Dystopian Societies

1. Dystopian Societies Marco Achirica

2. What in the world IS a Dystopian Society?! • A THEME where a society is characterized by human misery and oppression • Usually originated from an ominous WAR or COUP D’ÉTAT • A salient distrust of society characterizes the main protagonist in a novel

3. Divergent by Veronica Roth

4. Summary • Veronica Roth’s character, Beatrice Prior’ lives in a dystopian Chicago world, a society that is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself. • Trisalso has a secret: one she’s kept hidden from everyone, because she’s been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly-perfect society, she also learns that her secret might be what helps her save those she loves . . . or it might be what destroys her.

5. Insurgent by Veronica Roth (Sequel to Divergent)

6. Summary • Tris’ parents are dead and the Abnegation that weren’t killed in the Erudite-lead attack have gone into hiding. Tris and Tobias are on the run, trying to stay one step ahead of Jeanine Matthews, the brutal Erudite leader, and the Dauntless members that have defected to her side. • The more Tris learns about the attack on Abnegation, however, the more she begins to wonder if there was more to it than Jeanine simply wanting to control the other factions. While hiding out in Amity, Tris overhears Marcus, Tobias’ estranged father and a former leader of Abnegation, telling the Amity leader, Johanna, that the Erudite attack was staged to keep the Abnegation from releasing information that would have changed all of the factions forever • Determined to ensure that her parents did not die in vain, Tris decides to discover the truth about the secret that lead Jeanine to murder an entire faction.

7. Meanings of Veronica Roth’s novels • Divergent-: having no limits or to deviate from “something” • “Something” being society and its restraints on freedom • “Insurgent he says. Noun. A person who acts in opposition to the established authority, who is not necessarily regarded as a belligerent” (Insurgent 131) • Opposition does not always require violence, but valiance (courage) • Dystopian protagonists break-away from conformity with their inner fire, which yearns for freedom

9. Conformity in Veronica Roth’s novels • Conformity plays a quintessential role in Dystopian societies, “everything-our [the citizens of the dystopia] houses, our clothes, our hairstyles- is meant to help us forget ourselves and to protect us from vanity, greed and envy, which are just forms of selfishness. If we have little, and want for little, and we are equal, we envy no one” (Divergent 68).” • Tris’ inner warfare between her tormented DYSTOPIA induced mind and her FREEDOM-SEEKING SOUL leads to Tris’ liberation from conformity • Dystopian societies develop a sense of contentment in their citizens in order to subdue their minds

10. Individualism within protagonists • Without a salience from the norm in a member of society, there will never be a divergence • Individualism within protagonists, help enlighten brain-dead members of a brain-washed society • Individualism destroys societal conformity • “Human reason can excuse any evil; that is why it’s so important that we don’t rely on it” (Divergent 102) • Our mind as humans excuses us from believing that we have made a wrong choice, but it takes an remarkable individual to take responsibility for their own actions • In The Host, the protagonist’s inner struggle allows for intellectual growth that affects her loved one’s

11. The Host by Stephanie Meyer

12. Summary • Planet earth has been invaded by an unseen enemy that takes over the mind of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact • Wanderer, the invading “soul” who occupies Melanie’s body, the protagonist, finds its former tenant refusing to relinquish possession of her mind • Melanie fills Wanderer’s thoughts with visions of Jared, a human who has avoided invasion and lives hiding, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she’s never met • Melanie and Wanderer –reluctant allies- set off to search for the man they both love, while simultaneously saving man-kind from a dystopian society

13. The Host Movie Trailer

14. Distrust in Dystopian Society • Dystopian societies are commonly characterized by peace, non-violence, trust in others, and other morally positive attributes • The predicament lies in CONFORMITY and COLLECTIVISM • The distrust leads to discourage in the protagonists, “Does it sound crazy that I’d rather die?”(Meyer 76). • Though discourage is brought, the protagonist’s yearning for freedom SURPASSES the fear of dying and fully commits to break-away from the dystopia

15. Works Cited Page • Meyer, Stephenie. The Host: A Novel. New York: Little, Brown and, 2008. Print. • Roth, Veronica. Divergent. New York: Katherine Tegen, 2011. Print. • Roth, Veronica. Insurgent. New York: Katherine Tegen, 2012. Print. • "Quotes About Nonconformity." (21 Quotes). N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.