To the collection “Dystopias of the 20th Century”, M, 1989:

Theoretical debates about the boundaries of the genre have been going on for a long time. Terminological disagreements eventually settled down, and now three gradations have emerged: utopia - that is, an ideally good society, dystopia - an “ideally” bad one, and dystopia - located somewhere in the middle.

Vasilov Alexander. Grade 11.

Those two in heaven were given a choice: either happiness without freedom - or freedom without happiness; There is no third. They, fools, chose freedom - and what: it’s understandable - then for centuries they yearned for shackles. (Evgeny Zamyatin, novel “We”)
Without a stable society, civilization is unthinkable. And a stable society is unthinkable without a stable member of society. And when strong feelings- and in solitude, in hopeless disunity and isolation - what kind of stability could there be? (Aldous Huxley, novel "O Wonderful One" new world»).

Freedom – in the most general sense, the ability to choose. The lack of choice and options for the outcome of an event is tantamount to a lack of freedom. A person will always strive for freedom, understanding his own “I”, and achieving life goals.
The problem raised in my work can be considered the question: what can happen to a person when, worshiping abstractly constructed ideals, he voluntarily renounces the freedom of personal self-realization and equates unfreedom with collective happiness? Is it even possible to find happiness in an unfree society? In my work I will try to answer all these questions by analyzing and comparing two dystopian works: the novel by the Russian writer E. Zamyatin “We” and the novel English writer O. Huxley “Brave New World.”
Dystopia (from the Greek “anti” - against and “utopos” - a place that does not exist anywhere), (English dystopia) - a direction in fiction, in a narrow sense, a description of a totalitarian state or society, in a broad sense, a description of any society in which negative development trends prevailed. The term “dystopia” as a name for a literary genre was introduced by Glenn Negley and Max Patrick. Dystopia is a depiction of a fictional world that should never exist. The entire dystopian world is built on logic, and a person is no longer an individual, he is a social unit. In fact, in dystopian works, personality simply cannot exist, because the so-called human “I” is destroyed, and “We” appears instead. People do not have the right to express their own opinions (although in fact there is simply no such opinion in a dystopia). In a dystopia, all people obey a certain ritual and play a certain role in it. The dystopian society is ritualized. Where ritual reigns, any movement of the personality is impossible. On the contrary, the movement of this one is programmed. Plot conflict arises where a person refuses his role in the ritual, and prefers his own path. Internal atmosphere dystopia is made up of fear, the main character’s fear of not conforming to the rules of the society in which he lives, the fear of not being like everyone else. We can say that dystopia is a person’s attempt to look into the future, an attempt to predict what could happen to society under a specific development of events. (It is quite logical that Soviet literary criticism perceived dystopia negatively, since Soviet philosophy considered the social reality of the USSR, if not as a realized utopia, then as a society possessing the theory of creating an ideal system. Therefore, dystopian works were perceived as a doubt in this theory, which during the Soviet Union was unacceptable.) In fact, dystopia is often compared to science fiction, but dystopia talks about more real and easier to guess things. Science fiction is more focused on the search for other worlds, modeling other realities. Despite such a noticeable difference between these two genres, elements of science fiction are used in dystopia to create the world that is described by the author.
Utopia (from the Greek “utopos” - “not a place”; a place that does not exist) is a direction in fiction that describes an ideal, from the author’s point of view, society. The name of the genre comes from the work of the same name by Thomas More - “The Golden Book, as useful as it is funny about the best device state and about the new island of Utopia”, in which “Utopia” is only the name of the island. In fact, dystopia as a genre is defined by a dispute with utopia; it is believed that utopia and dystopia are opposites. Dystopia looks at utopia with bitter mockery. Utopia does not look in the direction of dystopia, it does not look at all, since it sees only itself and is passionate only about itself. Basic distinctive feature utopia, its specificity is that during its creation the limitations of the real world were not taken into account. In particular, historical background. Therefore, utopia is often perceived in ordinary consciousness as something unrealizable, an unrealizable social ideal.
The border between utopia and dystopia is the border between reason and madness; it only remains to determine what exactly can be considered in this case the personification of reason and what is the personification of madness. Comparing utopia and dystopia, we can highlight several points, paying attention to which we can determine the differences between the two genres:

1. dystopia is distinguished by its anthropocentricity; at the center of the work is the conflict between the social environment and the individual;
2. utopia is focused only on building an ideal social system, personality in the work does not play an important role;
3. utopia is characterized by the author's belief in perfection social model, built by him;
4. the author of a dystopia shows the reader a world in which any feelings are destroyed in every possible way. The author describes a world that simply should not exist.

But, despite a fairly large number of differences between genres, I assume that dystopia can be considered logical continuation utopia, since the author of a dystopia develops the utopia further, looks at events more realistically, and tries to look into the future. We can say that dystopia pays for the sins that utopia embodies. The time of dystopia continues the time of utopia, they are of the same breed. Leonid Geller argued: “the time of utopia is the time of correcting the mistakes of the present, qualitatively different, at least in concept, from the present.” From the statement we can conclude that errors could not be corrected or had to be corrected differently, since correcting errors means striving for some kind of ideal, striving for an ideal means the emergence of a utopia, but the appearance of a utopia entails the appearance of a dystopia, which cannot be called good phenomenon. Dystopia and utopia form a certain balance, which, in my personal subjective opinion, can be called ours modern world, as humanity strives for ideals, but at the same time tries to look into the future in order to anticipate possible problems that may arise.
There is such a term “practopia” ( literary genre, in which, like a utopia, a model of a better society is described, but, unlike a utopia, the imperfection of this society is recognized, which is closer to a dystopia (the term was introduced by the American sociologist Alvin Toffler)), which, in my opinion, can best describe the real society.
The dystopian novel “We” is E. Zamyatin’s most important work. The novel was perceived by contemporaries as an evil caricature of the socialist, communist society of the future. Now this work is perceived as a warning novel, a dystopia in pure form, which helps to see the supposed dystopian future through the eyes of the author. In 1920, Yevgeny Zamyatin wrote the novel “We” in a hungry, unheated Petrograd, in the atmosphere of war communism, with its forced (and often unjustified) cruelty, violence against the individual, in an atmosphere of widespread belief about the possibility of a quick leap straight into communism, therefore the novel can amaze with its cruelty towards a person’s personality. The novel was not published in Russia for a long time, but translations into other languages ​​(English, Czech, French) appeared all over the world, starting in 1924, when the novel was published in New York. Why wasn't the novel published in Russia? The answer to this question is very simple: critics and writers perceived the novel as slandering the Soviet system and communism; the novel was considered a ridicule of the socialist future. Two years after writing the novel, E. Zamyatin was arrested, after which he received an order to be deported abroad.
In analyzing the work, I will not devote much time to the plot of the novel, I will not retell the novel, I will try to answer the questions that I posed at the beginning of my work. “We” is a reminder about the possible consequences of thoughtless technical progress, which ultimately turns people into numbered ants, the novel is a warning about where science can lead, which has become detached from the moral and spiritual principles in the conditions of a global, so to speak, “superstate” and celebrations of technocrats.
In order to begin to analyze the novel, I turned to the very concept of “dystopia”. In a narrow sense, dystopia is a description of a totalitarian state, so we can partly agree with the opinion of critics who argued that “We” makes fun of the socialist future, but personally it seems to me that the author of the novel did not intend to make fun of communism, he was trying to suggest what could happen to humanity, if people stop striving to develop their inner world, will cease to be individuals. From a logical point of view, when people cease to be individuals, they will begin to live guided only by basic instincts. Such individuals will stop thinking about self-expression, promotion at work, philosophy, since all this shows any difference between people. Such a system of life will ultimately lead, it seems to me, to the construction of a dystopian society in which people will strive for one goal (no matter what that goal is). Here the question involuntarily arises about the freedom of such a person; does such a person need freedom? NO! Of course, the authors of dystopian works say that if you are not free you cannot become happy, but I think that the people whom Zamyatin describes in his work are absolutely happy, although they are happy in their own way. Of course, from the position of a normal person, all of the above sounds, at least, unusual and stupid, but now I tried to consider only the “pros” (very dubious) and “cons” of an individual in a dystopian society, which Zamyatin described in his novel “We”. I dare to suggest that Zamyatin’s novel describes the most rational approach to building a futuristic society (and in general, dystopia surprises with its logic, while utopia is a kind of fairy tale about a happy future). Zamyatin demonstrated to the reader a rather paradoxical situation when humanity, trying to achieve universal happiness, deprived people of freedom. The United State, which the writer created in the novel “We,” amazes with its technical development, but at the same time surprises with its cruel behavior towards the people living in this state. You can put yourself in the place of a resident of the United State and imagine a life in which there is no free thought, no self-expression, no feelings. Difficult. I would even say it is unbearable. After reading the novel “We,” I realized that such a society (dystopian) can only exist if there are no factors indicating that a person is an individual and not one of the masses. Therefore, the emergence of such a society is impossible, since it is simply impossible to achieve collective happiness for the whole world, to impose this happiness, because no one knows what it means for another.
The novel by the great English writer O. Huxley “Brave New World” was written in 1932. Huxley noted that the theme of the book is not the progress of science itself, but how this progress affects human personality.” In comparison with other works of anti-utopianists, Huxley's novel is distinguished by the material well-being of the world, not false, falsified wealth, but truly absolute abundance, which, which may seem strange, ultimately leads to the degradation of the individual. In his novel, Huxley tried to study man as an individual, and not as a social unit, so the novel is more relevant than other works of this genre, since the main emphasis is on the state of the human soul. Analyzing the novel by Aldous Huxley, you can find quite a lot of similarities with Yevgeny Zamyatin’s novel “We”, but I will talk about this a little later. In his novel, Huxley demonstrated a world in which the personality of each person is “truncated” to a size that is subject to subordination and programming. Special attention I would like to focus on the process of the birth of children in Brave New World. In the work, people do not grow, but are raised. (I immediately remember Zamyatin’s “child breeding”). Even before birth, children are divided into higher and lower, through a kind of chemical effect on the embryos, thus accelerating the rate of human growth, endowing him with some qualities. This is absolutely correct from a logical point of view, but if you look at this aspect from a different point of view, the question arises: who gave the right to govern future life of people. But the most terrible moment in the process of growing people is, it seems to me, the so-called hypnopaedia. With the help of hypnosis, children are “hammered” into information during sleep that they must learn. Higher castes, such as "alpha", after such hypnosis begin to feel superior to the lower castes (epsilon), who are told that they are mentally inferior and should be used to do the dirtiest and most dirty work. routine work. It seems to me that the very distribution of people into castes can play a rather important role in a dystopian work. On the one hand, such a move shows that in the state described in “Brave New World”, everything is aimed at simplifying life, but on the other hand, dividing people into classes contradicts the concept that in a dystopia all people should be equal to each other, should be identical; after all, the existence of classes shows a certain difference between people in society. Despite all the immorality public life, which is described in the novel, the World State reaches heights in science. But the theme of the book is not itself scientific progress, but how this progress affects a person’s personality. O. Huxley himself argued in his writings that scientific discoveries mean a great revolution in the history of mankind, but such a revolution cannot be truly revolutionary. A truly revolutionary revolution can not be carried out in outside world, but only in the soul and body of a person. An attempt at such a revolution is demonstrated in Brave New World. We can say that in the novel they are trying to instill in people a love of slavery, which can only be established as a result of an intrapersonal revolution. In order to carry out such a revolution, in the dystopian society created by O. Huxley, the following was invented and inspired:

1. improved methods of suggestion; even before birth, children are taught conditioned reflexes;
2. a substitute for alcohol or drugs, less harmful and giving more pleasure than previously known types (in this case, such a substitute is soma);
3. a reliable people management system that will make people's lives easier.

If we try to guess what could happen to the “brave new world” next, we can see only two ways for such a society to develop. In one case, such a dystopian world could exist forever, if we limit influence on the world from the outside and continue to impose a rigid ideology. In another case, such a society will simply fall apart over time and become obsolete, since the human personality cannot develop in a dystopian environment, and if there is no development of the individual, then there is no development of society. Aldous Huxley showed the reader a novel in which he described a possible threat to civilized society. The author of “Brave New World” sees such a threat in the movement towards “harmony” that erases personality (unfreedom = collective happiness) and in the growth of mass consumption. Huxley, like all dystopian writers, is trying to warn society about the possible deprivation of a person of his own desires, feelings, thoughts, even free life. Huxley redefined the concepts of “individuality” and “freedom” in a new way, which allows us to better understand his views on life and society.
When reading two novels (“Us” and “Brave New World”), the first thing that catches your eye is the fact that both works are similar to each other. It can be assumed that the novel “Brave New World” owes its appearance to the work “WE”, because the novel by Yevgeny Zamyatin was written in 1921, when the novel by Aldous Huxley was written in 1932. Both works tell the story of the rebellion of man as an individual against the rational, mechanized, insensitive world in which the main characters of the two novels find themselves. I dare to suggest that the type of society in both novels is the same, even the atmosphere of both books is similar. Only in Huxley’s novel there is almost no political subtext that is observed in Zamyatin’s novel “We”. If we start talking about the problem of collective happiness raised in two works, then we can say that Huxley more accurately described the way of imposing happiness (albeit peculiar) on each individual, because collective happiness depends on the happiness of each person, which, it seemed to me, was not taken into account Zamyatin. It may seem strange, but it seemed to me that the entire dystopian world was better “constructed” by the author of Brave New World, although this can be explained by the fact that the novel “Us” was written earlier. Of course, such little things can be compared endlessly, but basically I was trying to find some similarities in order to somehow generalize the ideas of two dystopian writers of the twentieth century. The main idea of ​​both authors, most likely, was the idea of ​​how a free person would behave in an unfree society, in a society with a perverted understanding of the relationship between a man and a woman, with a perverted understanding of the meaning of “true happiness.” And both authors came to the conclusion that every idea of ​​a free person (or a person who is characterized by self-expression), if such a person does not have associates, dies in a dystopian society.
Of course, a dystopian society should never and will never exist, everyone understands this very well. But, despite this fact, dystopias will always be relevant, since people will always fight against lack of freedom, they will fight for the right of self-expression, for the right to be an individual. I tried to identify the features of the dystopian genre in literature by comparing two dystopian novels: the novel “We” by the Russian writer Yevgeny Zamyatin and the novel “Brave New World” by the English writer Aldous Huxley. I tried to identify some common features in two different novels, and I suppose that I succeeded. Writers often have different points of view on some specific issues, but by doing this educational and research work, comparing and analyzing the works of two different writers from different countries, I realized that on issues of freedom of society and freedom of the individual, the opinions of writers often converge, since every person strives for freedom, strives to comprehend his own “I”, everyone wants to be an individual.

It can also mean that some existing, very imperfect society is precisely the realization of the highest social dreams.
Dystopian sentiments are already visible in the satirical works of J. Swift, Voltaire, S. Butler, M.E. Saltykova-Shchedrina, G.K. Chesterton and others. However, solid A. appear only in the beginning. 20th century, when National Socialism entered the historical arena, totalitarian regimes emerged, it became real threat new world war. The popularization of the genre of A. was further facilitated by the aggravation of global problems. Typical A. are the novels by E. Zamyatin “We”, O. Huxley “This Brave New One” and “The Monkey and”, J. Orwell “Animal Farm” and “1984”, A. Koestler “Darkness at Noon”, L. Mumford “The Myth of the Machine”, R. Heilbroner’s “A Study of Humanity’s Future Species”, M. Young’s “The Rise of Meritocracy”, W. Golding’s “Lord of the Flies”, etc. Adjacent to A. are the warning novels of J. London, K. Chapek, A. France, R. Bradbury, A. Azimova and others, describing the dangers that await society in the future.

Philosophy: Encyclopedic Dictionary. - M.: Gardariki. Edited by A.A. Ivina. 2004 .

DYSTOPIA

ideological trend modern society thought in the West, which, in contrast to utopia, denies the possibility of achieving social ideals and establishing just societies. building, and also, as , comes from the belief that any attempt to realize just societies. the system is accompanied by catastrophic consequences. In a similar sense in zap. sociologist literature also uses the concept of “dystopia”, i.e. distorted, inverted, and “cacotopia”, i.e. country of evil (from Greek- bad, evil and - ). A. became widespread in the West after the victory of the socialist. revolution in Russia, which was perceived pl. representatives bourgeois intelligentsia as if any utopian. social ideals can be put into practice. The transition from bullying projects for transforming society to fear of the prospect of their implementation was succinctly formulated by N. A. Berdyaev: “Utopias look much more feasible than they previously believed. And now we are faced with a problem that torments us in a completely different way: how to avoid their final implementation? (O. Huxley gives this as an epigraph to his A., cm."The Brave New World", L., 1958, p. 5). This became the leitmotif of all subsequent dystopian stories. trends in bourgeois society thoughts 20 V., according to which utopia is violence against reality, against humanity. nature and paves the way to a totalitarian system, and any future idealized in utopias can only be worse than the present.

The most famous and typical A. are the novels “We” by E. Zamyatin, “Brave New World” and “The Monkey and the Entity” by O. Huxley, “Animal Farm” and “1984” by Orwell, “Mechanical. Orange" and "1985" by E. Burgess, "The Rise of Meritocracy" by M. Young, "Lord of the Flies" by W. Golding and pl. etc. Op. in the genre of social and political. fiction. Some journalists are also in tune with them. works, eg“Darkness at Noon” by A. Koestler, “The Last Night of the World” by C. Lewis, “The Myth of the Machine” by Mumford, “An Inquiry into the Future Species of Mankind” by R. Heilbroner and T. n. In these dystopian stories. Op. hostility towards Marxism and socialism and confusion in the face of the impending social consequences of scientific and technological developments appeared. revolution, the desire to protect traditions. bourgeois individualism from rationalized technocratic. civilization. In a number of utopias, this is combined with justified anxiety for the fate of the individual in a “mass society”, with a protest against the growing bureaucratization and manipulation of the consciousness and behavior of people under state-monopoly conditions. capitalism.

Formally, A. traces its origins to satirical. J. Swift, Voltaire, W. Irving, S. Butler, M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, G. K. Chesterton and etc. However, in contrast to the sharp criticism of social reality, antagonistic. society of A., on the contrary, is a satire on democracy. and humanistic ideals designed to morally justify the existing system and resulting in a direct or indirect apology for the antagonistic. society. This is also the fundamental difference between A. and so-called a warning novel, to which A. France, J. London, G. Wells, K. Chapek, S. Lewis, R. Bradbury, R. Merle, P. Boulle and many other progressive writers turned to in their work to warn against real, not imaginary dangers. A. is a typical so-called crisis consciousness modern bourgeois society. Dystopian trend in society thoughts results in a renunciation of progressive social ideals, of democracy. and humanistic traditions of the past, it is characterized by historical. . IN modern conditions of A. in the West is somewhat losing its influence, because its negative attitude towards social ideals has not justified itself in ideological terms. struggle, and in search of positive ideals attractive to the masses bourgeois Ideologists are increasingly resorting to attempts to resurrect various liberal reformist and radical utopias.

Berdyaev N., The meaning of history, Berlin, 1923; A r a b-O g l y E. A., V utopian. antiworld, in Sat.: ABOUT modern bourgeois aesthetics, V. 4, M., 1976; Shakhnazarov G., This brave new world in this notorious 1984 G., "Foreign" literature", 1979, JV" 7; H u ? 1 e from A. L., Brave new world revisited, L., 1958; Amis K., New maps of hell, N.Y., 1960; Cioran E. M., Histoire et Utopie, P., 1960; W a l s h G h., From Utopia to nightmare, N.Y., 1962; H i I 1 e g a s M. R., The future as a nightmare, N.Y., 1967; Koestler?., The ghost in the machine, L., 1975;

E. A. Arab-Ogly.

Philosophical encyclopedic Dictionary. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. Ch. editor: L. F. Ilyichev, P. N. Fedoseev, S. M. Kovalev, V. G. Panov. 1983 .

DYSTOPIA

a current of social thought, which, in contrast to utopia, not only denies the possibility of creating an ideal state of people living together, but also proceeds from the belief that any attempts to build an arbitrarily constructed “fair” social system lead to catastrophic consequences. In principle, dystopia originates from the satirical traditions of J. Swift, Voltaire, M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, G.K. Chesterton, G. Wells and receives its logical conclusion in novels and journalistic works. E. Zamyatin (“We”), O. Huxley (“This Brave New World”, “The Ape and the Entity”), J. Orwell (“Animal Farm”, “1984”), A. Koestler (“Darkness at Noon "), L. Mumford ("The Myth of the Machine"), etc., in which utopian projects are presented as nothing other than violence against human nature, paving the way to totalitarianism, as an idealized future that cannot be better than the present. Dystopian novels are adjoined by Warning novels, which were published by such prominent writers as J. London, K. Chapek, A. France, not to mention science fiction writers R. Bradbury, A. Azimov, I. Efremov and others. In line with dystopia, one can often trace the constructive nature of the existing society or its individual modifications and the desire to correct some of its shortcomings. see also Utopia.

Philosophical Encyclopedic Dictionary. 2010 .

See what "ANTYUTOPIA" is in other dictionaries:

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Modern encyclopedia

A self-aware movement in literature that is a critical description of a utopian-type society. A. highlights the most dangerous, from the authors’ point of view, social trends. (In a similar sense, in Western sociological literature... ... The latest philosophical dictionary

English anti Utopia; German Anti Utopie. Ideological movement modern societies, thoughts that, in contrast to utopia, cast doubt on the possibility of achieving social. ideals and the establishment of just societies, building. Antinazi. Encyclopedia... ... Encyclopedia of Sociology

Noun, number of synonyms: 1 dystopia (3) ASIS Dictionary of Synonyms. V.N. Trishin. 2013… Synonym dictionary

Dystopia- DYUTOPIA, a modern movement of social thought that questions the possibility of achieving social ideals and is based on the belief that arbitrary attempts to bring these ideals to life are accompanied by catastrophic consequences... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

"Dystopia as a separate literary genre"

Characteristics of the dystopian genre, its history and main features

Dystopia typically depicts a society that has reached a socio-moral, economic, political or technological impasse due to a series of bad decisions made by humanity. Inhumane totalitarianism, dictatorship, lack of freedom, fear, denunciation, hopelessness of struggle - these are the themes addressed by this genre. The plot is often built on the opposition of an individual or a small group of individuals to the ruling dictatorship, most often ending in the defeat of the heroes [Morson 1991].

Let's look at the dystopian genre in more detail.

Dystopia as a genre is a type of utopia (Greek ou - not, no and topos - place, i.e. a place that does not exist; another explanation: eu - good and topos - place, i.e. blessed place) - literary and artistic a work containing a picture of an ideal society inhabited by absolutely happy people living in conditions of a perfect government system [Polonsky 2003]. Utopia is based on the religious and mythological idea of ​​the Promised Land. The genre originated in the Renaissance; its name was given by the book of the same name by Thomas More, an English humanist and politician, published in 1516. The book takes place on the fantastic island of Utopia, where there is no private property, work is a universal responsibility, and the distribution of benefits occurs according to the needs of citizens. In creating the book, More relied in part on Plato's dialogue The Republic. The development of More's ideas was the work "City of the Sun" (1602) by Tommaso Campanella; Francis Bacon ("New Atlantis", 1627), Ignatius Donnelly ("The Golden Bottle", 1892), Edward Bellamy ("The Golden Age") also indulged in dreams of an ideal world. , 1888), etc. Utopian lines can also be traced in the works of Voltaire, Rousseau, Swift [Ionin 1988].

The term “dystopia” was first used by the British philosopher John Stuart Mill in a parliamentary speech in 1868, but elements of dystopia appeared in literature much earlier. The history of dystopia, which has not yet been identified as a separate genre, goes back to antiquity. Some works of Aristotle and Marcus Aurelius had obvious dystopian features. The same features can be traced in the third book of Gulliver's Travels (1727) by Jonathan Swift, where the description of the flying island of Laputa actually represents a technocratic dystopia. Elements of dystopia are found in the books of Jules Verne (“Five Hundred Million Begums”), H.G. Wells (“When the Sleeper Awakens,” “First Men on the Moon,” “The Time Machine”), Walter Besant (“The Inner House”), Jack London (“ The Iron Heel") [Chalikova 1991].

The reason for the flourishing of the dystopian genre was the First World War and the revolutionary transformations that accompanied it, when in some countries attempts began to translate utopian ideals into reality. This process occurred most clearly and clearly in Bolshevik Russia, and the more natural it is that the first great dystopia appeared here. In his novel “We” (1924), Yevgeny Zamyatin described an extremely mechanized society, where the individual becomes a helpless cog-“number”. Zamyatin laid the foundations for the future development of the genre, many details of the totalitarian system invented by the author subsequently became classic in the works of dystopians around the world: the violent eradication of dissent, intrusive media as the main way to instill ideology, a developed surveillance system, synthetic food, weaning people from showing emotions [Arkhipova 1992]. Among other Soviet dystopias, it is worth noting “Leningrad” by Mikhail Kozyrev, “Chevengur” and “The Pit” by Andrei Platonov, and anti-socialist sentiments formed the basis for the works “The Future of Tomorrow” by John Kendell (1933) and “Anthem” by Ayn Rand (1938).

In addition to socialism, the twentieth century gave writers such a dystopian theme as fascism. The first anti-fascist work, "City eternal night", was written by the American Milo Hastings in 1920, just a year after the emergence of the NSDAP. In this visionary novel, Germany is sealed off from the rest of the world in an underground city beneath Berlin, where a "Nazi utopia" is established, populated by genetically bred races of superhumans and their slaves. The theme of fascism was also addressed by H.G. Wells (“The Autocracy of Mr. Parham,” 1930), Karel Capek (“War with the Newts,” 1936), and Murray Constantine (“Night of the Swastika,” 1937) [Lyubimova 2001].

Less radical social trends also fell under the pen of dystopians. Aldous Huxley, in one of the greatest dystopias in the history of literature, “Brave New World” (1932), skillfully dissects capitalism, which he brought to the point of absurdity. The author depicts a technocratic caste state based on achievement genetic engineering, where chronology is based on the Christmas of the American automobile magnate Henry Ford, but such concepts as “mother”, “father”, “love” are considered obscene [Lazarenko 1991].

Variations on the theme of totalitarianism and absolute conformism can be found in George Orwell's works Animal Farm (1945) and 1984 (1948), which will be discussed further. Closer to Orwell's ideas are the later "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury and "A Clockwork Orange" by Anthony Burgess (both 1953).

Currently, the dystopian genre is largely associated with science fiction and post-apocalypticism, and the cyberpack genre, popular both in literature and cinema, has become a logical continuation of the traditions of technocratic dystopias.

Dystopia is logical development utopia. In contrast to the latter, dystopia questions the possibility of achieving social ideals and establishing a fair social system. The heyday of dystopias occurred in the twentieth century, a century of turbulent socio-political and cultural events, two world wars and revolutions, the intensive development of science and the creation of totalitarian regimes. Dream novels are being replaced by warning novels; writers present to the reader their vision of the further development of human civilization, due to disappointment in the utopian ideals of the past and uncertainty about the future. The threat of loss of morality is reinforced by scientific and technological progress, making possible the spiritual and physical enslavement of humanity. The ideas and goals of dystopian writers differ little from each other, but the means of their expression provide scope for comprehension by both literary scholars and a large readership [Novikov 1989].

The dystopian genre is connected with historical reality like no other. Dystopia highlights the most dangerous, from the authors' point of view, social trends, most often contemporary to the authors themselves, such as fascism, totalitarianism, etc. Works of this genre are both a reaction to these trends and a prediction of their further development. The features of society that cause the author's greatest rejection are attributed to some imaginary society located at a distance - in space or time. The action of dystopias takes place either in the future or in geographically isolated areas of the earth [Shishkin 1990].

The society described in dystopia is usually depicted as having reached a dead end - economic, political or technological, the reason for which was a series of incorrect decisions made by humanity. This could be, for example, uncontrolled technological progress, expressed in the robotization of production, the introduction of technically advanced population tracking systems, a crisis of overproduction and rearmament; or a dictatorship that has grown stronger over the years and keeps the entire state in fear; or financial excess, impoverishing people's morality; or a combination of these reasons [Shishkin 1993].

The most important feature of the world described in dystopia is the restriction of internal freedom, the deprivation of the individual’s right to critical understanding of what is happening. Absolute conformism is instilled in people; boundaries of mental activity are established, beyond which it is a crime.

The plot is built on the opposition of an individual or a small group of individuals to the reigning dictatorship. The fate of the heroes in different works differ, but in most cases, dystopias do not have a happy ending, and the main character faces defeat, moral and/or physical. This is a kind of concretization of the question about man that is common to literature and art:

“The dystopian genre in its own way concretizes the question about man, common to literature and art. Dystopian writers, like naturalists, conduct a kind of scientific experiment on the social nature of man, placing him in obviously distorted, deviant living conditions and observing how he behaves.<…>In this case, exercising his right to choose, a person follows one of two possible options for exiting a certain existential situation: either submit and accept the proposed conditions and, as a result, lose his own human essence, or fight, but in this case the outcome of the struggle remains extremely problematic "[Borisenko 2004, 5].

As for the difference between the genre of dystopia and its antipode, formally dystopia can be classified as a direction of utopia, being a logical development of the latter. At the same time, the genres are antonymous to each other: utopia concentrates on demonstrating the positive features of the described social and/or political system, dystopia reflects its negative features.

Also, utopia is characterized by a certain static nature, while dystopia considers possible options development of the described social devices. Thus, dystopia usually deals with more complex social models than utopia [Morson 1991].

Another, in our opinion, important difference between the genres is the kind of conservation of the utopian genre, the impossibility of its literary development in the absence of reinforcement by historical examples. Dystopia, in this case, is a more relevant genre, because The themes and models that can serve as its basis multiply and modify along with humanity.

I present to your attention 9 amazing books describing the dystopian world of the future. Shocking, sometimes reminiscent of our reality and thought-provoking 9 novels. I advise everyone to read it.

1. Brave New World

The novel takes place in 2541 in London. All people on earth live in a single state, the inhabitants of which are a consumer society. A technocracy rules in a single state. Science, art, religion are prohibited. There is only the entertainment industry: synthetic music, movies with a primitive plot, electronic golf. There are no feelings in this world, there is no love. Even children are no longer born here. All new citizens appear from a test tube. And in order to new person from birth he knew his place and was glad to live in such a state, they grow embryos at different conditions. For example, those who will engage in physical labor in the future are given little oxygen, so that mental capacity did not develop. Even the names and costumes of each caste are different. Any caste develops admiration for the higher castes and contempt for the lower castes. If a citizen has psychological problems, they can be easily solved with the help of a drug - soma.

The motto of the World State society is “Community. Sameness. Stability".

2. 1984

George Orwell's novel was written in 1949 and describes the threats of totalitarianism. Subsequently, the novel became one of the most popular dystopian novels in the world. The work “1984” was banned in the USSR until 1991.

In the world of 1984, there are only three states: Oceania, Eurasia and Eastasia, which are waging an endless war among themselves. War fulfills one of the government's goals - to preserve a social system based on inequality and to prevent an increase in people's living standards. In Oceania, there is a huge apparatus for suppressing personality - the Ministry of Truth, which is engaged in destroying the truth and creating its own “correct” truth in its place. In addition, there is a thought police that, with the help of helicopters, patrols and television screens built into every apartment, monitors all citizens around the clock. In Oceania, there is ideological pressure at every step: posters depicting Big Brother, who is watching everyone (doesn’t remind you of anything? Big Brother is watching you), absurd slogans, the state interferes in the personal lives and leisure of residents, they are constantly surrounded by surveillance and denunciations.

3. We

The dystopian novel by Yevgeny Zamyatin was written in 1920.

The novel takes place around the 32nd century in the United State, in a utopian city of universal happiness, or rather a city of total control over the individual. There are no names here, all names are replaced with numbers. The state completely took upon itself the care of citizens and chained them to happiness: to enormous, universal, equal and obligatory. The inhabitants of the United State are unfamiliar with hunger and cold, they do not know suffering, but along with all the bad, they also do not know the good - love. Love is reduced to casual relationships, which are also controlled by the state and citizens are given one-time coupons for such meetings. Created new science- Child rearing. Children do not grow up in families, they are raised by the United State, placing them in kindergartens under the supervision of robots.

4. 451 degrees Fahrenheit

Ray Bradbury's novel describes a society based on mass culture of consumer thinking, in which all books are subject to burning; Possession of books is a crime, and people interested in preserving books and information from them are outside the law. Main character In the novel, Guy Montag works as a fireman, not quite the fireman you imagine. In the novel, a fireman is a man who burns books. Guy conscientiously performs his work, confident that he is working for the benefit of humanity. But one day, succumbing to some inner feelings, he does not burn one book, but takes it home with him. Since then, he has become disillusioned with the ideals of society, becomes an outcast and joins an underground group of marginalized people who, in order to save books, memorize them in full to pass on to their descendants.

5. The Handmaid's Tale

Margaret Atwood's novel takes place in the future in a totalitarian state where only one woman in a hundred is able to have children. Eligible women are sent to special camps. Such women are called Handmaids and must wear red clothing. They have no right to own property, love, work, read, attend parties, or go out. They can go out shopping once a day, but they are not allowed to talk. They have only one function left. Once a month they meet with their owner, from whom they must give birth to children for representatives of the privileged segments of the population, whose wives cannot have children.

The maid is just a vessel for reproduction.

6. Mechanical piano

Kurt Vonnegut's novel was published in 1952 and tells the story of a near future in which manual labor completely replaced by machine. The widespread use of machines causes social tensions between the wealthy upper class - engineers and robot maintenance workers - and the lower class, whose skills have been completely replaced by machine labor. All the emphasis in the book is not aimed at technical features, and on social aspects which most concern the residents of the city of the future.

7. Don't let me go

2005 novel by Kazuo Ishiguro. The novel describes memories main character Katie, a young woman in her 30s, talks about her childhood and unusual boarding school. Set in a dystopian Britain in the late 20th century, people are cloned to create living organs for transplantation. It is Katie and her friends on the Internet who are the clones for organ transplantation. In Ishiguro's characteristic manner, the truth does not become clear immediately and is revealed gradually, through hints.

8. Biological material

The dystopian novel, which became a bestseller, was written by Swedish writer Ninni Holmqvist.

The novel describes the near future. A civilized European country in which society is divided into useful and not the right people. If a citizen by the age of 50 has not started a family and children who are a contribution to the benefit of the state, he is declared unnecessary and transported to the Reserve Bank Branch biological material where he lives in conditions expensive house elderly people, while donating their organs for other, necessary people. The state believes that this is how a citizen should pay his debt to society.

The main character, writer Dorrit Weger, ends up in such a department, where for the first time in her life she finds love...

9. Kys

Post-apocalyptic dystopia by T.N. Tolstoy. The novel tells about Russia after a nuclear war. The novel is permeated with the sarcasm and irony inherent in Russian people. The heroes of the novel are people mutated by radiation, living among the same mutant plants and animals. Among the masses, the previous culture has died out, its carriers are only the “former” ones - people who lived before the explosion. The main character, Benedict, after the death of his mother remains under the tutelage of the “former” Nikita Ivanovich, who tries to accustom him to culture, but to no avail.

Author

Varvara

Creativity, work on the modern idea of ​​world knowledge and the constant search for answers