Lauren Rayne

13 May 2019

Breaking the Rules of Genre

          This semester contained a wide range of texts that varied greatly in content. A course that is predominately centered around dystopian and utopian societies within both literature and in life creates an idealistic discourse. In the latter part of the semester, the class was introduced to The Dispossessed, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Oryx and Crake. These three novels are not constricted to the genre type that is utopian or dystopian literature; instead, these texts explore ideas that engage with other genres. Speculative fiction complicated my understanding of the genre, but it also expanded my understanding of why genre can be so "finicky," so to speak.

Texts such as Herland, Anthem, and Ecotopia have limitations to their narrative in that they are confined to the worlds in which they create. These are texts that serve a purpose other than just fun readability; they are a literature of ideas. Dr. White on his website notes that a literature of ideas is “is an occasional, often casual critical phrase describing writing that serves thought more than pleasure, or content more than style.” Utopian and dystopian novels center around their idea of a "perfect world." This perfect world can be ecologically sound like Ecotopia; It can be about gender, eugenics, and empowerment such as Herland; It can also be about controlled societies that strip identity like in Anthem. On the other hand, the last three texts of the semester, The Dispossessed, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Oryx and Crake expand on utopian and dystopian literature in a way that cannot be so easily categorized. These texts diverge from the set conventions of dystopian and utopian literature making them, in my opinion, more entertaining and readable. This divergence allows these texts to enter the more “exclusive” world of literary fiction.

          The Dispossessed, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Oryx and Crake are enjoyable reads that incite a discourse that focuses on how they both stray and merge dystopian and utopian literature within their narrative. In other words, “you can’t put a finger on it,” which makes it all the more exciting. The Dispossessed, to me, was the trickiest read of the semester for it has dystopian and utopian concepts that are merged within the genre of science fiction. The two worlds Annares and Urras are clearly not Earth; therefore, while this novel contains elements that pertain to the dystopian and utopian rhetoric it does diverge from those genres. There is a significant amount of aphorism in The Dispossessed, which means the text works with a “general truth.” For me, this is what made The Dispossessed not limited to genre fiction. I would consider this novel to be in the realm of speculative fiction, for it engages with a strict power dynamic, human nature, and our desire as people to dominate each other in a world that is not mimetic of ours. Annares represents social collectivism, similar to Herland, and Urras show elements of hierarchy and capitalism. The dichotomy of these two worlds simply reveals our power struggle in postmodern society; similar to the novels at the beginning of the semester. 

          The Handmaid’s Tale provoked many debates during our seminars this semester and for a good reason. It is not hard seeing this novel as dystopic in general, because of the Republic of Gilead. This republic arrives after an act of domestic terrorism which formed due to a mass wave of female infertility. This response to barren women is to create female oppression in the form of collective identity. The Marthas, for example, all wear the same outfit and perform the same chores. There is nothing that distinguishes them. Female oppression as a theme in dystopian literature is quite common. Though, from classroom discourse and Dr. White's course site, it becomes apparent that this novel also fits into the genre of speculative fiction. While it contains all the elements of a dystopic world, it does stray slightly from the usual trajectory these novels take. The perceived "bad guys" of the story have the narrative arc that allows the reader to have empathy for them. Atwood's characterization of the secondary characters lets the reader critically think about their actions and why they created this patriarchal world. A part of speculative fictions definition is an “umbrella genre encompassing fiction with certain elements that do not exist in the real world, often in the context of supernatural, futuristic or other imaginative themes” (Wikipedia). Atwood is working with an array of concepts that do not “exist in the real world” making it speculative fiction through her setting of the dystopian (or utopian) world. 

          Atwood’s Oryx and Crake is both speculative fiction and science fiction. Her style of writing, while similar to The Handmaid’s Tale, does have a more technical tone to it like The Dispossessed. I would go as far as arguing that Oryx and Crake is purely science fiction. There are mutated animals, altered humans, and Earth is no longer Earth. It is more than just an apocalypse of humanity; it is the stripping of humanity altogether. The only way this enters the speculative fiction world is because of Snowman’s retrospective thoughts regarding his childhood. These thoughts are mimetic of this dystopian and utopian world (depending on your status). Oryx and Crake enter the "umbrella" genre, which enables Atwood to remain a figure of literary fiction. Atwood's work of both The Handmaid’s Tale and Oryx and Crake show themes, concepts, and styles similar to the earlier texts in the semester. Though, she expands on these genres in order to enter a new type of fiction that is not limited to the constraints that stories such as Anthem and Herland are held.

         While this semester centers around utopian and dystopian societies, I also think it also centers around genre and how the texts read this semester both adhere and complicate genre. Before this class, I never really thought much of where a text should reside; whether it be literary fiction or genre fiction. I have also never come across "literature of ideas." These debates of placement within the literary realm helps to understand a text and what it is doing. Margaret Atwood has quoted that her stories are "not science fiction" and that science fiction is "aliens and spaceships," but Atwood is still working with science fiction. I think that genres can expand past their confinement and work with a literature of ideas in order to make a statement, but also create excitement and use other genres to add to the pleasure of their work.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speculative_fiction

http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/HSH/Whitec/LITR/5439utopia/default.htm

More Utopia!

 Over the semester, I have become fascinated with teaching Utopian literature to students. I hope to work at either a high school or San Jacinto College next semester and with that comes the flexibility of creating my course syllabus. Previous to taking this class I had limited knowledge of utopian and dystopian novels, but now I have come to love them. Not only do I appreciate the excitement of utopias, but also what utopias and dystopias represent in the grander scheme of things. With that in mind, teaching Utopian literature can be very beneficial, not only because of the "fun" reads, but also the content utopias tend to address. The education system canonizes dystopic texts such as Anthem and Brave New World, but I believe that it would be highly beneficial to teach utopian literature alongside these texts to provide both a stark contrast and to promote individualism at its final form.

          Utopias and dystopias rely on each other; one cannot form without the existence of the other. While teaching dystopias are more exciting (from my personal experience), it would do the kids a great injustice to not compliment it with utopian literature. Worlds such as Anthem help students to think critically about collective societies, totalitarian rule, and identity politics. Students can scold and scorn a particular society, and it is good practice to see the dangers of a dystopian world. Utopias also provoke the same critically thinking. High school and early college students are finding their way in the world, and I’m not just working with a particular cohort. People of all ages can benefit from what utopian novels present to us as readers. For example, in Ecotopia being environmentally conscious is critical and in Herland female empowerment is promoted rather than female oppression. These two themes, when evaluated, create a steady classroom discourse. They also promote individualism, which texts like Anthem attempt to remove.

With that in mind, it is vital that the students have an understanding of dystopian literature in order to benefit from reading utopian novels. Like I said, one does not exist without the other. On Dr. White's course cite he even mentions "Any utopia is someone else's dystopia.” This an incredibly important bit of information, because when teaching Utopias both teachers and students need to keep that in mind. The novella, Herland, is not the male student's "ideal" world. Though, there are benefits to reading this for both genders. A society of women who are asexual with a vast amount of knowledge teaches students female progression, and the need to be independent of their male counterpart. Viewing this as a dystopia is not inaccurate. While it does not retain the same major dystopic themes as Anthem or The Handmaid’s Tale, we do see overlapping elements expressing issues in both interpretations of society. For example, there is the abandonment of motherhood in Herland; this is a controversial topic that to some would seem like a dystopian society. Therefore, there are benefits of reading utopias and dystopias together: (1) the students get to see people's visions of a "perfect society"; (2) they get to use their reader response to critique society based on their knowledge of dystopias and how they function.

Speculative fiction like The Handmaid's Tale and Oryx and Crake complicate utopian fiction, but that is not necessarily bad. Novels such as these are the perfect bridge of utopian and dystopian societies; therefore, they should also assign these texts to classroom reading. Teaching these texts would help the students see Utopias and Dystopias working in unison instead of reading an entire text on just one vision. Margaret Atwood takes from both genres, saying "I'd never written such a book" (XIV). This novel is a literature of ideas, and those ideas follow three trains of thought: The good, the bad, and the unknown. Incorporating these texts as Utopian fiction or even just speculative fiction - as opposed to or in line with dystopian fiction - would help students see a variety of perspectives.

There are risks to studying utopias, and that is the level of interest from the students and also the content within utopian fiction. In class, we talked about the lack of multiculturalism, and how that hinders us as readers. Utopias as being too "white" does complicate classroom discussion. Also, utopias tend to be controversial with their images of what is "good." A classroom will criticize someone's version of the "perfect" world before they criticize someone's version of a "bad" world. Bad is bad, we can all agree on that. Though, the "perfect" world does not necessarily apply to all. While studying Utopias, I as a teacher would have to take into account race, class, and gender as all "touchy" topics. With dystopias, people can dive in and talk about everything awful because people are (usually) in agreement, but with utopias, people bring their personal experiences along with them.

Another risk is the risk of engagement. As a previous high school substitute, I remember students engaging excitedly with dystopian texts. Boys and girls alike would ask questions, and then they would apply their own lives to these texts. I found it interesting when students would ask me questions like “Could this really happen?” or statements such as “This is going to happen one day.” The students were fascinated with the idea of our current society turning into something much darker. Texts such as Anthem comment on “Technological advancement” and how “the concept of individuality has been eliminated” (Wikipedia). This fear of stripping technology and being no one of importance sparks genuine fear in the reader. It also challenges the student to think about social issues and apply that knowledge to their current society. Utopias, on the other hand, restrict the readers class discourse because they are already reading about a relatively "perfect" idea of a society.

That said, I am an advocate for utopian literature in the classroom. The students would benefit immensely from this great contrast in literary ideas. A literature of ideas does not exist without the idealistic nature of humanity. Applying utopian fiction to the classroom will set the students up to think more critically about their wants and needs, especially if they disagree with the utopian society presented before them.

http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/HSH/Whitec/LITR/5439utopia/default.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthem_%28novella%29

The Merging of Ideas

          I went through a lot of final exams written over the previous semesters and found, much like myself and my peers this semester, a great intrigue of the merging dystopian and utopian themes in Oryx and Crake and The Handmaid’s Tale. What is even more impressive is what is considered to be dystopic and utopic within these texts varies greatly depending on the individual. I observed Lori Wheeler's "Oryx and Crake: Disproving Utopia, Umaymah Shahid’s “Utopia + Dystopia = Ustopia,” and Eunice Renteria's “Can Oryx and Crake Relate to A Utopian / Dystopian Novel?” These three posts are all 2015 final exams that examine the place of utopia and dystopia in a single text while also unknowingly disagreeing with each other on the placement.

          I realized soon enough that there must have been a specific prompt for essay one in 2015, so the answers were similar in direction but very different in thought. Therefore, I wanted to examine what makes them so different and to learn from  different opinions. All three of these papers work with Oryx and Crake as their foundation text. Umaymah Shahid uses vivid prose in her examination of "Ustopia,” which she states as, “…a marriage between utopias and dystopias, bringing conventions true to both genres into one narrative." She surrounds her essay with this concept of "Ustopia” and argues that “This essay will explore the different writing style of Oryx and Crake, several utopian and dystopian conventions, and how it compares with various other utopian texts read throughout the course." Shahid focuses on the writing style of Atwood’s text and how that compares to other Utopian texts from earlier on in the semester. She mentions that while previous texts are more formal and direct in tone like More’s Utopia, Atwood strays from those conventions and creates characters and fast-paced dialogue. Similar to Shahid’s approach is Lori Wheelers and how she works on the concept of dystopia and utopia merging to stating that “utopias are just a dystopia waiting to happen.” She also comments on style and how Atwood’s writing style fits perfectly into the dystopian and utopian genre. From these two approaches I was able to think of Oryx and Crake in a manner I did not consider, and that is language. The language used in Oryx and Crake is what makes this speculative novel so appealing. It applies the usual decorum of utopian and dystopian style without adhering to one specifically.

 Eunice Renteria's approach differs in that she does not focus on style as the merging of dystopian and utopian themes in Oryx and Crake. Instead, she pays attention to the two different worlds presented in the novel: The pleeblands and the privileged compound. Eunice works with these two separate worlds as representing a utopian society and a dystopian society, she says, “The pleebland is characterized as being dystopian, and the privileged compound is more like a utopian world.” The concept of two worlds merging for her is not about style, but it is about the setting. 

          All three of these posts work with speculative fiction and how speculative fiction merges the dystopian and utopian concepts they read earlier in the semester. Lori Wheeler examines the chapters and how those chapters and subchapters create a fast-paced narrative. These chapters also engage with the characterization of "two" characters, Jimmy and Snowman. While they are the same person, they are characterized differently, and that creates two very different worlds. Lori says that this narrative structure asks “the reader to welcome Atwood’s idea of speculative fiction because it no longer asks the reader to distinguish the text as either dystopian or utopian” (Wheeler).  Renteria, rather than assessing the chapters sees the term “speculative fiction” as Michael Lunas (2013) definition of speculative fiction which is, “bringing the aspects of utopian/ dystopian literature back to the general audience and providing new grounds for discussion."  Speculative fiction gives certain allowances to the author. This new world of speculative fiction does provide new grounds for discussion because it expands on the utopian and dystopian genre while also providing more characters, settings, and dialogues. This merging of genres, once again, makes the story more exciting.                                 

          Shahid explores the scientific aspect of Oryx and Crake and sees it as a potential danger for our current society today. She looks at how Atwood uses speculative fiction to comment on what modern science is doing, and that we as a society need to watch out for in these potential dangers. The reader's response to this novel is what merges this speculative fiction with reality, "Being a speculative fiction, the novel petrifies the reader because such events can be seen unfolding in our time today. Currently we are experimenting with cloning, genetic splicing, and trying to find the cure to every disease present” (Shahid). Shahid sees speculative fiction working as an abstract idea that is not so abstract. The merging of utopian and dystopian societies as “Ustopia" through speculative fiction is directly commenting on the horrors of science, and that this type of science is prevalent in our society today.

          These three posts comment on the style, the setting, and the realistic nature of Atwood’s Oryx and Crake. They all three approach the merging of dystopian and utopian societies but view it differently. Shahid approaches speculative fiction with style and science, Renteria with setting and the representation of the class system, and Wheeler as a “literature of ideas.” All three of these approaches comment on what merging of dystopian and utopian literature does to literature as a whole.  

Atwood, Margaret. Oryx and Crake. New York: Anchor Books, 2004.