What’s a dystopia, and why have dystopian novels become so popular in recent years?
The word “dystopian” in “dystopian novels” comes from two Greek words: “topos,” meaning “place” and “dys,” meaning “bad.” Thus, a dystopian novel is a novel set in a bad place--specifically, a bad future where a large, oppressive, and omnicompetent state controls all aspects of human life and stamps out all instances of human freedom.
The word "dystopia" was coined as a response to the word "utopia,” a place so “good” it cannot exist. In both cases, the word refers to a fictional world that's designed to reflect on the real world by emphasizing the differences and the similarities between our world and that of the novel.
Oddly enough, there has been a lot of interest in reading dystopian literature in prior years at Thales Academy. In this episode, Winston Brady, Josh Herring, Will Begley, Jessie Gillooly, and Sydney Harper discuss dystopian literature and how these works fit into the literature curriculum at Thales Academy.
Great examples of dystopian literature include Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World,” George Orwell’s “1984,” Walter M. Miller Jr.’s “A Canticle for Leibowitz,” and Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451.”
The works referenced on today’s episode include:
George Orwell’s “1984”: https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/nineteen-eighty-four_george-orwell/247716/?resultid=2183b4b4-d411-4767-992f-92481c254c08#edition=2400521&idiq=4326807
Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World”: https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/brave-new-world_aldous-huxley_david-rogers/245736/?resultid=662b919e-f38b-4405-b0c5-28cdef45d290#edition=4283982&idiq=444123
Walter M. Miller Jr.’s “A Canticle for Leibowitz”: https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/a-canticle-for-leibowitz-by-walter-m-miller-jr/252725/?resultid=010cc772-bf1e-4c6c-a22e-bb132fdc0493#edition=2226066&idiq=3464580
Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451”: https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/fahrenheit-451_ray-bradbury/248594/?resultid=cb723a21-f16f-477d-84b0-2a3e180c75c2#edition=6426608&idiq=3872736
