An exploration of dystopian fiction in the high school English literature curriculum.

This extended essay explores the validity of teaching twentieth century dystopian fiction in twenty-fırst century classrooms. This extended essay explores changing state society interactions, the role of the individual in a world in which technology is ubiquitous and increasingly plays a role in driving those changes, the simultaneous perceived freeing and enslaving tendencies of those same technologies, and the ambiguous relationship that exists between these technologies and individuals. At the heart of the discussion is the question of the compatibility of classical dystopian literature in the contemporary classroom. The scope of the essay is not limited to one novel. The corner stones of twentieth century dystopian literature such as Huxley’s Brave New World, Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty- Four and Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 are compared and contrasted with the popular dystopian novels of the present which young adults prefer. Malley’s Declaration, Legacy & Resistance trilogy and Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy are two of them. Literary commentaries and articles from literature journals have been used to support the discussion. This essay concludes that the aim of an author while creating a dystopia is to mirror questionable or disturbing trends in his society in order to shift the direction that the society appears to be taking. From this perspective, dystopian literature can be seen as embodying a cautionary tale. Besides their literary value, the dystopias of the twentieth century may not be able to offer a prescriptive point of view to young adults who have been born into a world which in many respects is already characterized by the very context about which the classic genre warns. This essay acknowledges the power of literary texts over the public and the constructivist interplay that exists between an author and his society