ENG1D Novel Study

Some terms to know…

• Science fiction: stories that present an alternative world, based on science (imagined future scientific discoveries or imagined environmental changes)

• Apocalypse: earlier referred to as writings about a violent change in which evil forces are destroyed; now, it is considered “the destruction of earth as we now know it” (Wikipedia)

• Post-apocalyptic: life after the destruction of the world

Post-apocalyptic fiction…

• post-apocalyptic fiction is set in a world or civilization after such a disaster. The time frame may be immediately after the catastrophe, focusing on the travails or psychology of survivors, or considerably later, often including the theme that the existence of pre-catastrophe civilization has been forgotten…. Post-apocalyptic stories often take place in an agrarian, non-technological future world, or a world where only scattered elements of technology remain. (Wikipedia)

Dystopia

• In Ancient Greek, “dystopia” means literally “bad place.” In fact, a dystopia is considered an anti-utopia, and is usually presented as a perfect society by at least a few of the characters (often villains). Usually the societal goal was, at one point or another, to create a perfect society, but a fatal flaw in that society was overlooked, leading to an oppressive state where individuality, self-expression, and civil liberties have been squashed.

• Source: www.intergalactic-academy.net

Some well-known young adult post-apocalyptic novels

• Except for the young. Teens. Middle schoolers. Toddlers. But not one single adult. No teachers, no cops, no doctors, no parents. Just as suddenly, there are no phones, no internet, no television. No way to get help. And no way to figure out what's happened.

Hunger threatens. Bullies rule. A sinister creature lurks.

• Source: www.goodreads.com

Miranda’s disbelief turns to fear in a split second when a meteor knocks the moon closer to the earth. How should her family prepare for the future when worldwide tsunamis wipe out the coasts, earthquakes rock the continents, and volcanic ash blocks out the sun? As summer turns to Arctic winter, Miranda, her two brothers, and their mother retreat to the unexpected safe haven of their sunroom, where they subsist on stockpiled food and limited water in the warmth of a wood-burning stove.

Told in journal entries, this is the heart-pounding story of Miranda’s struggle to hold on to the most important resource of all--hope--in an increasingly desperate and unfamiliar world. Source: www.goodreads.com

• In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

• Source: www.goodreads.com

Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate... until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.

The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.

For Titus and his friends, it started out like any ordinary trip to the moon - a chance to party during spring break and play with some stupid low-grav at the Ricochet Lounge. But that was before the crazy hacker caused all their feeds to malfunction, sending them to the hospital to lie around with nothing inside their heads for days. And it was before Titus met Violet, a beautiful, brainy teenage girl who has decided to fight the feed and its omnipresent ability to categorize human thoughts and desires.

Some classic Dystopian novels:

Some well-known post-apocalyptic novels and

filmsThe Road by Cormac McCarthy:•tale of a journey taken by a father and his young son over a period of several months, across a landscape blasted by an unnamed cataclysm that destroyed all civilization and, apparently, most life on earth. (Wikipedia)

The Book of Eli

The story revolves around Eli, a

nomad in a post-apocalyptic world, who is told by a voice to deliver his copy of a

mysterious book to a safe location

on the West Coast of the

United States. The history of the post-war world is explained along

the way, as is the importance of Eli's

task. (Wikipedia)

I am Legend

• A Manhattan scientist is somehow immune to a virus that has virtually wiped out the world’s population. Yet the infected victims, in mutated form, lurk in the shadows. Dr. Neville spends three years looking for other survivors, but is running out of time.

Walle

"WALL•E" is the story about the last little robot on Earth. He is a robot that his programming was to help clean up. You see, it's set way in the future. Through consumerism, rampant, unchecked consumerism, the Earth was covered with trash. And to clean up, everyone had to leave Earth and set in place millions of these little robots that went around to clean up the trash and make Earth habitable again. Well, the cleanup program failed with the exception of this one little robot and he's left on Earth doing his duty all alone. (www.wildaboutmovies.com)

Dystopian FilmsIn 2027, in a chaotic world in which humans can no longer procreate, a

former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a

sanctuary at sea, where her child's birth may help scientists save the future of

humankind. (IMDb: A Dystopian Movie Guide)

In a cyberpunk vision of the future, man has

developed the technology to create replicants, human clones used to serve in the colonies outside Earth but with fixed lifespans. In Los Angeles, 2019, Deckard is a Blade Runner, a cop who specialises in terminating

replicants. Originally in retirement, he is forced to re-enter the force when six replicants escape from an offworld colony to Earth.

(IMDb.com)

The Hunger Games

• Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games was published in 2008

• Set in Post-Apocalyptic America

Hunger Games Setting

• Panem is the nation that "rose out of the ashes" of what was previously North America (p.18)

• the future • Panem consists of a

wealthy Capitol and twelve poorer districts, with a thirteenth district destroyed in a past rebellion.

Dystopian setting• The mayor… “lists the disasters, the droughts, the

storms, the fires, the encroaching seas that swallowed up so much of the land, the brutal war for what little sustenance remained. The result was Panem, a shining Capitol ringed by thirteen districts, which brought peace and prosperity to its citizens. Then came the Dark Days, the uprising of the districts against the Capitol. Twelve were defeated, the thirteenth obliterated. The Treaty of Treason gave us the new laws to guarantee peace and, as our yearly reminder that the Dark Days must never be repeated, it gave us the Hunger Games” (18).

Harsh Government

• Katniss alludes to not having anyone read her thoughts or discussing “tricky topics”: the reaping, food shortages, or the Hunger Games (6)

• The Hob is a black market that operates in an abandoned warehouse that once held coal (11), used for trading food

• The Hunger Games is a punishment for the uprising; 24 tributes fight to the death (18)

Themes

• A theme is the main idea, or message, of a book.

• The message may be about life, society, or human nature. Themes often explore timeless and universal ideas and may be implied rather than stated explicitly.

• The following are some aspects of the human condition to look for in The Hunger Games… what do you think the author might be saying about these things?

Government Control on the individual

The power of audience to fuel art

Reason vs. Irrationality

The positive power of hope

A person’s natural surroundings

The effect of outside sources on the forming of identity

The role of gender in defining the hero

Symbolism• The practice of representing

things by means of symbols or of attributing symbolic meanings or significance to objects, events, or relationships.

Symbolism to watch for…

• Fire• Dandelions• Mockingjay• Trees• Cave• Cornucopia

And the movie The Hunger Games was released in

March 2012!

Evaluation

• As a part of your summative mark, you will be required to:– Write 3 reading quizzes (9 percent)– Create media projects (7 percent)– Write a literary essay (14 percent)