Dystopia In Literature

In today’s society, we find the demoralization of humanity a source of entertainment. Movies and books like The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, and the Divergent series have sparked the interest of the masses and have become icons in popular culture. People find comfort in reading and watching about dystopian societies because it is not their reality. A “dystopia represents [an] artificially created world or society in which [the] human population lives under the rule of the oppressive government, or is subjected to various other types of oppressions” (“All About Dystopia”). Though our society is familiar with dystopian environments through today’s popular culture, many are oblivious to the warnings they portray. Many literary works depict

futures that are different from our own society, but also include elements that we are familiar with. Famous works like Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake, along with other dystopian science fiction, should not be taken lightly. These works depict problems in technological advancements, the government, separation of social classes, society’s beauty standards, and feminist values that could be problems in our possible future.These dystopian societies will not be far from our own future if we abuse the powers that we possess.
Technology has allowed humans overcome many obstacles.

From things like the wheel to the computer, we have been able to do remarkable things with our discoveries and inventions. Science has allowed us to change our fates by living longer and better lives. Through science, we have been able to go beyond our capabilities. The human species has evolved tremendously throughout time. Humans have thrived in the world for centuries because of our technological advancements. But can too much of a good thing become destructive? For decades, an occurring theme in science fiction is humans creating technology that ends up being uncontrollable. Many of our machines today can outperform humans. “This means that as jobs are lost to technological automation it is harder to find new things that people can do - and any new jobs created are likely to skip the middleman and go straight to the machines” (Walsh). Technology is a luxury that humans tend to take advantage of. By relying too much on technology, we will end up being slaves to it instead of vice versa. We would no longer need to think - so we stop thinking. We would lose our independence, our understanding, and even our morality, to become mere 'pets' belonging to the machines which take care of us. Crake in Oryx and Crake devotes most of his life researching and experimenting in attempt to fix society’s problems. He ends up creating the “perfect” species that he plans to replace humans with. These creatures called Crakers are

humanoids that have been created in the image of humans with certain human elements eliminated. They live on vegetation, have no capability to feel emotions, have a timed lifespan, and only mate in season. This eliminates several problems that human encounter. The Crakers are the technology that was created to replace the human species. In Huxley’s Brave New World, people’s emotions, impulses, and thoughts are all controlled through the technology they have created. They have entertainment systems and pills like soma that induce temporary happiness (Huxley). This shows that technology can imprison us. This society creates a superficial world that fails to address real problems. We must avoid using technology as a shortcut from our problems in order to keep technology from controlling us. Our technology and experiments could get to our heads and lead us to our own destruction, much like in Oryx and Crake and Brave New World.
A totalitarian government is a huge element of a dystopian society.

The government sees, hears, and controls all. They believe than in order to preserve humanity, the government must take action by enforcing total domination of the people. Their freedom must be taken away because “when people have the freedom to choose, they choose wrong, every single time” (Lowry). Since dystopian environments are usually set in a postapocalyptic setting, people are more likely to allow domination due their fear of repeating history. Those oblivious are conditioned to believe that this type of oppression should be accepted because it is for the sake of humanity. “One believes things because one has been conditioned to believe them” (Huxley). In Atwood’s Oryx and Crake, the CorpSeCorpse serve as a police force who are meant to protect the people and enforce laws. In this society, people are constantly being watched. Though it is never formally addressed, the people know what’s allowed and what’s not. They don’t question things and keep to themselves. "Oryx and Crake is a political examination of a society that has seemingly abandoned culpable politics in favor of an unbounded consumerism...it examines the choices of the individual caught within a corrupt political structure" (Tolan). As for Orwell’s 1984, people are also constantly being watched. “Big Brother is watching [everyone]” (Orwell). Every aspect of society is controlled by the government. The people’s thoughts, speech, and actions

are monitored by officials. They control their citizens through oppression. The have power by “...tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of [their] own choosing” (Orwell). When a society is faced with so many dangers, people are willing sacrifice their own freedom to obtain protection. The governments in these societies are taking advantage of the people’s fears. Our society should take action to keep our current government from exploiting our people. In our society, we are subconsciously always being watched by the government. Nothing is truly private. The government will slowly start pushing boundaries until there is no longer a line to cross. Our society should take action to keep our current government from exploiting our people.