Throughout my teaching career, I have taught bilingual education and monolingual ELA curriculum. The curriculum that I enjoyed most was the 8th grade ELA curriculum. I had stepped away from said grade level and upon my return this year, I feel elated that I can teach the unit on Dystopian literature. When I think of Dystopian Literature, many titles come to mind. Some YA (young adult) novels that come to mind are The Giver, Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son written by Lois Lowry. These books are considered companion novels because these are books that exist in the same world but focus on different characters and tell different stories. Oftentimes, the main character in the companion novel might be a minor character from the previous book. The City of Ember written by Jeanne DuPrau, is another example of dystopian literature. In this novel we join the characters in a struggle to flee a dying underground city plagued by corruption and dwindling resources. In my opinion, a popular example of a dystopian society is the one in Hunger Games. Students are familiar with this title because they have viewed the movie not realizing that it is a movie adapted from the book of the same title written by Suzanne Collins. In this novel we have a post-apocalyptic world controlled by rulers who use the citizens as pawns in battles to the death. All these titles aforementioned are prime examples of dystopian literature that are accessible to most of my eighth-grade students because they have similar Lexile’s that average out to the median Lexile in the classroom. Another attractive feature these novels share is that the main characters are teenagers between 12 and 16 years of age. This is important because even though the stories are futuristic, apocalyptic and dystopian, students can identify with the human being portrayed in the novel.
It is common knowledge that dystopian literature is fiction but we cannot forget that it has a purpose. Through dystopian fiction we can effectively identify, analyze, and address modern day societal problems. Dystopian literature challenges readers to think about current social and political issues. It opens the readers mind to think about what is happening today and if we do not take action or try to change things, our future will be impacted resembling the problems they are reading about in the novels. Students are wise enough to know that dystopian literature has magical elements but they are engaged enough and curious enough to ask how or why things run the course that they do in the stories.
Thesis Eleven (Sean Seeger), writes that dystopian literature is more grounded in social realities than in utopian literature. Students realize that no human is perfect and because of that a utopia is impossible and can only exist in literature that is sometimes not relatable. Dystopian characteristics illustrate a relationship between the life of an individual and the greater whole of a society’s reality. In other words, a dystopian society shapes the individual and in turn the individual shapes society. They both go hand in hand and in order to identify dystopian literature, students will have to look in retrospect at themselves and those around them. The element of individualism is a driving force that creeps into dystopian literature when we are presented with a controlling or ruling group of people throughout the societal hierarchy. Here, the good of those who rule is a higher priority than those who do not. The ruling class uses fear, control, propaganda, restrictive laws and state approved violence to keep their populations under control. This ruling class establishes laws that they do not abide by therefore negating the idea of democracy or equality. In this construct, individualism is not good thing because it does not address everyone’s individualism for good but only those in control thus oppressing all others who do not serve the ruling class ‘purpose.
Through this unit I am hoping that students are able to identify the dystopian elements in the literature presented and go a step further and relate it back to society, past or present. It is important that students see dystopian issues as a result of a breakdown in society and a futile attempt at making the world a better place. I see one clear, strong connection that the students can identify and that is the relationship of a dystopian society to slavery. This connection addresses dystopia in history. According to the Wall Street Journal “Slavery was a dystopic form of socialism where slaves faced 100% taxation and received compensation only according to their needs as determined by slaveholders.” (Feb. 27, 2020) Plantations were set up to resemble a society where a ruling class was established (the white owners) and the subjects (black slaves who were objectified) who had to abide by the rules. The parallels are many and the students will be able to make those connections once they identify the characteristics of a dystopia. Students will also be able to critically analyze slavery and the effect on society when they study American History in social studies. The focus of study is American Colonialism and you cannot study colonialism without addressing slavery. Our country was founded on the backs of African American slaves and oppression. When students are reading to make text to self-connections, I am hoping that they connect dystopian societies with the concept of gentrification as a present day display of a dystopia. Gentrification is something happening in real time and it would offer the students the opportunity to think deeply about what is happening around them and if that is what is best for all or just certain interest groups.
The common thread that all dystopias share is the idea that society is broken and that somehow it needs to be repaired by “people” who know what is best for the good of the masses all while having the power necessary to promote their own agendas. Dystopian literature will give students the opportunity to identify what is wrong and then offer viable, real solutions to alleviate or correct the societal ills they are identifying.
