Critical Appreciation

• Plato’s Republic (c. 375 BCE)

  • Justice: Defined through the structure of an ideal city (Kallipolis), where everyone fulfills their designated role.
  • Three Classes: Workers (producers), Guardians (warriors), and Philosopher-Kings (rulers).
  • Philosopher-Kings: The most intelligent and virtuous should govern.
  • Education: Essential for shaping just rulers and a harmonious society.
  • Benevolent Totalitarianism: Rule based on wisdom, not democracy.
  • Theory of Forms: True knowledge comes from understanding eternal truths, especially the Form of the Good.
• Elizabeth Corbett’s New Amazonia (1889)

  • Feminist Utopia: Imagines a future where a successful suffragette movement leads to a matriarchal society in Ireland.
  • Established after a war with Britain; men can live in the society but are barred from political power.
  • Amazonians: Highly evolved women who dominate the society, living long lives and growing to seven feet tall.
  • Eugenics and Euthanasia: Malformed children and illegitimate offspring are eliminated.
  • Life Extension: "Nerve-rejuvenation" transfers energy from dogs to humans, prolonging Amazonian lifespans (fatal to the dogs).
• Mary E. Bradley Lane’s Mizora (1889)

  • All-Female Utopia: A self-sufficient society where men have been eliminated.
  • Parthenogenesis: Women reproduce without men, unlike the Amazons of mythology.
  • Racial Purity: Society consists only of blonde "Aryan" women who reject darker-skinned people.
  • Eugenics & Education: Social progress is based on selective breeding and universal education.
  • Futuristic Technology: Features videophones, artificial meat, and weather control via electricity.
• News from Nowhere (1890) by William Morris:

  1. Setting: The story begins in 2090, where William Guest, wakes up to a radically changed society.
  2. Utopian Society: Socialist utopia with no money, no government, and common ownership of resources. A world free from capitalist exploitation
  3. Nature Appreciation: The novel promotes an ideal where humans live in harmony with nature. The countryside is depicted as beautiful, and there is an emphasis on preserving natural resources.
  4. Socialist ideals mixed with speculative fiction
  5. Technological Regression: a slower, more deliberate pace of life.
• Unveiling a Parallel (1893): Alice Jones and Ella Merchant

  1. Feminist Utopian Sci-Fi: A male protagonist travels to Mars and explores two societies with gender equality.
  2. Two Martian Societies:

  • Paleveria: Women adopt traditionally male traits: sexually liberated women who can vote, run businesses, propose to men, have sex with male prostitutes, wrestle.
  • Caskia: Gender equality leads to a kinder, more loving, and harmonious society for both sexes.It is a republican and capitalist state, with clear class divisions; the people are vegetarians, and dress in loose robes.
• H.G. Wells: The Time Machine (1895):

  1. Time Travel: The protagonist invents a machine to travel to the year 802,701 AD.
  2. Eloi vs. Morlocks:

  • Eloi: Passive, privileged humans living in comfort above ground, spend their days in leisure, with little concern for their survival.
  • Morlocks: Savage, underground predators who prey on Eloi.

  1. Class Division: The Eloi and Morlocks symbolize extreme social inequality, with the privileged class weakened and the working class devolved into predators.
  2. Social Critique: The novel warns of the dangers of unchecked social inequality and technological progress.
• Inez Haynes Irwin: Angel Island (1914):

  1. Shipwrecked Men: Five men are stranded on a Pacific island.
  2. Arrival of Winged Women: The men encounter five beautiful, winged women, whom they eventually capture and cut off their wings.
  3. Marriage and Children: The men marry the women, who bear children—four wingless boys and one winged girl, Angela.
  4. Women’s Rebellion: The women stand up for Angela, demanding her wings be left intact.
  5. Final Triumph: The women fly to demonstrate their strength, and the men respect them, promising not to clip their wings. Julia later gives birth to a winged son.
• 1915 – Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Herland

  • A utopian novel from 1915 describes an isolated society composed entirely of women, who bear children without men (parthenogenesis, a form of asexual reproduction).
  • The result is an ideal social order: free of war, conflict, and domination.
• We (1920) by Yevgeny Zamyatin:

  1. Totalitarian State: The "One State" controls every aspect of life, and citizens are constantly surveilled.
  2. Loss of Identity: People are known by numbers instead of names, erasing individuality.
  3. Regulated Lives: Every action is strictly scheduled, suppressing personal desires and emotions.
  4. Protagonist's Rebellion: D-503, a loyal engineer, begins questioning the state after an emotional awakening through his relationship with I-330, who opposes the regime.
• Directed by Fritz Lang: Metropolis (1927):

  1. Class Division: The rich live in luxury above, while the poor work below in a harsh industrial city.
  2. Heavy Industrialised City: The oppressive, dehumanizing city represents capitalist exploitation.
  3. Love Story: A romance between an upper class man (Freder) and a working class woman (Maria) symbolizes hope for unity.
  4. Pyramid Structure: Power is visually represented in a pyramid, with the elite at the top and workers at the bottom.
  5. Manipulation of Time: The clock symbol (149) represents manipulation of time, control over workers' time and labor.
• Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World (1932)

  • Artificial Reproduction: Natural birth is replaced by hatcheries and conditioning.
  • Rigid Social Classes: Society is divided into Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons.
  • Conformity & Control: Individuality is sacrificed for "Community, Identity, Stability."
  • Soma Drug: Used to suppress pain and ensure compliance through pleasure.
  • Critique of Society: Huxley warns against over-reliance on technology, consumerism, and the loss of free will.
  • Art & Religion Banned: Seen as threats to societal control.
• Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 (1953)

  • Book Censorship: Books are banned, and firemen burn them to suppress knowledge.
  • Montag’s Awakening: A fireman who begins questioning society after meeting Clarisse.
  • Mindless Entertainment: Society is distracted by shallow media, losing individuality.
  • Key Symbols:
  • Books: Knowledge and free thought.
  • Fire: Destruction but also renewal.
  • Mechanical Hound: Oppressive state control.
  • Hope & Rebirth: War destroys the city, but knowledge may be preserved for the future.
• Anthony Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange (1962)

  • Dystopian Violence: Youth crime is rampant in a chaotic future.
  • Alex, the Protagonist: A 15-year-old gang leader narrating in "Nadsat" slang.
  • Ludovico’s Technique: Aversion therapy forces Alex to become nonviolent but removes his free will.
  • "Clockwork Orange" Symbolism: A person stripped of choice, human in form but mechanically controlled.
  • Moral Dilemma: The novel questions whether it is better to be freely immoral or forcibly "good."
  • Loss & Recovery of Autonomy: Alex begins to regain free will, hinting at personal growth.
• George Orwell’s 1984 (1949)

  • Totalitarian Rule: Big Brother controls society through surveillance, propaganda, and repression.
  • Thoughtcrime & Newspeak: Independent thought is illegal; language is restricted to limit rebellion.
  • Winston Smith: A Party member who secretly resists but is ultimately broken.
  • Julia & Rebellion: His lover, who defies the Party for pleasure rather than ideology.
  • Torture & Betrayal: Winston is brainwashed in Room 101, submitting to Big Brother.
  • Control & Manipulation: Doublethink, telescreens, and Party slogans enforce obedience.
• J.G. Ballard’s The Drowned World (1962)

  • Eco-Dystopia: Global warming melts ice caps, submerging cities and collapsing civilization.
  • Survival & Isolation: Scientist Kerans and his group struggle with the harsh, flooded world.
  • Psychological Decay: Kerans embraces a primal existence, reflecting humanity’s adaptation to change.
  • Symbolism:
  • Flooding: Renewal and transformation.
  • Drowned Cities: The fragility of human progress and the loss of the past.
  • Theme: Humanity’s struggle to mentally and physically adapt to an evolving, hostile world.
• Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968)

  • Post-Apocalyptic World: Earth is devastated by nuclear war, with most humans emigrating to Mars.
  • Rick Deckard: A bounty hunter tasked with "retiring" rogue androids posing as humans.
  • Android vs. Human: Explores what defines humanity—empathy being the key distinction.
  • Mercerism: A religion promoting empathy, contrasted with the androids' lack of it.
  • Reality & Identity: Questions the nature of consciousness and what it means to be "real."
• Doris Lessing’s Memoirs of a Survivor (1974)

  • Near-Future Collapse: Society is crumbling, reflected in a decaying cityscape.
  • Unstable Reality: Dreamlike narrative blurs the line between external events and internal perception.
  • Narrator & Emily: A woman shelters a mysterious girl, symbolizing both hope and uncertainty.
  • The House: Represents both stability and entrapment amidst societal disintegration.
  • Themes: Collapse, survival, psychological fragmentation, and the ambiguity of the future.
• Alan Moore’s V for Vendetta (1982) – Key Points

  • Dystopian London: A fascist government rules after a world war.
  • Totalitarian Control: Police state enforces strict surveillance and repression.
  • V – The Resistance: A masked vigilante fights against tyranny, using anarchist ideals.
  • Evey’s Transformation: A young woman who evolves from victim to revolutionary.
  • John Hurt: Plays the Dictator + also plays Winston in 1984
  • Resistance is focal point of narrative
• Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) – Key Points

  • Near Future society in America
  • Dystopian Theocracy: Gilead controls women through strict social roles.
  • Offred’s Struggle: A Handmaid forced into reproductive servitude, clinging to memories of her past.
  • Oppression & Surveillance: Secret police (The Eyes), public punishments, and religious control (manipulation of Bible) enforce obedience.
  • Themes: Power, resistance, identity, and the control of women’s bodies.
• P.D. James’ The Children of Men (1992)

  • Dystopian Infertility Crisis: No children born for 25 years, leading to societal collapse.
  • Totalitarian Rule: Oppressive government maintains control as humanity loses purpose.
  • Theo & Julian: Theo helps rebels protect Kee, the only known pregnant woman.
  • Kee’s Pregnancy: A symbol of hope, but also a target for control and exploitation.
  • Themes: Hope vs. despair, authoritarianism, identity loss, and the fight for survival.
  • Ending: Kee gives birth, leaving a glimmer of hope for humanity’s future.
• Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower (1993) – Key Points

  • Dystopian America (2020s): Climate change, economic collapse, and corporate rule create chaos.
  • Lauren Olamina: A 15-year-old with hyperempathy syndrome - can feel emotions of others- sensitive to suffering around her.
  • Earthseed Philosophy: "God is Change"—humanity must adapt and shape its future.
  • Journey & Community: Lauren gathers followers to spread Earthseed and secure humanity’s survival.
  • Symbolism: Walled communities represent false security; their collapse forces adaptation.
  • Hope for a future beyond Earth.
• Yoko Ogawa’s The Memory Police (1994)

  • Dystopian Island: Objects and memories mysteriously disappear, enforced by the Memory Police.
  • Erasure of Identity: People forget vanished things, losing parts of their past and selves.
  • Protagonist’s Struggle: A writer secretly hides her editor, who can still remember.
  • Themes: Memory, identity, loss, surveillance, and the fragility of human existence.
  • Atmosphere: Haunting, dreamlike narrative reflecting gradual erasure of reality.
• Cormac McCarthy’s The Road (2006)

  • Post-Apocalyptic Setting: A barren, ash-covered world after an unspecified catastrophe.
  • Father & Son: Anonymous protagonists journey south seeking safety and warmth.
  • Survival & Danger: Constant threats from starvation, exposure, and roaming cannibals.
  • Moral Struggle: The father teaches his son to "carry the fire" — a metaphor for hope and goodness.
  • Themes: Survival, love, morality, and the endurance of humanity in a brutal world.
  • Ending: The father dies, but the boy is taken in by a family, offering a faint hope for the future.
• Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments (2019)

  • Sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale: Set 15 years later, exploring Gilead’s decline.
  • Three Narrators: Aunt Lydia (powerful Gilead insider), Agnes (raised in Gilead), and Daisy (raised in Canada).
  • Aunt Lydia’s Duplicity: Appears loyal to Gilead but secretly works to dismantle it.
  • Resistance & Secrets: Agnes learns the truth about Gilead; Daisy aids the resistance (Mayday).
  • Fall of Gilead: Key documents smuggled out lead to the regime’s eventual downfall.
  • Themes: Power, resistance, identity, and the moral ambiguity of survival.