Introducing 

Prezi AI.

Your new presentation assistant.

Refine, enhance, and tailor your content, source relevant images, and edit visuals quicker than ever before.

Loading…
Transcript

By Ben Cahill, Zoe Boughton, and Alexis Cope

Literary Devices Often Used in Dystopian Literature

How do authors often utilize character development as a key component of a dystopian text?

How Did the Components of Dystopian Literature Evolve Over Time?

How do authors who write dystopian literature intend to impact society's beliefs?

Common Elements of Dystopian Literature

Works Cited

Define Dystopian Literature

Dystopian literature is usually characterized by a corrupt society made out to be a utopia by the government leaders. The main character of dystopian literature often does something to bring down the system and instate a better one.

Dystopian literature has almost always been about a corrupt governmental system. However, older works, such as Anthem by Ayn Rand and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, often ended with the main character deciding to make a peaceful move in order to usurp the government in order to show that there was a long way to go for that society to be somewhat fixed. These works also tended to be stand-alone novels.

However, recent books from this genre tend to come in trilogies, such as Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games trilogy and Veronica Roth's Divergent trilogy. Newer books also tend to end in a lot more action than their predecessors did,usually ending with the actual overthrowing of the government than just with plans of how to make a better one.

A third literary device often used in dystopian literature is conflict. Most works of literature have several conflicts, but one specific conflict that is almost always present in dystopian literature is man vs. government, in which the protagonist, usually with some allies, rebells against the corrupted government system.

Symbolism is often used in dystopian literature, such as in The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, with many different items. One such example is dandelions representing hope for Katniss.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dave-astor/why-do-we-like-dystopian-novels_b_1979301.html

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article/PMC2733639/

http://www.strangemore.com/2011/07/difference-between-dystopia-and-utopia.html?m=1

http://www.shmoop.com/hunger-games/symbolism-imagery.html

http://literary-devices.com/

Suspense is another literary device often used by authors. One such example is in Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, when Montag is desperately hoping that Captain Beatty will not find the book hidden under his pillow, in a way that also makes teh reader wonder whether Montag will be discovered.

We believe that authors use character development with in the conflict. Dystopian text usually has a man vs. government conflict. In a dystopia the society has elements such as segregation, inequality and oppression and the characters usually rebel against it. This rebellion causes the characters to grow and usually become more mature.

Identify at least 2 other common elements of dystopian literature?

Two other common elements of dystopian literature are suspicion of scientific social planning and suspicion of behavioral methods of governance.

Authors who write dystopian literature intend to impact society's beliefs by writing about the worst scenarios such as war, death, and the end of an entire society. This makes the readers think that the society we live in is not so bad compared to the harsh world it could be. Dystopian literature makes these terrible situations seem possible, and makes us realize they could become our society if we are not careful.

Learn more about creating dynamic, engaging presentations with Prezi