When I’m not escaping into a magical realm where fairies and giants exist, I usually find myself cuddling up with a dystopian novel, one that challenges me to think differently about social and political climates writes Cape {town} Etc’s Micayla Vellai.
Dystopia is the opposite of utopia – a state in which the conditions of human life are severe, and often deals with deprivation, war, destruction, oppression or fear. This imagined society is dehumanising and frightening, and reflects on contemporary realities while issuing a warning for social change.
In this futuristic universe, an illusion of a perfect society is often maintained through corporate rule, or technological and totalitarian control. In certain instances, citizens are under constant surveillance and live in a dehumanised state.
These dystopian novels are a must-read for anyone looking to take a deep dive into a world beset by destruction:
Nineteen Eighty-four (1984) by George Orwell
This chilling dystopian novel was published in 1949 as a warning against totalitarianism. The world has fallen victim to omnipresent government surveillance in the form of ‘Big Brother’, controlling every aspect of people’s lives. War and propaganda form part of this imagined future.
A language called ‘Newspeak’ is invented in an attempt to eliminate political rebellion and the party controls what people read, say and speak. Winston Smith, a low ranking member of the Outer Party, is frustrated by the ominous eyes and begins a subtle rebellion against the Party by keeping a diary of his secret thoughts.
Orwell brilliantly explores government surveillance and mass media control to show how no place is safe, while history is manipulated and controlled to the extent where it can’t be escaped.
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The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The Road is more than just a dystopian novel. This 2006 post-apocalyptic masterpiece imagines a future where no hope remains. However, the journey of a father and son is sustained by love as it keeps them alive in the face of absolute devastation.
This duo travels through a now-destroyed America where the sky is dark while having nothing on their person but a pistol, the clothes they are wearing, and a cart of scavenged food. Ultimate destruction and desperation is exemplified in this novel, showcasing the best and worst of humankind.
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Lord of the Flies by William Golding
This novel was published in 1954 and explores the dark side of human nature. It tells the tale of schoolboys who are stranded on an island. They develop rules and a system of organisation, but without any adults to guide them, the children eventually become violent and brutal.
As Nobel Prize-winner Golding so eloquently explains “The moral is that the shape of a society must depend on the ethical nature of the individual and not on any political system however apparently logical or respectable.”
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Picture: Unsplash
