The Quiddity of Speculation: Great Dystopian Novels

***Originally posted on The Bearded Scribe on October 23, 2012.***

The Quiddity of Speculation: Great Dystopian Novels

WELL met and welcome back, Beardies!

Welcome to the second part of the first post in our new series, The Quiddity of Speculation. In the first part, we discussed the ingredients of a good dystopian novel. Now, in the second part, we’ll be talking about a few books and authors who have done the job spectacularly. As you’re reading this post, please keep in mind that there are scores of great dystopian novels available, and don’t let my choices limit your reading. If you don’t see your favorite on this list, please tell me about it in the comments—I am always looking for suggestions!

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Beauty Queens by Libba Bray (Scholastic, 2011) combines classic dystopian elements with a humorous twist. Lord of the Flies meets Miss Congeniality when the contestants of the Miss Teen Dream Pageant are marooned on an island following a plane crash. Through the humor, Bray develops a quasi-dystopian society along with a scathing indictment of ageism, sexism, consumerism, and reality-TV culture. Although some may not consider this book a true dystopia, I have chosen to include it in this list because it delivers in all three key areas of dystopian fiction—setting, revolutionary thinking, and food for thought—and continued to resonate with me long after the last page.

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[BOOK COVER] The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (A Hunger Games Novel) by Suzanne Collins

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THE publication of The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic, 2008-2010) was the beginning of the current YA dystopian fiction craze. In case you’ve been living under a rock (or trapped under one) and have missed the hype surrounding this trilogy, the nation of Panem is divided into twelve districts, each of which must send one girl and one boy each year to participate in the Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live television. When Katniss Everdeen’s little sister is chosen for the Games, Katniss volunteers to go in her place. In doing so, she sparks a rebellion that will change the world as she knows it. Katniss is, at best, a reluctant heroine, as she wants only to save her sister. The Hunger Games Trilogy perfectly exemplifies that while revolution is a hallmark of dystopian fiction, sometimes the best revolution is the one that starts accidentally.

**Since this was first posted, Suzanne Collins has released a 4th Book in The Hunger Games Series, a prequel to the trilogy called The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, linked above.

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AN interesting take on dystopian society is The Chemical Garden Trilogy, by Lauren DeStefano. The first book, Wither (Simon and Schuster, 2011), establishes a world in which a botched attempt to create genetically-perfect children has caused all girls to die at age twenty and all boys to die at age twenty-five. As a result, a teenager’s only job in life is to repopulate the world, which gives rise to widespread polygamy. The protagonist, Rhine, is one of three wives to Linden. The action moves slowly in this dystopia, but it is an excellent example of character-driven literature. DeStefano follows up with Fever (Simon and Schuster, 2012) and Sever (Simon and Schuster, 2013).

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William Golding’s Lord of the Flies (Faber and Faber, 1954) was the first acknowledged dystopian novel. Although not an immediate success, it eventually became a bestseller and is still required reading in many schools. Its plot centers around a group of boys who survive a plane crash and the disaster that ensues when they try to govern themselves.

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The Giver by Lois Lowry (Bantam, 1993) won the Newbery Medal for excellence in children’s literature, becoming the first dystopian novel to win a major literary award. Lowry returned to the world of The Giver with two companion novels, Gathering Blue (2000) and Messenger (2004), and a sequel, Son (2012), all Houghton Mifflin), finishing off The Giver Quartet. Jonas lives in a seemingly perfect world where every family consists of a mother, father, and two children and no one ever feels pain. When Jonas enters the adult world at the age of twelve, he is assigned to be the Receiver of Memory—the person who will carry the memories of the past into the next generation for all of society. In his training with the mysterious man known as the Giver, however, Jonas comes to realize that all is not as perfect as it seems.

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IN Veronica Roth’s Divergent (Katherine Tegen, 2011), Beatrice Prior lives in a future Chicago wherein society is divided into five factions, each of which values a different quality in its members. Beatrice was raised by Abnegation (the selfless), but at the age of sixteen, she will take a test to determine if she should continue in that faction or become a member of Erudite (the intelligent), Amity (the kind), Dauntless (the brave), or Candor (the truthful). Her test results, however, reveal that she is none of the above, but rather Divergent, and thus considered a danger to society. Although this is a stellar novel for many reasons, Roth excels at developing the setting in what remains of Chicago. Beatrice’s story continues in Insurgent (Katherine Tegen, 2012), and Allegiant (Katherine Tegen, 2015), to close out The Divergent Trilogy.

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TALLY YOUNGBLOOD is the heroine of Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies Series (Simon and Schuster, 2005-2007). In the twenty-fourth century, Tally is about to turn sixteen. When she reaches that milestone, she will undergo the Surge, an extensive cosmetic operation that will turn her from an Ugly into a Pretty, the beginning of her adult life. Just before the operation, though, she discovers place called the Smoke and the people who live there, all of whom have chosen not to undergo the Surge. Through the “Smokies,” Tally learns some shocking truths about the effects of the Surge and about her society as a whole.

{—CONCLUSION—}

DYSTOPIAN fiction is currently one of the hottest trends in young-adult publishing, and excellent dystopian novels abound. I hope you will take the time to read a few of these, but please don’t be limited by my choices. I’m looking forward to hearing about your favorites, too—please tell me about them in the comments!

Happy Reading & Happy Scribing!

Picture of ELIZABETH J. NORTON

ELIZABETH J. NORTON

The Quiddity of Speculation: Dystopia 101

***Originally posted on The Bearded Scribe on October 22, 2012.***

The Quiddity of Speculation: Dystopia 101

G’DAY to you, Beardies, and welcome back!

Any day that I get to write a post for The Bearded Scribe is a good day, and today is no exception. Today, we’re unveiling the first post in a new series we’re calling The Quiddity of Speculation. “Quiddity” is a word to which Joshua introduced me while we were throwing around titles for this series. According to Merriam-Webster, quiddity means “whatever makes something the type that it is.” The quiddity of a thing, then, is its very essence. In this series, we’ll dissect different types of speculative fiction in detail, exploring the definition and distinguishing characteristics of each. I’ve literally been researching this post since I joined the team here. It’s been a long time coming, so without further ado, let’s get to it!

ONE of the most interesting aspects of my job as a librarian is seeing the literary trends as they come and go. Five and a half years ago, when I started my library career, vampires and werewolves were in their heyday. I’ve now witnessed the gradual decline of the paranormal romance, followed by the meteoric rise of dystopian and post-apocalyptic literature triggered by The Hunger Games. Although these sub-genres are usually considered one and the same, I’m choosing to treat them separately, starting with dystopia.

{—BY DEFINITION—}

MERRIAM-WEBSTER defines “dystopia” as “an imaginary place where people lead dehumanized and often fearful lives.” First used in about 1950, the word derives from Latin and describes a place that is the opposite of the perfect society (utopia). In literature, dystopia describes a work of speculative fiction about a society that, in trying to be perfect, goes terribly wrong. Dystopia is one type of post-apocalyptic literature, but its keystone is that it features oppression caused by humans, such as police or government agencies, rather than by circumstances beyond human control.

{—KEYS FOR WRITERS—}

1. SETTING...

LIKE any Speculative Fiction, dystopia hinges on world-building. The most important piece of the dystopian world, though, is the setting. In building the dystopian setting, the more detail the writer adds, the better the story will be. Important considerations include not only physical descriptions of the setting, but also political systems, cultural norms, religious beliefs, family structures, even climate and weather patterns. The writer should also think about how the world came to be as it is. War, greed, genetic engineering, failure to conserve natural resources, and good intentions gone wrong are just a few likely catalysts. By definition, though, dystopian societies are created by human error, not natural phenomena.

2. REVOLUTIONARY THINKING...

DYSTOPIA is all about the conflict of protagonist versus society. While the setting is key, the action builds in the form of a revolution against the setting and those who control it. To incite such a conflict, an author need only plant one seed in the mind of one character. Such a seed need not even start out as an intention to start a rebellion. Side conflicts may develop as the character’s “unconventional” way of thinking causes him or her to run afoul of authorities or even other characters who resist change. In developing the conflict, the writer should consider the impact of the protagonist’s thoughts or actions on every other aspect of the society, so that an intricate web of conflicts is woven.

3. FOOD FOR THOUGHT...

ONE of the articles I read while researching this post talked about the evolution of dystopian literature. The first recognized dystopian novel was William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, published in 1954. Early dystopias featured settings that were far-fetched, with technology that was beyond belief for the times—frighteningly resonant perhaps, but not necessarily possible. More recent dystopias take the fads and problems of our current society to new levels, leaving the reader to wonder if such things as, for example, the reality-television crazed culture of The Hunger Games can be so terribly far away. In any generation, though, a good dystopia leaves the reader with plenty to think about.

{—Helpful READING—}

AS stated above, I’ve literally been researching this post since the day that I joined The Bearded Scribe’s team. I found the following two articles to be especially helpful.

  • Teenage Wasteland: What’s Wrong with YA Sci-Fi These Days?” by Ashley Belanger, originally appeared in the Orlando Weekly on August 15, 2012. I read it when it was reprinted in the September 5-11, 2012 issue of Detroit’s MetroTimes. The full text of the article is available online by clicking the link above.
  • The Other Side of Dark,” by Linda A. Gann and Karen Gavigan, appeared in the August 2012 issue of VOYA (Volume 35, Issue 3, pp. 234-238). Unfortunately, VOYA is only digitally archived through subscription-based services. If you are interested in reading this article, your local librarian should be able to help you obtain a copy.

And so, Beardies, we reach the end of this first edition of The Quiddity of Speculation. Please stay tuned for my next post, which will include a list of my favorite dystopian fiction. If there is a specific type of speculative fiction that you would like me to explore in a future post, please feel free to comment with your suggestions!

As Always, Happy Scribing!

Picture of ELIZABETH J. NORTON

ELIZABETH J. NORTON