rescue can be made.
That is the hope that these works offer — the idea that if society would just look at itself, honestly, realistically, it could fix the problems it sees. Some might argue cynically that humanity will never be honest about its own shortcomings, and that to expect civilization to be able to diagnose and improve is sheer madness. But Orwell, Bradbury, and Huxley would disagree.
And the continuing success of their novels suggest that maybe, just maybe, they are right.
I would argue that perhaps the authors saw evils in their society and used their novels as an outlet for frustration, not as much as a warning. But then again, Bradbury, ironically, wrote a book which would lead one to the conclusion that he did not think problems would escalate to the degree (haha..pun) in 451.