Home > Utopian and dystopian fiction
Utopian fiction is the creation of an ideal world as the setting for a novel. Dystopian fiction is the opposite: creation of a nightmare world. Both are commonly found in science fiction novels and stories. The word utopia was first used in this context by Thomas More in his work Utopia ; literally it means "nowhere". In this work, More sets out a vision of an ideal society. Other examples include Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, and B.F. Skinner's Walden Two. Gulliver's Travels may also be seen as a satirical utopia because it is actually a comment on the society the author lived in. The same goes for Erewhon by Samuel Butler.
For examples of dystopias, see two of George Orwell's books, Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm, as well as Aldous HuxleyAldous Leonard Huxley ( July 26, 1894 November 22, 1963) was a British writer. Best known for his novels and wide-ranging output of essays, he also published short stories, poetry and travel writing. Biography Early years Huxley was born in Godalming, Sur's Brave New WorldThis is the article about the novel by Aldous Huxley. For the Iron Maiden album, see Brave New World. Brave New World is a 1932 dystopian novel by Aldous Huxley. The book anticipates developments in reproductive technology, eugenics and mind control that, Ray BradburyRay Bradbury (born August 22, 1920) is a science fiction and fantasy writer. He was born in Waukegan, Illinois, and his family moved several times, eventually settling in Los Angeles in 1934. In his family were many publishers of books and not surprisingl's Fahrenheit 451Fahrenheit 451 ( 1953) is a dystopian science fiction novel by Ray Bradbury. It reflects several problems the people of that time were confronted with. On the one hand the censorship exercised in the 1950s by the US congress when as the result of hysteric, Kurt VonnegutKurt Vonnegut, Junior (born November 11, 1922) is an American novelist, satirist, and most recently, graphic artist. He was recognized as New York State Author for 2001- 2003. He was born in Indianapolis, later the setting for many of his novels. He atten's Harrison BergeronThe dystopian short story Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut, opens with the line The year was 2081, and everyone was finally equal. Unfortunately, this equality has been achieved by handicapping the most intelligent, athletic or beautiful members of soci, Margaret AtwoodMargaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor "Peggy" Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a novelist, poet, literary critic and one of the world's best-selling authors. She was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and attended school at Victoria College in Toronto. After li's The Handmaid's TaleCover of The Handmaid's Tale The Handmaid's Tale is a 1985 satire science fiction novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood. It describes the horrors of a United States in which a religious movement has gained ultimate power, at a time where pollution has, Ayn Rand's Anthem and William Gibson's cyberpunk novels.
Subgenres
A subgenre of this is ecotopian fiction , where the author posits either a utopian or dystopian world revolving around environmental conservation or destruction. Ernest Callenbach's Ecotopia was the first example of this, followed by Kim Stanley Robinson in his California trilogy. Robinson has also edited a collection of short ecotopian fiction, called Future Primitive: The New Ecotopias.
Another important subgenre are feminist utopias, for example Marge Piercy's novel Woman On the Edge of Time.
See also: Utopia, Dystopia
Dystopian fiction
Utopian fiction
