Dystopia (mündliche Prüfung) at Universität Bonn

• Question of survival

• Loss of individual though

• Famine

• Machines taking over -> physical decay, lack of purpose

• Isolation

• Collapse of social structures (e. g. family)

• Artificial insemination

• Judgement Day

• Exploitation of nature

• Bad, dystopic future
  
  

• primary focus on the form of society
• social structure bad for a large part of society -> worse than present
• pessimistic
• society discussed in detail
• society must be credible and actually work 

• Alternative society in an unfamiliar place (on an island or in the future): described in detail

• Place orientation common until 19th C: world exploration, unknown territories

• Very descriptive, little action-oriented

• 3 stages: 1) travel to/arrival in, 2)exploration of alternative society (often a guide who explains everything), 3)departure/escape =>in traditional texts, not necessarily in modern texts

• Protagonist: traveller ->Only one who sees the alternative society, not individualized

• Comments on problems in the current society
  
  

utopia: comes from the greek means either "no place" or "beautiful place"

dystopia: "bad place"

Minimal def.: depiction of a society that is significantly worse than the

one experienced by people in the context in which the text was

written and focus on society

hard to distinguish

often critizes on social aspects or man-made disasters whereas for example post-apocalyptic are often based on natural caused disasters

• form of society of primary focus -> discussed in detail
• society bad for a large part of society
• considerably worse than writer'S present -> pessimistic
• society must ne credible and actually work
• often warning of contemporary trends -> often strategy of extrapolation
• personal freedom vs social good
• Utopia depicts an ideal world

• focus on story/society not on action/characters
• 3 stages
• hints of philosophical discourse (different perspectives)
• extrapolations

• critical view of his own accounts
• able to admit when he is wrong 
• does not assume he is unfaillable
• aware of his own limitations

• consequences of the exploitation of workers
• criticizes the effect of science -> people beceoming lazy and dummer

• where do the names come from?
• why do the Morlocks live in the dark? why is there no electricity?
• How do the factories work?

middle class

-> professor, student, journalist, doctor, etc.

not really, rather leading up to a dystopia or a poastapocalyptic society

• not much information about the system
• focus on individual lifes