Hey, everyone. First of all, thanks for having such a great site. Your articles and discussions about them have helped me with my own writing. With that in mind, my current project is a dystopian novel. I've been working on it off and on for about a year and a half, and I'm having some trouble. Could I get your opinions on a few things?

1. Do you think it's best to subtly reveal the differences between the real world and the fictional society, or plunge the reader into it within the first few chapters? I've seen both. Fahrenheit 451 seems to take the subtle approach. Brave New World has Mustapha Mond give the children a lecture about the mechanics of society within the first two or three chapters. 1984 seems to me like it moderates between the two; we have an interplay of subtle revelations with things like "the book". Which of these approaches do you think most effective?

2. In the three dystopias I mentioned above, there seems to be a scene or scenes in which the main antagonist cuts to the heart of the fictional worlds' philosophy. In Fahrenheit it was when Captain Beatty visited Montag, in 1984 it was both "the book" and the interrogation scenes with O'Brien, in Brave New World it was when Mustapha Mond gave the Savage and Bernard a choice to go the island, etc. Is this scene necessary? Which of the above examples was most interesting/effective to you, and which was least?

I think that's it for now. Thank you guys for having me and thanks for all of the great answers I know are coming.

Aidan

Slyshy said it very well. There is a difference between a dystopian novel and a novel with a dystopian setting. Blade Runner, for example, is set in a Crapsack World. Or Repo! the Opera or Escape From New York or basically any of those heavy-handed 80’s action movies.

Dystopianism as political theory evolved from a disillusionment with the late 1700s fascination with constructing ideal societies on paper. These were uniformly written by the sort of people who thought that shouting “PROGRESS!” and “SCIENCE!” would actually accomplish something. Unfortunately, this means that dystopian novels were written by the sort of cynical people who really enjoy crushing the dreams of idealists.1984, then, is really not a novel. It’s an anti-Communist political rant. It’s a lot like early science fiction in that the emphasis is on ideas, big bold ideas that readers will think about and toss over. The ideas and imagery of the novel are really big, and really memorable, and that is to Orwell’s credit. As Sly already said. However, I always advise people to read only the first two chapters, where all these ideas are presented, and then skip the rest.

I usually judge fiction, oddly enough, by whether or not I would want to live in the world the author creates. And I would never want to live in the world of either Brave New World or 1984. From the moment you’re born, you’re screwed. Dystopian political novels like these are uniformly bleak, grim, and desperate. I hate reading a novel where the protagonist is crushed under the merciless weight of the Novus Ordo. That’s just me.

451, on the other hand, is not a heavy-handed political allegory at all. It does have a dystopian setting, treated in a sort of wistful, dreamy way, but it is really one long extended in-joke about books, with punchlines directed toward book-lovers. And that book I love to death. In 451 there is hope. The whole point of 1984 and New World is to be monolithically grim and terrible, but that doesn’t mean they are enjoyable stories or even particularly realistic ones. That’s basically the reason I posted, because I want to make clear that Fahrenheit 451 is not really the same kind of novel.

So if you are writing a dystopian novel, then good luck to you sir. If you’re writing a novel set in a dystopia, then good luck with a bit more warmth. :D

I’m glad I didn’t offend you, to begin with. That I actually helped with anything is double bonus points! :D

Well, the old one was creepy as all hell. And squicky. I’m not gonna say I liked it, but it is a good example. You can put Minority Report in there if you want instead.