Between the idea and the reality falls the shadow: varieties of modernist dystopia
Loading...
Links to Files
Permanent Link
Author/Creator
Author/Creator ORCID
Date
2014-07-18
Type of Work
Department
Towson University. Department of Humanities
Program
Citation of Original Publication
Rights
Copyright protected, all rights reserved.
There are no restrictions on access to this document. An internet release form signed by the author to display this document online is on file with Towson University Special Collections and Archives.
There are no restrictions on access to this document. An internet release form signed by the author to display this document online is on file with Towson University Special Collections and Archives.
Subjects
Abstract
By tracing the literary heritage of dystopia from its inception in Joseph Hall and its modern development under Aldous Huxley, George Orwell, Samuel Beckett, and Anthony Burgess, modern dystopia emerges as a distinct type of utopian literature. The literary environments created by these authors are constructed as intricate social commentaries that ridicule the foolishness of yearning for a leisurely existence in a world of industrial ideals. Modern dystopian narratives approach civilization differently yet predict similarly dismal limitations to autonomy, which focuses attention on the individual and the cultural crisis propagated by shattering conflicts in the modern era. During this era the imaginary nowhere of utopian fables was infected by pessimism and, as the modern era trundled forward, any hope for autonomous individuality contracted. Utopian ideals were invalidated by the oppressive nature of unbridled technology. The resulting societal assessment offers a dark vision of progress.