The Dystopian Impulse in Modern Literature: Fiction as Social Criticism

by M. Keith Booker

Overview

While literary utopias depict an ideal society and reflect an optimistic belief in the triumph of humanity and government, dystopias present a society marked by suffering caused by human and political evils. This book offers a detailed study of several literary dystopias and analyzes them as social criticism. The volume begins with a discussion of utopias, dystopias, and social criticism. By drawing upon the theories of Freud, Nietzsche, and others, Booker sets a firm theoretical foundation for the literary explorations that follow. The chapters that come next discuss Zamyatin's We, Huxley's Brave New World, and Orwell's 1984 as social criticism of totalitarianism, Stalinism, the dangers of capitalism, and fascism. Later chapters consider dystopias after World War II, contemporary communist dystopias, and postmodernist dystopias in the West.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313290923
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	05/17/1994
Series:	Contributions to the Study of Science Fiction and Fantasy , #58
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	1610L (what's this?)

About the Author

M. KEITH BOOKER is Associate Professor of English at the University of Arkansas. He has authored several books, including Dystopian Literature: A Theory and Research Guide (Greenwood Press, 1994). His articles have appeared in Texas Studies in Literature and Language, Eire-Ireland, James Joyce Quarterly, College English, ELH, and other jourbanals.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Utopia, Dystopia, and Social Critique
Zamyatin's We: Anticipating Stalin
Huxley's Brave New World: The Early Bourgeois Dystopia
Orwell's 1984: The Totalitarian Dystopian after Stalin
The Bourgeois Dystopia after World War II
Postmodernism with a Russian Accent: The Contemporary Communist Dystopia
Skepticism Squared: Western Postmodernist Dystopias
Postscript: Literature and Dystopia
Works Cited