Theme in Dystopic stories - Isolation

1520 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Dystopian texts essay

Isolation is a negative feeling and therefore, it is a theme that is recurrently used in dystopic stories to create a negative background. Isolation can be broadly divided into three kinds: Social, Physical and Mental. Social isolation is when a person does not interact with the society for long periods of time. Physical isolation is when a person or a society is physically isolated from other people or societies. Finally, mental isolation is when the ideas or psyche of one person is radically different from that of the others in the society. The three types of isolation are used by authors for different purposes. Although isolation can be divided into three types, all types of isolation are used in dystopic stories to create negativity in the stories because the effects of isolation are typically negative. Mental isolation was used by the authors in some of the short stories that we read, to demonstrate the difficulties one person had to face because he/she was mentally isolated from the society. A person becomes mentally isolated from the society when his/her beliefs do not agree with that of the society. The theme of mental isolation is used by the author of ‘Cassandra’ to show the difficulties that Alice has to face because she has a special ability that others in the society do not have. (Cherryh, C.J. Bedford/St. Martins. 1978) The author says that “Even her parents had not been able to bear with that - visited her only at first in the hospitals, and then only on holidays, and then not at all. She did not know where they were.” (Page 945). Crazy Alice is mentally isolated from the society because of her ability to see the future. Due to her ‘incurables illness’ or special ability, the society isolates her by not listenin... ... middle of paper ... ...pic stories we read, isolation was used to create negativity. The different types of isolation, created negativity in the stories in different degrees. The degree of negativity depended on the manner in which it was presented by the author. Isolation caused multiple negative effects in dystopic stories such as unhappiness, changes in attitude, torture and suffering. Usually, mental isolation was suffered by one person in the society who had radical ideas. This is in contrast to physical isolation in which, a person or a society was physically isolated. Therefore, the negative effects caused by isolation were used to create a negative theme/ negative feeling in dystopic stories. Hence, isolation was a theme that was used in every dystopic story we read. So, it can be concluded that, isolation is a theme commonly used by dystopic authors to create dystopic societies.

Show More
Related

  • Theme Of The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao

    1191 Words  | 3 Pages

    We may believe were not in no form of isolation from a single thing but we are all in isolation without notice. In the book “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar wao” by Junot Diaz, he shows isolation in every character in a very distinct way but still not noticeable. Throughout the Brief wondrous life of Oscar Wao, Diaz conveys that there is isolation in every person through his characters that are all different in personalization but are still isolated from something.

    Read More

  • Isolation In Minister's Black Veil And Not Waving But Drowning

    685 Words  | 2 Pages

    Isolation can be a somber subject. Whether it be self-inflicted or from the hands of others, isolation can be the make or break for anyone. In simpler terms, isolation could range anywhere from not fitting into being a complete outcast due to personal, physical, or environmental factors. It is not only introverted personalities or depression that can bring upon isolation. Extroverts and active individuals can develop it, but they tend to hide it around crowds of other people. In “Richard Cory,” “Miniver Cheevy,” The Minister’s Black Veil,” and “Not Waving but Drowning,” E.A. Robinson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Stevie Smith illustrate the diverse themes of isolation.

    Read More

  • The Theme Of Isolation In The Wondrous Woo

    1358 Words  | 3 Pages

    When Miramar went to go meet her old friends from university, she realized how much they had progressed in life since she first met them. “Tina announced that she had just gotten accepted to nursing school, and Denise said she had decided to apply for an MBA…as they flipped through the pictures commenting on how hot each other’s boyfriend were, I let my posture crumple, feeling more and more like the garden gnome again” (Leung 150). Miramar felt alienated that her friends had such a great future ahead of them with great jobs and earnings while she had no future because she had dropped out of university and left her own family, having to find a house and make money for herself. This affected her emotionally as she did not mention any details on her own future as she hid not only her emotions, but suppressed her life from everyone else. “They looked like kids playing dress-up, but still, I looked down at my jeans and t-shirt and felt left behind” (Leung 149). Miramar felt left out as she wasn’t wearing elegant and somewhat trendy clothes like her friends. Instead she was wearing a typical jeans and t-shirt. Miramar did not lash out or complain verbally for not having clothes similar to her friends, she kept her emotions to herself and lived on in her own gray world. “Mouse was my first real friend in a long time and a good distraction from the wandering thoughts that invariably landed me back in quicksand” (Leung 152). Miramar dealt with her struggles as she finally found a real friend who she could trust and create a real connection and bond with to help her cope with her problems. Mouse was the first person she could open up to again, expressing her emotions freely. Isolation builds a barrier between those who are victims to it and the outside world. Those affected by isolation lose all sense of emotion and contact with the outside world. Only with help

    Read More

  • How Social Isolation Is Killing Us Rhetorical Analysis

    840 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dhruv Khullar’s article “How Social Isolation is Killing Us,” published by the New York Times, addresses the public about the dangers of the growing epidemic. Utilizing various sources, studies, and even his own stories, Dr. Khullar discusses the health effects and mental effects on a person who is considered socially isolated. He improves the article by discussing how treating social isolation is hard and gives examples of programs that help those who feel alone. The article “How Social Isolation is Killing Us” is a thorough and well-constructed argument that clearly explains dangers of social isolation through the author’s use of logos, pathos, and ethos.

    Read More

  • Isolation In The Dead Child By Gabrielle Roy

    1103 Words  | 3 Pages

    The meaning of isolation varies considerably. However, I believe many can find common ground in how Merriam Webster defines isolation. According to Merriam Webster isolation means: the state of being in a place or situation that is separate from others : the condition of being isolated. I think the most severe form of isolation is where you have been separated from the rest of the world. In the short story “The Dead Child” written by Gabrielle

    Read More

  • Of Solitude, And William Deresiewicz's The End Of Solude

    1484 Words  | 3 Pages

    Describing a course in history when isolation was highly adopted, Deresiewicz writes, “The mob, the human mass, presses in… The soul is forced back into itself—hence the development of a more austere and embattled form of self-validation…where the essential relationship is only with oneself” (par.8). Deresiewicz describes the time of urbanization, when country folks began flooding into cities. With so many people moving into the city, there was not any room to breathe because there was not any privacy or space—all the voices and thoughts were forced into one sector of society. This forced some people to advance past the crowd and focus on oneself, on the soul. When submerged by a sea of people, the best shelter is inside the body and mind, where one can reflect the internal self and external world in a serene environment. Extending on the importance of temporary isolation, Deresiewicz adds, “Solitude becomes, more than ever, the arena of heroic self-discovery, a voyage through interior realms” (par. 8). When engaged in the physical world, people don’t focus on themselves because there is too much stimulation occurring around them. But when alone in solitude, when there is no around except oneself—no noises, sounds, distractions—then a person is able to reflect on his or her character. It is important to immerse in introspection because mental health is as vital as bodily health. And by delving deeper into the psyche, individuals discover new information about themselves that wouldn’t have been uncovered with others because the only person that truly understands him or her is that

    Read More

  • The Theme of Isolation in On Being a Cripple, How it Feels to Be Colored Me, and The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me

    1318 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...y, but ultimately achieves the same conclusion of overcoming their individual isolation. They also do a great job of demonstrating their isolation theme in different ways. Being isolated can be demonstrated in writing very effectively when used the right way.

    Read More

  • The Year Of The Flood Literary Analysis

    1737 Words  | 4 Pages

    These types of isolation include physical, emotional and mental isolation which gives the reader a better understanding of the characters’ situation and helps them empathize with the character as a result. The author including this gives the reader a chance to fall in the characters’ shoes and think about what life would be like as the character. All in all, readers can empathize with characters from the novel with the help of the types of isolation the characters

    Read More

  • Free Essays - Isolation in Macbeth

    703 Words  | 2 Pages

    Isolation is a state of being separation between persons or group, or a feeling being alone. There are different factors that contribute to someone feeling alone and isolated. An example of this would be when celebrities go into deep depression because they feel isolated from the whole world. They have all the material things they could ever want, but the one thing they want the most, they do not have. , which is happiness, which comes from satisfaction within oneself and being satisfied with what one has done in one's life. Feeling isolated does not necessarily mean a person is bad. Evidence in Shakespeare play Macbeth , demonstrates this quite clearly that MacBeth's isolation comes from guilt , over-ambition and greed.

    Read More

  • Beloved

    579 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the main characters suffered most from this theme of isolation indefinitely. Poor Sethe. Through her life she was forced to make many indelicate decisions which could have cost her, her life, but comparatively the only life that was lost was here daughters. The way her daughter was conceived was not what Sethe wanted. When a woman is raped, I feel that she loses part of herself possibly a piece of dignity. Sethe became detached from herself for she felt that nothing in the world could do right if something like this could happen. Not only did she have to deal with that fact, which created some inner isolation, she also had to make the decision whether or not to kill her daughter or let her suffer through a life of slavery. She made the decision to have her daughter killed. This also created some detachment from herself. Perhaps she felt as if her mind had deceived because she had her daughter killed. But yet, s...

    Read More

  • Isolation Causes Destruction In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    1318 Words  | 3 Pages

    Isolation remains a recurring idea throughout the story. The idea of isolation helps support the theme. An isolated individual tends to want revenge on the person or situation that caused them to exist in isolation. This revenge usually ends in destruction. “Frankenstein” highlights this theme due to the amount of neglect, loneliness, and discrimination the monster faces throughout the book, which ultimately leads to the monster’s killing rampage. The monster desires to not remain an outsider in society. Since the monster remains isolated; he goes on a killing

    Read More

  • Isolation In Life Of Pi

    982 Words  | 2 Pages

    The impact of isolation on an individual and their resulting response is examined throughout two texts, John Boyne’s The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and Yann Martel’s Life of Pi. The two authors communicate the significant initial negative responses the characters have to their specific isolation. In their texts, both Boyne and Martel express how learning to trust others and building unlikely relationships can lessen the impact isolation has on an individual. The difference of behaviour as a result of isolation of an individual is distinct and the contrast between the behaviours of certain characters awakens the reader to the impacts isolation has on an individual.

    Read More

  • The Theme Of Isolation In Of Mice And Men

    1326 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Of Mice and Men, the author, Steinbeck, explores the theme of isolation. The whole book has a pessimistic and gloomy tone to it. Steinbeck has hinted at us the theme of isolation from full built evidence to subtle details (such as placing the city of the book in Soledad, California, a Spanish word for solitude). He argues that isolation forms when people become selfish and egocentric and worry about themselves all the time.

    Read More

  • Allusion In Frankenstein

    880 Words  | 2 Pages

    Through her exceptional use of the previously stated elements she educated the readers on the dangerous effects of solitude, a theme that is still in play today. Isolation can be felt by anyone who feels alone or forgotten in today 's society. Just as the monster felt alone many people across the world feel as though they do not fit in, they feel like they have been left behind and abandoned. This is why isolation is an everlasting theme in the world, because it will always be apart of

    Read More

  • Trapped By Society: I Only Came to Use the Phone

    860 Words  | 2 Pages

    Do you ever feel trapped when you are in a place that you have never been before? Isolation criticizes society since it does not let everyone be equal or have the same rights. Isolation can completely change a person, and it is usually for the worst. Society “acts” like they try to prevent isolation, but in reality they isolate people for certain reasons, then those people get judged for being “different.” Upon closer inspection it is human nature to deny equal rights because people that do not act, dress, or look the same are labeled as strange, and unfortunately, many times are not accepted by the majority of society. This gives authors a way to shine a light on society’s flaws.

    Read More

More about Theme in Dystopic stories - Isolation

Open Document