What Is The Difference Between Utopian and Dystopian Literature?

 

It may sound obvious to the average reader, but there is still some confusion in the literary world on the differences between a Utopian and dystopian work of literary art. They are two very different concepts, but sometimes they can mix and match. For instance, a Utopian may use aspects of a dystopian in its prose and plot, and a dystopian world may intentionally disguise itself as a Utopian one only to give you the twist.

I thought this was worth discussing as I begin my new Little Run Series taking place in the Utopian world of Hart, something of an alternate version of Earth set somewhere between the near and far future (a stride over two hundred years forward). It will soon be released on my Wattpad, but I thought it was worth discussing the genre as we lead up to its release. So what's the difference?

What is a Utopian Story?

Loosely a Utopian story could be described in the plainest sense as the ideal or perfect world. Usually, the author may have some underlying message on how society would operate in a certain way. This is usually a speculative form of fiction where the author is stating some point they agree with and then presenting a picture of how that would improve life.

The Utopian story seems to be a bit rarer than the dystopian in the literary world, and understandably so. There seems to be less of an emphasis on the intensity and conflict we all know and love and more of a focus on provoking a thoughtful discussion. It is a speculative form of fiction, but not always an exciting one to some. Even so, it's very worth reading and exploring these imaginative worlds.

The most famous example of a Utopian story may also be the earliest one in Plato's Republic, where Plato pictures a fair, just, and equal society as ruled by the educated elite, the thinkers. Some more modern examples may include A Modern Utopia by H.G wells. Even more recently was 3001: The Final Odyssey by Arthur C Clarke, which explores the world 1,000 years after an astronaut is frozen and then revived.

What About Dystopian Literature?

A dystopian story is going to be much different than a Utopian series or novel. In fact, one could easily say that it is its polar opposite. The dystopian plot is one that takes place in a world gone wrong. Like Utopian stories, they are a form of speculative fiction but one that may serve as a cautionary tale or a warning. Essentially, the dystopian story is telling humanity, "Hey, don't let this happen, or this is what the world could look like."

The dystopian form of storytelling seems to be more common and perhaps more of a crowd-pleaser. That's probably because there's more excitement and conflict. There are villains to be defeated, a world to be saved or changed, and some kind of challenge to be overcome. There is also more dystopian literature on the market than there are Utopian series. One modern example everyone may be familiar with might be The Purge. It's not the best example, but it takes place in a world where the wealthy elite has eradicated poverty and crime by indulging humanity's dark side. They pit the poor and depraved against one another, hiding from the fallout, one day a year, in order to establish a perfect world. In order to do this, they simply make crime legal one day a year. I suppose one could say this is an example of a mixed system where humanity seems to overcome some challenges, but at what cost?

A better and more familiar example would, of course, be George Orwell's 1984 set in a world where tyrants rule and government surveillance is rampant. People have essentially become slaves to the state.

Mixing It up

It's not uncommon for us to see mixed styles, or even what I like to call "Utopian Fake-Outs," where the world is painted as a perfect place, but it really is not. My favorite example of this may be found in The Giver. It's a classic novel and must-read that portrays a perfect world established on a government hellbent on protecting its people from anything new, different, or interesting. They've gotten rid of music, weather changes, color, and pretty much anything that ever made the world unique and exciting. No one is exposed to the unpleasantness of old age since the old are put away from society. They've also managed to squeeze the unpleasant and diverse memories of the world into one man: The Giver.

This mix of styles that we often see even further complicates telling the difference between the two genres. However, the easiest way to spot it may be spotting the story's conclusion. The Utopian world is the world that could be, while the dystopian world is the world we hope never will be.

Exploring the World of Hart

In writing this new Utopian series, I have been exploring these concepts quite a bit more as I begin diving into the worlds of Hart and Little Run. The Little Run Chronicles, soon to be released on my Wattpad, explores the idea of a "perfect world" and what life's really like for the people who live there. Governments are small and limited and run at a local level. War and international strife are things of the past, as is world hunger and death from preventable diseases. Climate change and pollution are no longer concerns. Technology has never been more advanced. Despite all that, is it really a perfect world?

One concept that I am trying to implement is to show that even with the major conflicts and problems of humanity are solved, the world is still not so perfect. Crime and violence still exist, and to some extent, poverty does as well. Tragedies still occur. Families still fall apart. The question I pose is how to address these problems. Can they be fixed by a system, or is this something individual people have to work among individual people. Perhaps some problems are solved one person at a time.

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