ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:
What are the advantages / disadvantages of everyone being the same?
Why is it both good and bad to have memories of the past?
To what extent is it possible for one person’s story to change another person’s life?
How can individuals and societies prevent or navigate the path toward dystopia?
To what extent do the psychological and emotional impacts of living in a dystopian society influence the progress of society?
Which is more likely: a dystopian future caused by environmental destruction or by social and political factors?
Questions to ask while reading:
Does this book show a Utopia or Dystopia?
How does Jonas’s community view those who don’t follow the rules?
What is more important to this community: the well-being of an individual or of the group?
Should twelve-year-olds be treated as adults?
Is being proud of someone the same thing as loving them?
Utopia: takes place in an idealistic world ...everything is perfect. vs Dystopia: a world where nothing is perfect.
Elements of Utopian text:
peaceful government - a safe environment
equality for all citizens
access to needs for everyone: education, healthcare, employment, etc.
Elements of Dystopian text:
Controlling or oppressive government
Often stories about survival through rebellion
Dystopian novels have a backstory of war, revolutions, and disasters
Extreme poverty or huge income gap between rich and poor
Population 'control' due to previous 'overpopulation'
Propanada with 'mind control': free thinking is banned
Takes place in the future, but has aspects about 'today' and sometimes 'yesterday'
Borrows from reality and discusses events happening.