Delving more into the history of the dystopian genre, I recently enjoyed an article by Philip Stoner on 'the evolution of dystopian literature from We to The Hunger Games' written for The W's Undergraduate Research Journal. In it, Stoner discusses the political and historical reasons why writers like Zamyatin (author of We - which is great book, check it out) and later, Orwell and Huxley used the dystopian genre as a warning for future generations. Further down the line, through the dystopian book Lois Lowry's The Giver, Stoner argues, that dystopian fiction moved into the young adult space and focused more on remembering and self-expression, rather than highlighting the dangers of our current political climate.
Examining how Zamyatin did that in the face of Stalin's Russia is a discussion for another time, but for now, I want to examine Stoner's exploration of what he believes are the key dystopian tropes to be born from Zamyatin's work. And to do this, I'm going to use my own recently released dystopian fantasy, Sun of Endless Days, to see how much the evolution of dystopian literature has influenced by own writing. So, let's do it!
Dystopian Trope 1: Oppressive Government
Living in 20th Century Russia, Zamyatin clearly needed to exaggerate and highlight an oppressive government in We and this dystopian trope is probably the one that has stood the test of time. Although, sometimes, it's the form of a corporation or department such as 'WICKED' in The Maze Runner.
In Sun of Endless Days, the dystopian trope is certainly there. Command are the 'oppressive government' - they control the merit system; a regimented point structure that requires citizens to earn a certain amount of merit points to buy the best products, live in the best neighbourhoods and enjoy the greatest networks. It is this merit score that determines a citizen to be Worthy or Unworthy, and if you're the very best, Glorified. As a result, citizens are forced to work themselves to their limits, trying to avoid any point deductions while fighting our innate desire for connection with others. While Command doesn't explicitly force people to do this, as we hear when Ace and Ajay are given the constitution at the work presentation towards the beginning of the novel, we see that through the cultural adoption of the merit system, subtly citizens are made to feel like they don't have a choice. Especially when it is branded as being 'for a greater Tulo.' So while posing as a societal project, the merit system really only drives people towards selfish ambition and gain. A reality that we see infecting Ajay's fundamental character throughout the novel (note: he's a bit of a idiot at times).
Dystopian trope 2: Regulations of art and original thought
This common dystopian trope is obvious enough in early novels like the presence of 'the thought police' in Orwell's 1984. But it starts to get more nuanced in later dystopian novels or is simply not there at all. I don't see many examples of art regulation in Divergent or The Hunger Games, for example or then people being factioned into being a certain thing. In Sun of Endless Days, original thought may well be celebrated if such thinking doesn't go against the merit system or indeed, leads to a business opportunity or a productive state of being. There is though, a direct suppression of creative hobbies and endeavours. We see Genni, our FMC (female main character), struggle with how much she loves to paint - a meritless activity despite the way it helps her to rest and refresh. In the same way, Ajay and Genni's friend Blake loves to dance and while the exercise does grant him a small amount of merit, spending his life and profession doing it will not. With this, I wanted to highlight how our modern culture often, without even realising, demotes the creative industries as wasteful. Unless you were to be in the minority to make it 'big', but only if that happens, does it make it worth it. I could write a whole article on how that's utter nonsense and how believing that lie has had me sitting on the struggle bus many times, but that's for another day.
Dystopian trope 3: self-exploration
This is another dystopian trope that was arguably introduced by Zamyatin in We as he presents D-503 having to make a choice between individual expression and conformity to the One State. As Stoner explores, this tension is apparent in many dystopian books. And I don't believe it's gone away. Even in more recent fantasy releases that have strong dystopian elements, we see characters battle with their individual thought and how that aligns with the majority line. All of us probably do this every day. So naturally, this dystopian trope is present in Sun of Endless Days. We see it clearly in an episode where Ajay encounters an injured Unworthy and has to choose between his own sense of morality and 'what others will think' - because helping an Unworthy is seen as time-wasting. Dystopian books often encourage us to not just accept what society might tell us but investigate and explore things for ourselves.
Dystopian trope 4: The Female Instigator
This one is an interesting one in the dystopian genre. Stoner points out in his article that many of the early dystopian novels featured a female instigator: a woman who pulls the central male character towards seeing the flaws in the world they live in. This started to change though, as many dystopian young adult books had a main female protagonist who was often underestimated but proved everyone wrong. (Come on, we all wanted to be Katniss Evergreen - I still do). I don't really think Sun of Endless Days has a female instigator trope, other than perhaps Ajay's Grandma who tells him stories as a child as a way of trying to lead him towards some truths about Tulo society.
Dystopian trope 5: Bleak Endings
Ending a dystopian book on a bleak note was certainly something 20th century writers practiced. It would be very easy to feel depressed at the closing of We or 1984, but it makes sense for what the authors were trying to do. Their books were supposed to served as a warning. For example, as Stoner notes, Zamyatin was condemning the move towards technology, industrialism and futurism where everyone will just become a cog in a machine. However, recent dystopian young adult stories have ended with portrayals of hope and the good in humanity.
If you've read Sun of Endless Days, you'll know that I've taken a leaf out of Zamyatin's book. The ending of the first novel (no spoilers) was always a warning about our attitudes towards work, status and power, and why we value you those things against our relationships and the way we love other people. I won't say any more because to understand why it this 'bleak ending' dystopian trope, you'll have to read it.
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