Individual nicolasx2

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I.S.F.D. N°30 Profesorado de Inglés Language and Written Expression IV

Vincenti Cortez, Gustavo Nicolas Assignment #4, final draft Prof. Blas Bigatti - 2014

Rebellious literature for apocalyptic teens: an analysis of dystopian literature and its relation with young adults Since 2008 when the first book of The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins was released, dystopian literature has been under debate. Tons of young adult dystopian books have been published during the last decade and achieved a great success. Matched, Delirium, The Dead and the Gone, and the Divergent Trilogy books are just some of the most popular titles to mention. The impact of all of these books led the New York Times to open a Room for Debate (1) in which different famous book authors, such as Scott Westerfeld, discussed the topic of dystopian literature, its dark complexion, and its relation with young adults. The debate is still open and this paper will expand on it by analysing the genre through one of its main classics: Fahrenheit 451 (2). The novel was first published in 1953, and as it has just been mentioned, it has been tagged as a classic. Despite this fact, it has been widely recommended for young adults (3), and it has accomplished a great success among them. The novel is set in sometime in the 24th century where books have been outlawed and firemen must find and burn them. From being one of the most outstanding and loyal firemen to be one of the most rebellious and dangerous fugitives from an authoritarian government, Guy Montag, the main character, presents a dystopian world through his eyes and experiences. Choosing such a classic as the object of analysis was not a matter of chance, it was done on purpose to avoid confusions. Most contemporary dystopian works are closely related to young adult literature (4), and hence their relation to young adults could be attributed to that. Oppositely, classics do not share the same characteristic, and therefore Fahrenheit 451 serves to satisfy the aim of the paper. By taking this novel as a starting point, this paper explores the relation between the dystopian literature and young adults. The National Council of Teachers of English and the International Reading Association (NCTE/IRA) define dystopia as a "futuristic, imagined universe in which oppressive societal control and the illusion of a perfect society are maintained through corporate, bureaucratic, technological, moral, or totalitarian control" (5). They also add that “dystopias, through an exaggerated worst-case scenario, make a criticism about a current trend, societal norm, or political system." The most common themes included in dystopias are politics, economics, class conflict, religion, identity, nature, excessive control, ethics, technology and violence. The main characters of this genre can be either adolescents or adults, but they always experience abrupt changes. At the beginning they agree with their community's rules, but little by little they realise that it has many flaws, and they start questioning their role in that corrupt society. Adolescence is defined as a period of transition that ranges approximately between the ages of thirteen and eighteen. People who transit this stage of life are called young adults, adolescents or teenagers. Although they "no longer consider themselves children," they are "not yet considered adults by the adult world" (6). This period is also characterised by the acquisition of the ability to think abstractly. This cognitive behaviour, often called formal operational thought, was pointed out by Inhelder and Piaget (7). At the beginning of this stage, the individual starts to “demonstrate the ability to critically analyse situations taking into consideration reasoning and argument” (8). Young adults start questioning the reality that was largely established for them by others. They also become more


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