Thematic Connections:

 If your life were a movie, what would it be like?  Write for five minutes straight, no stopping.  Circle three insightful comments

DYSTOPIA A fictional society that is undesirable or frightening Humans lead miserable or fearful lives Usually an allegory – meant to teach or warn society about harmful ideas or traits

 Terrible things happen to the characters:  Characters escape their fate  Characters “win”  Terrible things happen to the characters:  Characters meet an untimely end  Establishment “wins”

Three Acts ACT I ACT II ACT III

 Exposition  Rules of Society  Characters  Event to introduce conflict (rising action)  Something occurs that is “different”, goes against the norm

 Rising Action  Main character attempts either  Escape  Change  Climax  Characters attempts to fulfill dream and establishment’s attempts to thwart him reach the point where one side must “win”

 Falling Action/ Resolution  Aftermath of climax  Theme derived from resolution  Successful escape or change = Positive Theme  Unsuccessful = Negative Theme

Archetypes of Dystopian Literature

 Representatives of those in control  The “Establishment” of “The Man”

 Happy with how things are  May be  Fiercely patriotic  Aware of flaws, but passive  Completely unaware

 Feels deprived by society  Desires to escape or change  May begin novel loving society  Key event occurs that results in an “eye opening”  May posses some trait or characteristic seen as a “flaw” by others in society that allows for change

Narrative Style

 Almost always told from the “inside”  Member of the society itself  Or a newcomer adopted by the society

 The individual is worth nothing  Seen as parts of the whole  Only as valuable as their contribution to the society  Easily expendable

 One person, or one organization, holds all the power  Power is retained through control of  Communication  Media  Education  Culture  military

 Popular culture is used to distract society  Allowing/encouraging  Consumerism  Drug/alcohol use  Mass media consumption

 The establishment finds and uses a scapegoat to deflect blame  A foreign enemy  A disenfranchised group  A symbol of the old ways