The Dystopian Society Depicted in Brave New World, V for Vendetta, and Handmaid's Tale

It is commonplace for individuals to envision a perfect world; a utopian reality in which the world is a paradise, with equality, happiness and ideal perfection. Unfortunately, we live in a dystopian society and our world today is far from perfection. John Savage, from Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, V, from V for Vendetta by James McTeigue and Offred, from The Handmaid’s Tale by Margret Attwood, are all characters in a dystopian society. A dystopia is the vision of a society in which conditions of life are miserable and are characterized by oppression, corruption of government, and abridgement of human rights.

Unfortunately, corruption is government is a phenomenon far too prevalent in today’s world. In the movie V for Vendetta, V is attempting to exact revenge for the many homosexuals who were taken and murdered by the government. As one of the few survivors of this genocide, V devotes his life to pursuing those responsible. It is V’s belief that the government has misappropriated too much power from the citizenry and as a result destroyed the nation’s democratic framework. He says, “People must not be afraid of their government. Government should be afraid of their people.” The power should be in the people’s hands, not the government. V uses violence to get his revenge and causes a great deal of chaos and rebellion against the government. He says, “Violence can be used for good.” It is ironic that the only way to fight against this government is through violence, rather than protests. Our government is democratic, but their government, in Britain, is a repressive dictatorship. Finch, a government agent, says, “If our government was responsible for deaths of almost a hundred thousand people…would you really want to know?...

... middle of paper ...

...ourse, stability isn’t nearly so spectacular as instability. And being contented has none of the glamour of a good fight against misfortune, none of the picturesqueness of a struggle with temptation, or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt. Happiness is never grand.”

The struggle between happiness and society shows a society where true happiness has been forfeited to form a perfect order.

Society will never be perfect. Equality will never be sustained. A dystopian society will always have corruption of government. Corruption is present all around the world but is swept under the rug. Abridgment of human rights happens every day in our country or another. Oppression is the cause for all the sadness in our world. There will be always selfishness in dystopia. One must sink for another to rise, but “good doesn’t mean good for everyone. It means worst for someone.”