Representation of Context in Utopic and Dystopic Texts Leyla Meharg 11th Grade

Composers of negative utopic texts utilize their own contexts so that the audiences’ imagination is challenged to recognize flaws of certain governance, religious cultures and the concept of ‘utopia’ itself, subsequently stimulating readers to envisage alternative methods of ruling and social structures which would improve current conditions. We was written in 1920 by Eugene Zamaitin who opposed the growing culture of conformity and totalitarianism rising in Russia following the October Revolution, reflected in his novel We which presents a negative utopia satirizing a totalitarian society. Similarly, Le Guin’s The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas (Omelas) also depicts a dystopian utopic totalitarian society whose citizens are dependent on a singular suffering child for their happiness, reflecting Ursula Le Guin’s interpretation of her religious and political context of 1970’s America as an atheist interested in human psychology, surrounded by predominantly Christian culture.

Authors challenge the audience to recognize that due to the subjectivity of values, one’s perception of ‘utopia’ is constantly changing and dependent on the individual, presenting this argument through character growth in dystopian utopian texts. Throughout...