Focusing on utopias and dystopias is an important aspect to the young-adult classroom, because as stated above, this genre of literature has the ability to both draw the reader in through its utilization of science fiction and force the reader to consider extenuating factors, such as the emotions or psychology of the characters in the book.
Adolescence is when individuals start to form many of their perceptions, views, and morals. By teaching about dystopias in the classroom, the teacher is allowed to challenge these malleable views, and encourage the student to consider alternate ways of thinking. If a student is not challenged, he or she may be more likely to go along with mainstream views, without reflecting critically about the less obvious repercussions this acceptance may carry. By using Lois Lowry's The Giver, as a central text for this unit, the student will be able to see how seemingly-pleasant and benevolent utopian ideas, are generally used to serve a more malignant and hidden agenda.
Launching the Unit:
1) Pass out a copy of John Lennon's "Imagine" to each student. This song serves as a very simple idea of a utopia.
Imagine
Imagine there's no heaven,
It's easy if you try,
No hell below us,
Above us only sky,
Imagine all the people
living for today...
Imagine there's no countries,
It isn't hard to do,
Nothing to kill or die for,
No religion too,
Imagine all the people
living life in peace...
Imagine no possessions,
I wonder if you can,
No need for greed or hunger,
A brotherhood of man,
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...
You may say I'm a dreamer,
but I'm not the only one,
I hope some day you'll join us,
And the world will live as one.
(http://www.merseyworld.com/imagine/lyrics/imagine.htm)
Play the song for the students, and then have an in-class discussion about this song. Ask the students if they would describe the song as happy and hopeful, or sad and depressing. More than likely, you will receive a mixture of responses. Using the blackboard, make a list of lyrics the students find positive and why, and a list of the lyrics they find discouraging and why. Be sure to focus on or mention specifically provocative lyrics, such as "Imagine there's no heaven," "Nothing to kill or die for," "No religion too," and "the world will live as one." Hopefully this discussion will allow the class to gain a glimpse at the general nature of a utopia/dystopia, in the sense that on the surface, they appear promising and pleasing, however after probing the surface there are obvious problems. Ask the class
-would they really want to live a life where nothing is worth dying for?
-is a life without passion worth living?
Bring in William Butler Yeat's quote "The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity." (The Second Coming)
-do the students agree or disagree with this quote?
2) At this point, the students will be reading to start reading Lois Lowry's The Giver. As a possible homework assignment, which can later lead to another class discussion, have the students create their own list of the positive and negative aspects of Jonah's community, as they begin reading the text. Is it a place they would want to live?
3) As the students go further into the text of The Giver, they will become more familiar with utopian concepts, and the possible dangers. As a way to connect this fairly current piece of literature with world history, engage the class in a discussion of past utopian ideals which had dystopian manifestations. Possible examples include
communism in the U.S.S.R. or Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. Attempt to unpack, through student-discussion, why utopias do not succeed. Be sure to touch on racism or oppression as a result of dystopias, by bringing in examples from The Giver. One possible approach is to discuss that Jonah's community sees things in black and white, as a means to unify the community and end prejudice. Does such an approach promote equality or foster intolerance? What parallels can be drawn from a fictional society such as Jonah's, where everyone looks the same, and the Holocaust, where the goal was to make everyone the same?
5) As an off-shoot to this discussion, set aside one or two class periods for the
students to watch a film dealing with the repercussions of a dystopian society.
.Gattaca: in a society of the near-future, one's personal and professional destiny is determined by their genes. The genetically-engineered, or "Valids," qualify for prestigious positions at corporations such as Gattaca, which trains its most qualified employees for space exploration, while the "In-valids," or naturally born humans, are considered intrinsically flawed, and left only with low-paying, low-level jobs, in a genetically caste society. The movie's protagonist, Vincent (played by Ethan Hawke), is determined to overcome his "In-valid" status, with the help of a disabled "Valid" (Jude Law), by subverting his society's social and biological barriers in order to pursue his dream of space-travel. (www.amazon.com)
.Pleasantville: Two modern teenagers land in the
parallel universe of a 1950's television sitcom called Pleasantville, named
after the straight-laced town where it is based. Slowly but surely, Bud and
Mary-Sue (Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon) find themselves baffled as they
discover this black or white world where everything comes in simple cans of
right or wrong. Soon enough, Pleasantville's teens are
discovering sex, rock and roll, free thinking, and eventually Technicolor. Soon enough, the black-and-white
denizens of the town gang up on the "coloreds" and impose rules of
conduct to keep their strait-laced town in order. (www.amazon.com)
Either of these movies can serve as a
means to reinforce the dangers of Utopian/Dystopian societies discussed in
class, especially in regard to the often less-than-visible power structures
which lay at the root of many "utopian" societies.
Extending the Unit:
6) After you have the class fully engaged
in the concepts and drawbacks of utopian societies, allow The Giver to act as a
primer to more advanced ideas and more difficult writing styles of a canonical
utopian text. Let the students
pick a book from a list of canonical options.
.1984, by George Orwell: Set in the (then) future year of 1984, in the fictional town of Oceania, author George Orwell sends an urgent message of the future possibilities a world heading towards a Totalitarian government, and a brutally stifling society which could ensue. Under the constant watch of "Big Brother" personal freedoms no longer exist. (http://www.awerty.com/19842.html)
.Brave New World, by : Aldous Huxley "'Community, Identity, Stability' is the motto of Aldous Huxley's utopian World State. Here everyone consumes daily grams of soma, to fight depression, babies are born in laboratories, and the most popular form of entertainment is a "Feelie," a movie that stimulates the senses of sight, hearing, and touch. Though there is no violence and everyone is provided for, Bernard Marx feels something is missing and senses his relationship with a young women has the potential to be much more than the confines of their existence allow. Huxley foreshadowed many of the practices and gadgets we take for granted today--let's hope the sterility and absence of individuality he predicted aren't yet to come." (http://www2.sjsu.edu/depts/english/hbutopunit.htm)
.Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury: In this frightening portrait of the future, fireman don't put out fires, they start them, by using books as their fuel. A place where trivial information is good, and knowledge and ideas are bad. Fire Captain Beatty explains it this way, "Give the people contests they win by remembering the words to more popular songs.... Don't give them slippery stuff like philosophy or sociology to tie things up with. That way lies melancholy." (http://www2.sjsu.edu/depts/english/hbutopunit.htm)
.Utopia, by Sir Thomas More : "Utopia" means, literally, "no place". The word didn't exist until More coined it in this book. He wanted to make a critic regarding the English society of his time, but needed to cloak it under a "fictional" mantle due to censure. Instead of praising the power of princes More wanted to show clearly all that was wrong in English society because it was governed by a bad ruler. He didn't tell others to face reality: he asked them to criticize it, in order to improve it later. Thus, Moro established the essential traits of what was later known as the "utopian method": to describe in other situation, with a prejudice of optimism, all that that we don't like in our society. (www.amazon.com)
After the students have completed their individual readings, allow them to form into groups with other students who read the same book. Allow the students to discuss the problems each individual utopian society encountered. Possible assignments could include a group presentation or an essay comparing and contrasting their canonical novel with The Giver.
Closing the Unit:
7) It is important for the student to understand what connections exist in regards to utopian schools of thought and the current world. Engage the class in a discussion, or allow them to write a student journal, focusing on concepts and problems of a utopian/dystopian society, and how attempts at utopias are still made in today's world. What are the problems of such attempts? How do they affect the liberties of individuals throughout the world? Encourage the students to think of their examples, but the following examples can serve as a guide
-China's one child rule
-America's Patriot Act
-arranged marriages
-genetic engineering
8) Additional texts can be offered perhaps as extra credit to the diligent and interested student.
Gathering Blue, by Lois Lowry: "Left orphaned and physically flawed in society that shuns and discards the weak, Kira faces a frightening future. Her neighbors are hostile, and no one but a small boy offers her help. On her quest for truth, Kira discovers things that will change her life and world forever. A compelling examination of future society, Gathering Blue forces the reader to think about creativity, community, and the values they have learned to accept." (http://www.loislowry.com/gathering.html)
The Messenger, by Lois Lowry: "In this novel that unites the characters of the Giver and Gathering Blue, Matty, a young member of a utopian community that values honesty, conceals and emerging healing power that he cannot explain or understand." (http://www.loislowry.com/gathering.html
Biting the Sun, by Tanith Lee: "It's a perfect existence, a world in which no pleasure is off-limits, no risk is too dangerous, and no responsibilities can cramp your style. Not if you're Jang: a caste of libertine teenagers in the city of Four BEE. But when you're expected to make trouble--when you can kill yourself on a whim and return in another body, when you're encouraged to change genders at will and experience whatever you desire--you've got no reason to rebel...until making love and raising hell, daring death and running wild just leave you cold and empty. Ravenous for true adventures of the mind and body, desperate to find some meaning, one restless spirit finally bucks the system--and by shattering the rules, strikes at the very heart of a soulless society...." (amazon.com)
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick: "By 2021, the World War had killed millions, driving entire species into extinction and sending mankind off-planet. Those who remained coveted any living creature, and for people who couldn't afford one, companies built incredibly realistic simulacra: horses, birds, cats, and sheep. . They even built humans. �migr�s to Mars received androids so sophisticated it was impossible to tell them from true men or women. Fearful of the havoc these artificial humans could wreak, the government banned them from Earth. But when androids didn't want to be identified, they just blended in. Rick Deckard was an officially sanctioned bounty hunter whose job was to find rogue androids, and to retire them. But cornered, androids tended to fight back, with deadly results. '[Dick] sees all the sparkling and terrifying possibilities . . . that other authors shy away from.'"--Paul Williams
Works Cited:
Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. [place of publication not given] Del Rey, 1987.
ISBN: 0345342968
Dick, Philip K. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sleep? [place of publication not given]
Del Rey, 1996 (reissue). ISBN: 0345404475
Donelson, Kenneth L., Nilesen, Alleen Pace. Literature for Today's Young Adult.
Boston: Pearson Education, 2001. ISBN: 0205410359
Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. [place of publication not given] Perennial Classics,
1998 (reprint ed.). ISBN: 0345342968
Lee, Tanith. Biting the Sun. [place of publication not given] Spectra, 1999. ISBN:
055358109
Lowry, Lois. Gathering Blue. New York: Laurel Leaf, 2002. ISBN: 0440237688
Lowry, Lois. The Giver. New York: Laurel Leaf, 2002 . ISBN: 0440237688
Lowry, Lois. The Messenger. New York: Houghton Miffin/Walter Lorraine Books,
2004 ISBN: 040618404414
More, Sir Thomas. Utopia. [place of publication not given] Penguin Books, 2003.
ISBN: 0140449408
Orwell, George. 1984. [place of publication not given] Signet Books, 1990 (reissue).
ISBN: 0451524934