Arnecia Harris

03/08/2019

Part 1: Understanding Dystopia Literature on Young Adult Readers

As a first- year literature student, this class was my first introduction into Utopian/Dystopian literature as a type of genre. Prior to this year, reading was purely for enjoyment only and not for studying on a higher level. When the class first began, I was immediately intrigued by dystopia. The concept of wanting to create, reside, or read about a perfect environment does not appeal to my natural sense of realism. So, in preparing for the midterm, I specifically looked for dystopian-leaning papers and the viewpoints that students took with writing them. Not surprisingly, there weren’t many to choose from.

In reviewing Chrissie Johnson research post, “Appeal of Dystopian Literature to Young Adult Readers,” (2011) her article was the only article that focused on the general readership appeal to young readers and the change in narrative of the literature created for young adults. Johnson cited several sources which concluded that the young readers needed to feel connected to the story for self-reflection or as a means of escapism in relation to their life. The escapism factor actually makes sense as Johnson noted that youth often have restrictions and boundaries throughout their days and dystopian literature allows youth to escape those mundane aspects of their life. There is a lot of truth to Johnson’s statement that “students are going to be interested in what they are taught, it has to pertain to their life or interests.”

In reviewing Lori Wheeler’s take on dystopian literature in her “Neglected Commentary” research post, Wheeler had a dual focus. Wheeler began by focusing more on the financial impact of dystopia by the young adult population than seeing them as a targeted audience for academic enrichment. Wheeler believes the narrative behind dystopian media for young adults is not developed academic enrichment and the ability and the overall bottom line. By the second paragraph, Wheeler also expressed concerns that government criticism is a central theme in dystopian young adult fiction and are highlighted by the media. Overall, she believes that the media neglects certain aspects of young adult dystopias in favor of more money-making prospects

In Amy Sidle’s midterm submission “Utopia and Dystopia: Education’s Role,” we return to the academic narrative for young adult readers. Sidle’s primary focus in this was emphasizing the role an educator plays in educating young adult readers in dystopian literature.  Sidle was consistent in acknowledging that whether society was utopian or dystopian, it was important that educators taught youth. Although she noted that many educators tend to delight in teaching dystopias. Per Sidle, “Students are naturally curious about these societal substitutes, and this genre of literature introduces to students, or reiterates, the cruel facts of reality: the separations of class, race, and sex.”

After reviewing the different viewpoints by Johnson, Wheeler and Sidle, the overriding theme behind dystopia for young adult readers is that young readers will lean towards a more imperfect view of the world. The narrative for young adult readers changed from fairy tales and flights of fantasy to what is considered realistic world view. Although one of the writers focused on the financial impact for providing dystopian literature to young adults, educators believe dystopian literature is necessary to engage young readers in the classroom.

Part 2: Literary and Historical Utopias Essay

As a first-year literature student and not having taken any other literature in all my years of education, I ventured into this completely ignorant of this subject. This class was listed as an option that I enrolled to address a requirement, but I am glad to learn something so different than what I have in the past.

It’s been very interesting to learn what can be considered utopian literature and what may be considered dystopian literature. As a reader with no literature background, this class has forced me to re-think the type of books I like to read and how they would fall in the context of the Utopian literature. Although I tend to lean heavily towards the group of readers who aren’t believers in Utopian fiction, and find that Utopian books still don’t interest me greatly, I can appreciate the journey in a well-written book.

After spending time in this class, my understanding of utopia has grown greatly. On the website Literary Devices, it refers to utopia as an illusory place that projects the notion of a perfect society to the reader. I think the definition is too narrow as it applies to today’s application of utopia. It’s not just a place of projecting a perfect society. I think the journey behind the story is what makes a story a utopian story. It’s what the author should strive for when writing any type of fiction. I don’t have to believe in a utopian world, I just need to appreciate the journey to create the author’s utopia. This may straddle the line of dystopian literature, but it’s what I think of when I think of utopia.

Therefore because of how I’ve defined my appreciation of utopia as it relates to the journey of the work, I am not opposed to reading a utopian work. If I can ensure that the journey towards utopia, such as in a romance or comedy genre, then I may be more inclined to read those books with no apprehension or disbelief. Many of the utopian works that we’ve read and reviewed to date seemed to focus on the pursuit of utopian governments, social communities and lifestyles.

What I have learned so far that no matter how an individual strives to create the perfect utopian society or the perfect utopian work, there is no utopia. What is created is the “perception” of a utopian community. If an individual believes it is perfect, then all they have to do is convince others that their community is a utopia.

This is what utopian literature reads to me when I’m reviewing course work for class. In my world view, I am unsure that I can read utopian literature with any sense of believability even if I may enjoy the work. In the second half of the course, I plan to continue focusing on appreciating the value of utopian literature and set my natural cynicism aside in order to better understand these utopian societies as written in our studies.

As a new literature student, I am confident that dystopian literature is my preference of choice when reading based on the current reading choices provided for class. However, I think it is necessary that I focus on studying more utopian literature before truly being to engage in the studies and provide more substance and being able to apply utopian concepts to genres and content genres.

Works Cited

Johnson, Chrissie. The Appeal of Dystopian Literature to Young Adult Readers. 2011. Digital. (http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/HSH/Whitec/LITR/5439utopia/models/resposts/2011/11rp1/rp1Johnston.html)

Wheeler, Lori. “Neglected Commentary.” 2015. Digital. (http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/HSH/Whitec/LITR/5439utopia/models/resposts/rp15/15rp1/rp1Wheeler.htm)

Sidle, Amy. “Utopia and Dystopia: Education’s Role” 2009. (http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/HSH/Whitec/LITR/5439utopia/models/midterms/mt09/mt09sidle.htm)