Melissa Munich

Prof. Warner

English 112B

2 December 2009

Utopias and Dystopias

The Perfect World or So it Seems: Equality and Peace, but at what cost?

I. Rationale

In a society where the cost of healthcare is out of control, the economy is failing, and those that strive for education and a better life must pay exorbitant prices, the idea of structuring society so that everyone is ensured the same opportunities for everything sounds ideal. While Barack Obama�s presidency seems to symbolize that for countless Americans, many of them do not stop to think about what the true cost of that would be or what they might be giving up in order to do so. Since teenagers will be the ones to follow through with and deal with many of these changes in American society, I felt that introducing them to the world of utopias and dystopias would help them better understand the possible implications of creating a �perfect� America.

I chose the genre of science fiction in particular in order to do this because its form naturally forces them as readers to think about the future in ways they could and could not have imagined. By using fantastical settings, plots, and characters, science fiction allows readers to examine the issues brought up in and by the story, but in a way that seems less didactic and easier for them to relate to since many focus on the journey a few select characters take. As a result of being engaged in this manner, readers are also subconsciously stirred to take more notice of the world around them and ask themselves if this could happen with their society. While all subgenres of science fiction ask these questions, the utopia/dystopia subgenre makes them the focus, pushing readers to examine the implications behind the creation and sustainment of such a society a little more—ultimately helping them better evaluate Obama�s plans for the future.

With this in mind, I thought a great book to use as my center piece would be The Giver by Lois Lowry. Although there might be hesitation to use such a well-known book since students might be intimidated, I believe that of all the canonized dystopia novels this would be the most accessible because of its young protagonist and pertinent young adult themes, i.e. coming of age. Unlike readers, though, Jonas must do this on top of being the sole carrier of his society�s collective memories pre-utopia. It is in doing so that Jonas comes to realize that while his society seems perfect, it also lacks the richness and depth of former life and all its imperfections. Consequently, not unlike many young adults Jonas starts to question his society�s ways. In following Jonas�s story, then, teenage readers will be able to understand the advantages and disadvantages of �utopias� from a very familiar perspective and use that to aid their evaluation of American society�s future.

Alternatively, if one is still hesitant to use a well-known dystopia story another great, but lesser-known book around which to base this unit would be Biting the Sun by Tanith Lee where the �future has brought freedom not only from material want but also from rules, responsibilities and risk� (Amazon.com). Having the advantage of changing bodies and genders, making love with whomever one chooses, living forever, and being able to kill oneself repeatedly, it sounds like the perfect world to the teen protagonists and teen readers alike who are fascinated by those subjects. Once again, however, one brave teen realizes that perfection has come at a cost, one that she is not willing to pay anymore. Accordingly, Biting the Sun incorporates many of the same ideas and themes of The Giver and could be used either as an alternative center piece or in tandem with more famous dystopia novels to give students something rich, but easier to which to relate.

II. Launching the Unit

Before reading and discussing the center piece with students, use one or more of the following as pre-reading activities to prime students for the themes and questions they will encounter.

1) Using Songs—�Imagine� by John Lennon and �Mad World� by Michael Andrews and Gary Jules

a) Have students listen to these songs with copies of the lyrics in front of them. After listening, discuss the following questions with students: What is the song saying? What is its message? How does the tone of the music affect the message of the song? The vocals? Does this song present a positive or negative view of the world and the future? Why? (For �Mad World� what does the line �the dreams in which I�m dying are the best I�ve ever had� imply about the speaker�s world? ).

b) After this discussion, have the class brainstorm what their perfect world would be like. To focus students, you could alternatively have them brainstorm what the perfect school world would be like. If students do not point out potential problems amongst themselves, throw out questions that point them in that direction. As part of this discussion, make sure students include the �costs� or what would have to be given up in order to have this perfect world.

c) Conclude with a brief discussion about: whether or not they think their perfect school would actually be possible or a perfect world in general; whether or not they would want a perfect world. Link to the idea of utopias and dystopias, asking students to discuss any prior knowledge they might have of them, particularly any novels.

2) Poems—�The World Is Too Much With Us� William Wordsworth and �Where the Sidewalk Ends� by Shel Silverstein

Read both poems aloud to students, using volunteers if possible. Then have them read both poems in small groups and answer the following questions. After students have completed the questions in groups, read the poems aloud again and open the discussion up to the class, making sure all questions are answered. Teacher could have each group or pair explain their answer and invite or call upon other students to voice their opinions. Conclude with a discussion about:

� Whether or not they think a perfect world would actually be possible like the one described in Silverstein�s poem and whether or not they would want a perfect world. (Could incorporate the brainstorming activity, described above, for their own utopia here).

� Whether or not the world described in Wordsworth poem is possible in relation to our current world and why.

� The idea of utopias and dystopias, asking students to discuss any prior knowledge they might have of them, particularly any novels.

*For �The World Is Too Much With Us� make sure to provide notes or supplements at the bottom of the poem handout to help with the more difficult language.

a) Both Poems:

i. What kind of world is the poem presenting? Would you want to live in it? Why or why not?

b) �The World Is Too Much With Us�

i. What is the problem with the world according to the speaker? Why do you think it is that way (what caused it)?

ii. What solution does the speaker offer to his problem? Is it realistic? Why or why not?

iii. What other solutions can you think of?

iv. What could be some positive aspects of the world being described?

c) �Where the Sidewalk Ends�

i. What is the problem with the current world? Why is this new world better? How does the speaker differentiate between the two?

ii. What solution does the speaker offer to his problem? Is it realistic? Why or why not?

iii. What other solutions can you think of?

iv. What could be some negative aspects of the ideal world being described?

3) Short Stories—�Harrison Bergeron� by Kurt Vonnegut and �There Will Come Soft Rains� by Ray Bradbury

Have students read the following short stories either individually or aloud as a class. After reading, have students discuss the following questions in small groups. If class time is sparse, split up the stories amongst different groups, making sure that each story is read by at least two groups. Bring everyone back to whole class discussion and have each group explain their answers, inviting or calling upon other students to voice their opinions (if everyone hasn�t read all the stories, have them provide a brief summary as well). Conclude with a discussion about:

� Whether or not they think either of these �perfect� worlds would actually work and whether or not a perfect world is even possible. (Could incorporate the brainstorming activity for their own utopia, as described under the song section).

� Whether or not the seemingly perfect, but dysfunctional worlds depicted in the stories are possible in relation to our current world and why.

� The idea of cost and benefit in order to live in a perfect world and what they would be willing to give up for it.

� The idea of utopias and dystopias, asking students to discuss any prior knowledge they might have of them, particularly any novels.

a) Both:

i. What kind of world or society is the story presenting? Would you want to live in it? Why or why not?

b) �Harrison Bergeron�

i. How has the government tried to create a more equal society? How is it also unequal? What does this imply about trying to create an equal society?

ii. What are the benefits to this kind of society? What are some of the disadvantages? Would these benefits outweigh the costs or vice-versa? Why?

iii. What do you think the quality of life is like? Better or worse than current society in the United States? Why? (In other words, do you think people�s lives would be better or worse in that society?)

iv. What would you do if you lived in that society? Would you live with the handicaps as Harrison�s parents do? Would you rebel? If so, what would you do?

c) �There Will Come Soft Rains�

i. Looking at the way the house operates, what do you think life was like for its occupants? Did they have to do anything for themselves while at home? What does this imply about mankind�s progress? How is it both positive and negative?

ii. What happened to the family? How might this be connected to the advancement of technology as shown by the house itself? (If used with the poems, connect to �The World Is Too Much With Us� by asking how the two both concern the use of too much technology or industry).

iii. What does the house�s destruction symbolize? How could this be connected to the idea that �perfection� is not necessarily a good thing? Or that it comes with a cost?

4) Film Clips from Gattaca and Stepford Wives (2004 version)

Since students are naturally inclined to like movies in class, here is a way to launch the unit through movie clips from two well-known dystopia films. Clips from Gattaca should highlight the use of genetic engineering to get rid of imperfections, some of the struggles Vincent faces as an in-valid, and some of what he is willing to do to achieve his dreams. Clips from Stepford Wives should highlight the tranquility of the community and seemingly perfect qualities, Bobbie pre and post transformation, and what eventually happens to Joanna. With each movie take pauses for students to answer questions as they occur.

a) Gattaca

i. Why do Vincent�s parents decide not to engineer him? Why do they change their minds with their next child?

ii. What struggles does Vincent face as an in-valid that his brother does not? What does this imply about the quality of life among people in this society?

iii. What is Vincent willing to do to achieve his dreams? What does this suggest about the cost of perfection both for the individual and for society? What negative things does striving for perfection cause?

iv. What positive aspects are there to this society? Why do you think people decided to pursue genetic engineering and genetic perfection?

b) Stepford Wives

i. How does the community of Stepford seem like the ideal place to live? Does it seem too perfect? How?

ii. Why does Bobbie change from a rebel to the perfect wife? Do you think it was her choice? Or is there something else going on? If so, what do you suspect?

iii. What does Bobbie�s and the other wives� transformation suggest about the tranquility and seemingly ideal community of Stepford?

iv. Seeing what happens to Joanna, what does the movie imply about mankind�s desire for the perfect world? Does the cost outweigh the benefit or vice-versa?

c) After watching the movies, allow students time to answer and discuss questions in small groups. Bring them back to a whole class to discuss:

i. Whether or not they think any of these �perfect� worlds would actually work and whether or not a perfect world is even possible. (Could incorporate the brainstorming activity for their own utopia, as described under the song section).

ii. Whether or not the seemingly perfect, but dysfunctional worlds depicted in the stories are possible in relation to our current world and why.

iii. The idea of cost and benefit in order to live in a perfect world and what they would be willing to give up for it.

iv. The idea of utopias and dystopias, asking students to discuss any prior knowledge they might have of them, particularly any novels.

III. Ideas for teaching the Center Piece

The Giver

While there are numerous resources for teaching The Giver available in print and online, here are some suggestions for discussions, writing prompts, and essays. The first six are taken from a link by teacher Jana Edwards for The Giver off the Web English Teacher site, a great resource for lesson planning.

1) Discuss the similarities and differences between our society and the society in the novel.

2) How realistic is the novel? Could that society exist?

3) Describe the role of pain and difficulty in our lives.

4) The Giver pictures a community in which every person and his or her experience is precisely the same. The climate is controlled, and competition has been eliminated in favor of a community in which everyone works only for the common good. What advantages might "sameness" have for a community? Is this loss of diversity worthwhile? Explain.

5) Analyze one of the important characters from the novel. Include the following: appearance, actions, ideas (what the character thinks), manner (how the character acts), reactions of others to the character, and how the character feels over the course of the novel. Do his feelings/ideas change during the novel? Would you like this character? Would you like to BE this character? Explain.

6) What point was the author making about utopian societies? How successful was she in getting this point across?

7) What are the positive aspects of Jonas�s community? What are the negative?

8) What are people sacrificing to have this utopian world?

9) It is possible to have a world where everyone is equal, but everyone is not the same. Do you agree or disagree? Why?

10) If you were an Elder, what assignments would you give members of your class? Describe the assignments and why.

11) Agree or disagree and why: Are rules a good or bad thing? Does your life run better because of the rules you follow or do they seem to get in the way?

12) What does the lack of color symbolize? What does Jonas�s ability to see it while others cannot symbolize?

13) (For older students) Examine the restrictions placed upon sexuality. How does it help society run smoothly?

14) How does language play a role in the citizens� perceptions of their society?

15) What do you think happened to Jonas and Gabriel at the end of the novel? Support your explanation with evidence from the text.

Biting the Sun

If using this selection, many of the same suggestions will apply. The following are other suggestions more tailored to this particular book. The first four are taken from another unit of study plan on dystopias by Heidi Bartkowski from Fall 2004.

1) The main character is kind of an outsider, even among �her� own circle of friends. Why is this so? What characteristics does she portray that make it hard for her to fit in? Can you relate to her, or no? Do you think that her inability to fit in to the society around her is what drives her to the actions she takes? How is she striving to find purpose?

2) Throughout this story, the main character is never given a name. Was this noticeable? How does this help/detract from the story? Does it make it easier to relate? What does �her� lack of a name say about this society where a name is all you have to identify yourself?

3) This story contrasts a utopia with a dystopia. How is the one different from the other? Which would you choose—a society where there is no death or aging or hard work, but no purpose or love either? Or a society where there is the fear of getting old, and the need to work in order to survive, but also a purpose for life and the ability to find love?

4) If you were the main character, faced with her choices of either exile to the unknown, or �personality dissolution,� what would you choose? Why? How do you think one of the other characters in the book would have reacted to this choice? How does the main character's choice reflect her independence and difference

5) (For older students) Examine the role of sexuality in this utopia. Does the promiscuity help society run more smoothly? How so?

IV. Final Projects and Paper Ideas to Tie the Unit Together

Paper Ideas:

� Write a paper creating your own utopia, taking into account the possible problems and how you�d minimize them.

� Write a paper that fixes the major problems seen in one of the utopia stories and explains the expected outcomes of such changes.

� Write a paper comparing 2 of the societies we�ve studied. One possible topic would be looking at the motives or causes behind the creation of this kind of society. Another possible topic would be examining the kind of control the government has over each society and how that affects different aspects of people�s lives.

� Watch another dystopian movie and write an essay explaining how this connects to either the problems in current society or the advances society is trying to achieve. Your paper should also discuss whether that kind of society would be possible and whether it would be in society�s best interest. Use the following questions to get you started:

-How did the society come about? What was wrong with the world before?

-How does this society minimize or completely get rid of those problems?

-What benefits and disadvantages are to this society?

-What kinds of problems does this system for society have?

Project Ideas:

� Create an advertisement �selling� your utopia (group project). This could be a video project, website, pamphlet, or brochure. Make sure to include reasons to join, rules or laws members must follow, and visual aids.

� Write your own science fiction short story about a dystopia or utopia. Include a brief summary and explanation of how this represents the theme of dystopia and utopia.

� Create your own music video with a song about dystopia or utopia (from this unit or elsewhere), creating a mini-story showcasing either kind of society.

� Following the instructions on the prompt under the link �Your Perfect World� on http://www.tallmania.com/Giver.html, design your own utopia.

V. Extending the Unit

(The first two in each category are young adult novels, followed by the classics)

1) With the same central theme

The Perfect World or So it Seems: Equality and Peace, but at what cost?

After by Francine Prose (LfTYA, Chapter 7)

Central high receives a threat and administrators vow to protect the students. And them they do with random locker searches and urine tests, and a whole list of restricted items including wearing anything colored red because it�s a gang color. When J.D. Salinger�s The Catcher and the Rye is found in a locker, it is confiscated and removed from the literature curriculum because �Studies have proved that it has a terribly deleterious—destructive—effect on students too young to realize that Holden Caulfield is a highly negative role model.

Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry (Amazon.com)

Having suffered numerous unnamed disasters (aka, the Ruin), civilization has regressed to a primitive, technology-free state; an opening author's note describes a society in which "disorder, savagery, and self-interest" rule. Kira, a crippled young weaver, has been raised and taught her craft by her mother, after her father was allegedly killed by "beasts." When her mother dies, Kira fears that she will be cast out of the village. Instead, the society's Council of Guardians installs her as caretaker of the Singer's robe, a precious ceremonial garment depicting the history of the world and used at the annual Gathering.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (Amazon.com)

In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury's classic, frightening vision of the future, firemen don't put out fires--they start them in order to burn books. Bradbury's vividly painted society holds up the appearance of happiness as the highest goal--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.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (Amazon.com)

�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.

Anthem by Ayn Rand (Amazon.com)

ANTHEM tells the story of a man who rediscovers individualism and his own "I" It is a world of absolute collectivization, a world where sightless, joyless, selfless men exist for the sake of serving the State; where their work, their food, and their mating are prescribed to them by order of the Collective's rulers in the name of society's welfare. It is a world which lost all the achievements of science and civilization when it lost its root, the independent mind, and reverted to primitive savagery a world where language contains no singular pronouns, where the "We" has replaced the "I," and where men are put to death for the crime of discovering and speaking the "unspeakable word." ANTHEM presents not merely a frightening projection of existing trends, but, more importantly, a positive answer to those trends and a weapon against them, a key to the world's moral crisis and to a new morality of individualism -- a morality that, if accepted today, will save us from a future such as the one presented in this story.

2) With related themes:

Reliance on technology, Hyper-regulation of society,

Freedom vs. Safety/Survival, Socialism/Communism

Feed by M.T. Anderson (Amazon.com)

In this chilling novel, Anderson (Burger Wuss; Thirsty) imagines a society dominated by the feed a next-generation Internet/television hybrid that is directly hardwired into the brain. Teen narrator Titus never questions his world, in which parents select their babies' attributes in the conceptionarium, corporations dominate the information stream, and kids learn to employ the feed more efficiently in School. But everything changes when he and his pals travel to the moon for spring break. There Titus meets home-schooled Violet, who thinks for herself, searches out news and asserts that "Everything we've grown up with the stories on the feed, the games, all of that it's all streamlining our personalities so we're easier to sell to." Without exposition, Anderson deftly combines elements of today's teen scene, including parties and shopping malls, with imaginative and disturbing fantasy twists. "Chats" flow privately from mind to mind; Titus flies an "upcar"; people go "mal" (short for "malfunctioning") in contraband sites that intoxicate by scrambling the feed; and, after Titus and his friends develop lesions, banner ads and sit-coms dub the lesions the newest hot trend, causing one friend to commission a fake one and another to outdo her by getting cuts all over her body. Excerpts from the feed at the close of each chapter demonstrate the blinding barrage of entertainment and temptations for conspicuous consumption. Titus proves a believably flawed hero, and ultimately the novel's greatest strength lies in his denial of and uncomfortable awakening to the truth. This satire offers a thought-provoking and scathing indictment that may prod readers to examine the more sinister possibilities of corporate- and media-dominated culture.

Rash by Pete Hautman (LfTYA, Ch 7)

Bo examines a future society that�s given up freedom in favor of safety. Sent to a prison, he survives by his own athletic ability and artificial intelligence program.

The Handmaid�s Tale by Margaret Atwood (Amazon.com)

In the Republic of Gilead, formerly the United States, far-right Schlafly/Falwell-type ideals have been carried to extremes in the monotheocratic government. The resulting society is a feminist's nightmare: women are strictly controlled, unable to have jobs or money and assigned to various classes: the chaste, childless Wives; the housekeeping Marthas; and the reproductive Handmaids, who turn their offspring over to the "morally fit" Wives. The tale is told by Offred (read: "of Fred"), a Handmaid who recalls the past and tells how the chilling society came to be.

1984 by George Orwell (Amazon.com)

Among the seminal texts of the 20th century, Nineteen Eighty-Four is a rare work that grows more haunting as its futuristic purgatory becomes more real. Published in 1949, the book offers political satirist George Orwell's nightmare vision of a totalitarian, bureaucratic world and one poor stiff's attempt to find individuality. The brilliance of the novel is Orwell's prescience of modern life--the ubiquity of television, the distortion of the language--and his ability to construct such a thorough version of hell. Required reading for students since it was published, it ranks among the most terrifying novels ever written.

Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess (Amazon.com)

Set in a dismal dystopia, it is the first-person account of a juvenile delinquent who undergoes state-sponsored psychological rehabilitation for his aberrant behavior. The novel satirizes extreme political systems that are based on opposing models of the perfectibility or incorrigibility of humanity. Written in a futuristic slang vocabulary invented by Burgess, in part by adaptation of Russian words, it was his most original and best-known work. Alex, the protagonist, has a passion for classical music and is a member of a vicious teenage gang that commits random acts of brutality. Captured and imprisoned, he is transformed through behavioral conditioning into a model citizen, but his taming also leaves him defenseless. He ultimately reverts to his former behavior.

Works Cited

Anderson, M.T. Feed. Somerville: Candlewick Press, 2003. Print.

Andrews, Michael and Gary Jules. �Mad World.� Donnie Darko. Everloving, Inc., 2002.

Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid�s Tale. New York: Random House Inc, 1998. Print.

Bartkowski. Heidi. �The Creation of Utopias and Dystopias.� Mary Warner Student Links. San Jose State University. Web. 23 November 2009. <http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/mary.warner/StudentLinks/2004_Fall/hbutopunit.htm>

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Random House, 1987. Print.

Bradbury, Ray. �There Will Come Soft Rains.� The Martian Chronicles. New York: Bantam Books, 1979. 166-172. Print.

Burgess, Anthony. Clockwork Orange. New York: Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc., 1995. Print.

Edwards, Jana. �The Giver Packet.� Ms. E�s Notes. Web. 30 November 2009

<http://www.janaedwards.com/giver.html>

Gattaca. Dir: Andrew Niccol. Columbia Pictures, 1997. Film.

Hautman, Peter. Rash. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2007. Print.

Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: HarperCollins, 2006. Print.

Lee, Tanith. Biting the Sun. New York: Random House, 1999. Print.

Lennon, John. �Imagine.� Imagine. Capitol Records, 2000. CD.

Lowry, Lois. The Giver. New York: Random House, 2002. Print.

Lowry, Lois. Gathering Blue. New York: Random House, 2002. Print.

Orwell, George. 1984. New York: Penguin Group, 1983. Print.

Prose, Francine. After. New York: HarperCollins, 2004. Print.

Rand, Ayn. Anthem. New York: Penguin Group, 1996. Print.

Silverstein, Shel. �Where the Sidewalk Ends.� Where the Sidewalk Ends. New York, HarperCollins, 1974. Print.

Stepford Wives. Dir: Frank Oz. Paramount Pictures and Dreamworks, SKG., 2004. Film.

�Utopias and Dystopias in YA Fiction.� Literature for Today�s Young Adults, Custom Edition. Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2008. 25. Print.

Vonnegut, Kurt. �Harrison Bergeron.� Welcome to the Monkey House. New York: The Dial Press, 2006. Print

Wordsworth, William. �The World Is Too Much With Us.� Bartleby.com. n.p. n.d. Web. 23 November 2009. <http://www.bartleby.com/145/ww317.html>

�Your Perfect World.� The Giver by Lois Lowry. Tallmania.com. Web. 28 November 2009. <http://www.tallmania.com/Giver.html>