Dystopia is a world where society has failed to achieve utopia. Books that have dystopian societies can be a way for people to become more aware of social issues. Examples of social issues include: poverty, abuse, crime, inequality of men and women, inequality of races, bullying, and lack of education.

Dystopian society in dystopian literature are often seen as “cautionary tales,” (stories that warn people about danger!)

People like dystopian novels because, by giving us worst-case ideas of the future. People who write dystopian literature may believe our current society can be educated enough through books to avoid dystopians eventually happening in real life. We’re fascinated by the terrible things these characters must do in the stories.

Dystopian characters (protagonist) often have these characteristics (qualities or identities):

• feels trapped and is trying to escape
• feels frustrated with being controlled by society
• questions existing society and existing political systems
• believes something is wrong with the current dystopian society where they live
• helps the audience realize negative aspects of society through the actions they take against society

Popular Dystopian Books

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Feed by M. T. Anderson

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Matched by Ally Condie

Divergent by Veronica Roth

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood