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Utopias and Dystopias Notes

Utopias and Dystopias

Utopia

  • Origins:
    • The concept was introduced by Thomas More in his book "Utopia."
    • It describes a fictional island with total fairness.
    • A utopia is a "perfect place" where everyone gets what they need and is treated fairly.
    • Based on real-life monasteries, it aimed to inspire communal and fair practices by presenting an ideal.
  • Price of Utopia:
    • Utopias always come with a price, and not everyone gets what they want or need.
    • More's original book included the concept of slavery.

Conventions of Utopian Literature

  • A governing moral code obeyed by everyone.
  • Fairness for each individual.
  • Freedom for all, or an accepted sacrifice of freedom for a greater good.
  • Integration with nature for harmonious and sustainable living.
  • The vast majority, if not all, citizens are satisfied, happy, safe, and self-actualized.

Dystopias

  • A dystopia is the opposite of a utopia.
  • Most of the populace lives in misery.
  • Sources of Misery:
    • Lack of freedom and excessive control by the government or those in power.
    • A destroyed ecological environment.
    • Dehumanization: people lose their identities and become mindless individuals in a system that doesn't care about them.

Examples of Utopias and Dystopias

  • Utopias:
    • Utopia
    • The Giver
    • Omelas(?)
    • Transcendentalist works
  • Dystopias:
    • Childhood’s End
    • Utopia
    • The Giver
    • The Hunger Games
    • The Terminator
    • The Matrix

Genres Associated With Dystopia

  • Science Fiction:
    • Sci-fi reflects society, satirizes the world, promotes peace, presents an ideal world, or a dark vision of the future.
    • Examples: "The City of Ember," "The Hunger Games," "Library War," the Galactic Empire from Star Wars.
  • Fantasy:
    • Many dystopias take place on other worlds or alternate realities, like Mordor in Lord of the Rings.
  • Satire:
    • The first dystopian novel in English may have been Gulliver’s Travels, which made fun of British society and materialism (greed).

The Origins of Utopian Literature in English

  • Utopian/Dystopian literature in English started with Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift.
  • The first novels labeled as “dystopian” were We, by Yevgeny Zamyatin, published in 1921, and The Iron Heel by Jack London, published in 1908.

Yahoos and Houyhnhnms

  • Yahoos:
    • Humanoid, aggressive, and impetuous.
    • Used by the Houyhnhnms for work; Mindless Labourers. "I sate coming towards the house a kind of whicle dran like a sledge by four yahoos"
  • Houyhnhnms:
    • Intelligent, peaceful, and trustworthy but without passion and emotional connection; logical but naive.
    • They do not lie, cheat, or steal and don't understand why anyone would need to do so.
    • They use the Yahoos as labor, and their word for “evil” is “Yahoo.”
    • They are perfect innocence and naivety in contrast with the wild thoughtlessness of the Yahoos.
  • Gulliver's Predicament:
    • Gulliver wants to become a Houyhnhnm but can’t; he is more of a Yahoo, but his pride blinds him to that.

Swift the Satirist

  • Jonathan Swift mocked British society in Gulliver’s Travels.
  • He satirized the idea of a perfect society, stating that every society has flaws preventing it from being perfect.
  • In British society, the ruling class treated workers like objects, and peace was only available for the wealthy.

Brave New World

  • Written in 1932 by Aldous Huxley, who was influenced by upper-class British society and free-thinking cultures in southern California.
  • Huxley’s brother was Julian Huxley, a believer in eugenics (the study of how human genes make one kind of person “superior”) and the first Director of UNESCO.
  • Huxley incorporated both eugenics (selection) and industrialization (efficiency) into the book, as influenced by his brother and Henry Ford, respectively.

Contextual Influences on Brave New World

  • Spanish Flu (1918-20)
  • Great Depression
  • Job automation/mass production
  • Increased use of advertisements and propaganda (Edward Bernays)
  • Rejection of Victorian morality/increased sexual liberties
  • Eugenics Movement
  • Psychological discoveries (Pavlov’s dog, Behaviorist School of psychology & Freud’s concepts)

Brave New World Caste System

  • Alpha/Alpha Plus:
    • Highest ranking; officials/elite scientists; not mass-produced; Grey
  • Beta:
    • Second highest; highly technical jobs; some individuality; Purple/Mulberry; Like Alphas, Betas are not mass-produced and have more freedom and individuality. Most likely to work in places needing high technical skill. Live to satisfy their desires
  • Gamma:
    • Polite; not deep thinkers, but conversive; service sector jobs; Green; Gammas are nice and polite but ultimately stupid. Most likely to be in service roles.
  • Delta:
    • “Factory workers”; conditioned to dislike nature; consumers; Khaki; Deltas are docile and eager consumers, reprogrammed to dislike books and flowers. They are skillful in making things.
  • Epsilon:
    • Low-level laborers; illiterate; Black; Epsilons are lowest, they can't read or write, are extremely obedient and destined to perform menial labor.

Brave New World’s Characters System

  • Bernard Marx: An Alpha Plus (but not of normal stature); sad/morose; seeks meaning
  • Lenina Crowne: A technician; in love with Bernard
  • Helmholtz Watson: Emotional Engineer; loves poetry; Bernard’s friend
  • Mustapha Mond: The World Controller; believes in maintaining order above all
  • John, The Savage: An outsider from society; raised on a “savage” reservation; represents pure individuality/the arts/unrestrained free will/naivety