From Heaven To Hell: Deconstruction Of Utopia By Dystopian Fictions

This thesis focuses on dystopian fiction in world literature. By analyzing two classical works named Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-four, the author tries to explore the situation of mankind today."Utopia"is a word representing all ideal societies. Contrary to utopian literature beautifying the future as a secular heaven, dystopian literature depicts the future by exaggerating the dark side of society to a worldly hell so as to satirize the reality. As an irony of the developing trend of mankind, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World reveals the irrational system in the utopia through the experiences of three layers of people and succeeds in its deconstruction by exposing the hypocrisy and dehumanization of the utopian civilization. Another important work of dystopian fiction is George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-four. The novel animadverts on oligarchy and reveals the totalitarian tyranny as well as its destructive force on human nature. Nineteen Eighty-four deconstructs the utopian belief.Nowadays, what is predicted in Nineteen Eighty-four has partially become irrefutable history, while Brave New World has foreseen the situation and tendency of man's materialism, hedonism, blind worship of science and technology together with his spiritual sterility. In his selfish pursuit of money and leisure, man has been materialized. Under the propaganda and dictatorship backed by hi-technology, man is facing the danger of losing his self and his unique thought. How should we treat ourselves and how can we render us a responsible explanation? Today, in the 21st century, every man is confronted with his choice for the future.