I have made this graph for those of you who like Dystopian and Utopian novels. It was created to put in prospective what each writer had available to read and influence them prior to their Utopian/Dystopian undertaking.
A good example is that "We" which came out in 1921 (1923 English translation) heavily influenced George Orwell's "1984". I find this extremely interesting.
Also what I find interesting is that with Sir Thomas More's "Utopia" in 1591 and through Edward Bellamy's "Looking Backward" we find Utopia landscapes in literature. However after World War I we find Dystopian landscapes in literature. In fact every entry on my graph past 1914 is a Dystopian novel.
This is by no means an extensive list of Utopian or Dystopian - merely a small sampling. I can see parallels though about Utopian Socialism having more popularity before World War I and Dystopian Destruction after World War I.
Here are two Wikipedia links for further reading and more in depth coverage of Dystopian and Utopian novels:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dystopian_literature
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utopian_and_dystopian_fiction
Your thoughts and comments?
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Utopian/Dystopian Classic Hierarchy by year
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3 comments:
What is the book that Jamison is reading? Is that a Utopian/Dysotopian classic? What was the title again? I love your posts Mat. Keep up the good work.
Jamison is reading "Looking Backward" by Edward Bellamy. It is a Utopian classic and is on the timeline I posted. Thanks for the comment!
I liked your graph, and it brought to my attention that I really need to read some dystopians books.
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