Introduction

Everyone has that one genre that got them into reading. For me, it was dystopian fiction. This is probably due to the popularity of dystopian novels (specifically in the young adult genre) in the 2010s. While it thrived in the 2010s, dystopian fiction is an old genre. It can be traced back to the French Revolution in 1789, although we credit H.G. Wells with designing the prototype of the genre with his 1895 novel The Time Machine. Dystopian fiction is one of the most powerful genres writers have at their fingertips. It has always been utilized as a way to comment on controversial topics without censorship or fear of backlash from those in power. It is a genre that inspires and creates change in the world. It is a tool that can be utilized to talk to young readers about big “adult” topics. So many of my values and beliefs come from the dystopian novels I read a young girl. Because dystopian fiction has helped create the person I am today, I want to share with you some of the lessons I have learned from my top three favorite books in the dystopian fiction genre.

The Hunger Games

Some books age like a fine wine. As they get older, their message becomes more potent and relevant. The Hunger Games is one such book. The Hunger Games tells the story of Katniss, a young girl who is forced to fight in a death match for the entertainment of the rich and powerful. At its core, it is a story of desensitization. The people of the Capitol are desensitized to the pain of the Districts. The people of the Districts are desensitized to their friends and family dying for sport. As someone who engages with political news sources a lot, it can become easy to become desensitized to what I listen to on a daily basis. Hearing about death and destruction and dehumanization every single day is a difficult pill to swallow. Studies have shown that living in a digital world (where violence is available to us at just the press of a button) is making us more anxious, depressed, and hopeless. We also develop something called learned helplessness, which is when a situation feels uncontrollable, we stop attempting to help or change things. After listening for a while, we can believe it will be easier just to accept these bad things as a part of life and move on. We become frozen in time, stuck on whatever violent event happened today. However, we can fix this. It is up to each of us to be informed citizens, although that should not be detrimental to our happiness and health. The biggest thing we can do is be aware of where we might be desensitized and take action to fix that. I practice mindful consumption, which means that everything that I watch, read, or listen to is intentional. If I need to take a step back from the news, I take that step back. I listen to balanced, quality sources. I also allow what I have learned to guide my future actions, which leads me to volunteer and educate others. Everyone needs to take stock of how they consume content; if our bodies are temples, then we need to treat our minds as part of that temple. 

Divergent

Anyone who knew me in middle school knows that I had a huge Divergent phase! Maybe huge is an understatement… I was completely and utterly obsessed! I still am kind of obsessed with the series. I had the opportunity to meet Veronica Roth in 2022 when she came to St. Louis for a book tour. It was an absolutely magical experience because even now, as a twenty-one-year-old, Divergent holds a special place in my heart. It was one of the series that led me to become a writer and pursue an English degree. Who knew that the story of a young girl trying to find her place in a dystopian world would have such a big impact on my life? I see echoes of Divergent in my life, especially as an undergraduate student. Just like in Divergent, when young adults must pick a faction to spend the rest of their lives in, you have to pick a major when you enter university. As an eighteen-year-old, you are making a choice that could drastically impact the rest of your life. There is a lot of pressure to get it right and to stick with your major for the entire four years. We are led to believe that we have to study one thing for our entire lives. However, I do not think that college should be about studying one thing. I love being an English major, and at the same time, I have interests outside of English. I love Psychology, especially evolutionary psychology (if you have read any of my blog posts, you probably realize that very quickly!). I also love to learn about religion, politics, health, and a variety of other topics. I am so much more than my English degree, and I think that makes me a better English major. Everyone is more than just their majors or areas of study; they are a multitude of passions and desires and experiences. No one is only brave or kind or intelligent or selfless or honest. To be a good person, I think that you need a little bit of everything. I do not want to live my life in black and white. I want my life to be colorful! We are unique people, and we need to celebrate that. We should never limit ourselves; we should always strive to live authentically and that means embracing all our passions. 

The Handmaid’s Tale

Since I was in middle school, I have had a favorite Bible story. The Book of Ruth is one of the chapters I return to routinely because of this quote: “Where you go, I will go, and where you stay, I will stay… May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me”. Ruth says this to her mother-in-law, and to me, this quote has always symbolized the love present in female friendships. While there is so much positive representation of female friendship in the Bible, we also cannot ignore the ways that it oppresses and divides women. The Handmaid’s Tale explores this idea with the women in Gilead. The Wives and the Handmaidens are jealous of each other’s roles in society, which creates hatred between the groups. The Handmaidens are rewarded for reporting their peers’ mistakes to their superiors. The Aunts are allowed to physically and brutally punish any Handmaiden who disobeys her prescribed role. The women must put other women down to achieve status, safety, and even survival. However, we have to actively choose not to fall into this trap. From choosing to go to an all-girls high school to joining a sorority, I aim to surround myself with strong, passionate, and intelligent women in every facet of my life. We have to decide not to see other women as threats but as our greatest support systems. We have to pass these values on to the children of the next generation, both male and female. I have been so lucky to have a mother who has encouraged me to value female friendship through her words and actions. So much of my love of dystopian fiction has come from my mother and her book recommendations. She always gave me books with strong female leads because she wanted me to know how to stand up for myself. At the same time, my mother taught me the importance of standing alongside other women. We are stronger united, and we cannot waste precious time trying to put other women down for our benefit. We must not separate ourselves from other women; our voices are louder together. 

Conclusion

Some of the biggest lessons of my life have been learned through dystopian fiction. It is a genre that I come back to every year because there is always something more to learn. I believe that it is important now more than ever to read dystopian fiction. When the world is dark, we can turn to literature for light. It is a way for us to fight. It is a way for us to form a community. It is a way for us to rage. However, it is not guaranteed that this avenue will always be available to us. Dystopian novels are some of the most banned books in the United States. There is so much fear surrounding dystopian novels because they reveal truths that might make us uncomfortable. However, the truth will always come out, and it is our job to help it. We can do this by reading dystopian novels and fighting when they are banned. It is through literature that we learn what is important. Dystopian novels have taught me that my voice is my most powerful tool. So use it. 

If you want to read more about banned books, I wrote more in a past blog post!

Bibliography

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Divergent by Veronica Roth

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood