dystopian literature
Visions of the future fall into two different genres: Apocalyptic and Dystopian. Which is worse?
Margaret Atwood’s “Oryx and Crake” displays the features of an always developing society. Through the quest to create a utopia through pure determination to improve the human condition, the novel convinces the reader the situation is relatable. Alike to many dystopian novels, Oryx and Crake includes a protagonist Jimmy, who begins questioning society, often feeling intuitively that something is wrong with the world. This shows that the genre serves to produce cautionary tales to warn humanity that its own actions will result in destruction. However, in contrast to a dystopian self imposed situation, in I am Legend, Richard Matheson writes of a post-apocalyptic world, where Robert Neville is adapting to the given situation which is being the last man on earth.
Oryx and Crake suggests a society that is completely governed by the corporate hegemony and rampant consumerism. Lots of this is explored in chapter 10 of Oryx and Crake. Chapter 10 fully dedicates itself to the dystopian, pre-apocalyptic world of Jimmy. The chapter starts with the section “Vulturizing”. This in itself immediately portrays how the compounding areas are preying on the pleeblands. Vultures are creatures which prey on the dead. This shows that what we see as a relatively normal, previous society is perceived as obsolete, showing that embodying customary human characteristics has become outdated and worthless, which in turn foreshadows the definitive end of society. A vulture only sees largely from an aerial view. At this point, the bird is uninvolved with the world below it, and only ventures there to prey. This completely reflects the greed and ravenousness of the compounding areas. It shows that the compounders only see from afar, and cannot see the overall effect they are having on society. This results in their growing greed, as the desperation of the pleeblanders is feeding the ever-growing
Margaret Atwood’s “Oryx and Crake” displays the features of an always developing society. Through the quest to create a utopia through pure determination to improve the human condition, the novel convinces the reader the situation is relatable. Alike to many dystopian novels, Oryx and Crake includes a protagonist Jimmy, who begins questioning society, often feeling intuitively that something is wrong with the world. This shows that the genre serves to produce cautionary tales to warn humanity that its own actions will result in destruction. However, in contrast to a dystopian self imposed situation, in I am Legend, Richard Matheson writes of a post-apocalyptic world, where Robert Neville is adapting to the given situation which is being the last man on earth.
Oryx and Crake suggests a society that is completely governed by the corporate hegemony and rampant consumerism. Lots of this is explored in chapter 10 of Oryx and Crake. Chapter 10 fully dedicates itself to the dystopian, pre-apocalyptic world of Jimmy. The chapter starts with the section “Vulturizing”. This in itself immediately portrays how the compounding areas are preying on the pleeblands. Vultures are creatures which prey on the dead. This shows that what we see as a relatively normal, previous society is perceived as obsolete, showing that embodying customary human characteristics has become outdated and worthless, which in turn foreshadows the definitive end of society. A vulture only sees largely from an aerial view. At this point, the bird is uninvolved with the world below it, and only ventures there to prey. This completely reflects the greed and ravenousness of the compounding areas. It shows that the compounders only see from afar, and cannot see the overall effect they are having on society. This results in their growing greed, as the desperation of the pleeblanders is feeding the ever-growing