Dystopian Heroes

Dystopian Heroes A dystopian society mainly asks one question and that is, “What if?” Typically, their government, beliefs, and way of life are different from what we would find normal. All the literary works demonstrate a society unlike ours including: To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, “Harrison Bergeron” by Harrison Vonnegut, “The Pedestrian” by Ray Bradbury, Anthem by Ayn Rand, 1984 by George Orwell, and Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer. In every dystopian society, there is an outcast who does not agree with the government. Dystopian heroes are usually disconnected from the rest of their society. There is usually a slow progression of rebellion until they break away completely and is seen as a danger to the balance and order of the society. There cannot be a dystopian hero that completely obeys the laws of the government because they would blend in and not be seen as different. Also, dystopian heroes are typically brave and daring. Their intentions do not necessarily have to be for the good of others; some have selfish ideas of rebellion. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the dystopian hero is Atticus Finch, a lawyer and a father of two children, Jem and Scout. The society in To Kill A Mockingbird has more racism than today’s modern society. Atticus does not let others influence his anti-racist and non-judgmental beliefs, which sets him apart from the rest of the society. He was an outsider to the town of Maycomb during the Tom Robinson case. He was called a “nigger-lover” because of his defense for Tom Robinson (Lee84). Atticus remained strong and did what was right. His compassionate character makes him heroic, especially to his kids. He passes on his beliefs through words of wisdom that might not mean anything to Jem and Scout, until they experience it for themselves. Atticus says that “you never really understand a person until you consider things from [their] point