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
introspective and start analysing their own selves. In this sense, they embark on a long quest for identity in which questions like Who am I? What is the meaning of my life? What can I believe? Where do I belong? take control of their reality (9). According to Erikson’s theory of psychological development (10), adolescence coincides with the period of identity vs. role diffusions. This means that young adults start to consider questions about their existence, including self-identity, meaning in life and the changing role of authority. Dystopian literature takes the quest for identity as one of its main characteristics, and thus, it captures young adults’ attention. In this type of literature there is always a hero who is immersed in society’s rules, and experiences a sudden change of mind. Through this situation, heroes start questioning everything that was previously natural for them. In Fahrenheit 451, Montag Guy is one of the most accomplished firemen that burn forbidden books. He does not ask himself why his job is carried out until he meets Clarisse McClellan. This girl’s constant questioning of reality disturbs him at first, but thanks to her, he gradually starts to analyse his environment. He decides to read some of the books he is supposed to burn to know why they are forbidden, and in the meantime his world changes drastically, just as children’s world does when they enter adolescence. The questions Who am I? What is the meaning of my life? What can I believe? Where do I belong? take control of Montag’s life. He does not know why he is doing his work. He finds that all of his former friends are now his enemies, and he does not know whom he can trust in. Even his wife is not what he expected her to be. As his friends, she thinks the government's laws about book burning are unquestionable. Montag experiences an identity crisis in which he does not know who he can believe in and where he belongs to. Teenagers go through the same thoughts and doubts when they feel they do not fit in either the children world or the adult one. But young adults do not only wonder about themselves and their role in the world, they also start questioning the world itself. They grow in consciousness, and they demand for truth-telling. According to the author of the young adult dystopian novel Ship Breaker, Paolo Bacigalupi, young adults crave “stories of broken futures because they themselves are uneasily aware that their word is falling apart" (11). Expanding on the topic, he states “teens want to read something that isn’t a lie". Scott Westerfeld, another famous young adult novelist, points out that teenagers feel frustrated and want to “break down the system” because “they haven’t been granted many adult powers or respect” although they are forced to “tangle with almost adult responsibilities" (12). The author of the Shiver Trilogy, Maggie Stiefvater adds to what has been stated the idea that “black and white choices in dark young adult novels are incredibly satisfying for readers” (13). She argues that teenagers have strong convictions and want to defend them, but finding out what they should fight against confuses them. Having these words by young adult fiction authors adds to dystopian literature’s relation with young adults. Dystopias are set in futuristic imagined societies, but they are not common fiction. They always represent a criticism to society’s current problematic social and political practices. Thus, dystopian literature comforts young adults by giving them what they want: truth-telling, a "break down with system", and clear stands. As an example, we can observe that Fahrenheit 451 presents a realistic fiction which deals with much criticism. In other words, despite the fact that the story is fictional, it makes use of existing problems to make some kind of criticism to society. It takes censorship and governmental control to an extreme and it criticises people’s conformity and their submission to the media. Firemen are hired by the state to burnt books that are considered inappropriate. People accept this without asking themselves the reasons for this situation. They feel comfortable with society as it is, and they are bombarded by multimedia entertainment to keep on that track. Through this criticism, it is clearly separated what is right from what is wrong. Teenagers can analyse the story and develop clear positions.
Apart from expressing criticism, dystopian literature is also characterised by a great use of violence. This is one of the most important features that triggered the debate about this type of literature in The New York Times in 2010. It is often said that violence produces more violence. Many people assume that the dark side of dystopian literature makes it inappropriate for young adults. However, this is strongly denied by the findings of the psychologist and writer Bruno Bettelheim and the ideas of the author and comic book writer Gerard Jones. Bettelheim promoted the therapeutic benefits children experience through fairy tales that contain violence in The Uses of Enhancement (14). According to him, fairy tales lead to a reduction of aggressive behaviour due to a cleaning of aggressive desires. His work is essential to change society’s views about the use of violence in literature, but it does not deal either with young adults or other genre than fairy tales. It is Jones who approaches this issue. He points out that both children and adolescents can benefit from exposure to violence in video games, books, comics, and other formats. He states that “exposure (to violence) is good (…) and, at times, a necessary component of the healthy development” (15). He affirms that with the help of violence young adults can overcome problems and become healthier and less violent individuals. It can be stated now that teenagers benefit from the exposure to violence, and dystopian literature provides enough input to them. As it was already stated, dystopias make considerable use of violence. Fahrenheit 451 serves once again as an example to illustrate this situation. During one of Guy Montag’s nights at work, he and other firemen are commanded to burn the books of an old woman. The woman refuses to leave her house and her books. While the firemen collect the books, she suddenly appears in front of them and burns herself alive. To see a woman doing that is a very violent image, but it serves as a metaphor of love to conviction. Young adults can be benefited and even feel identified by this disruptive behavior. They can reflect about their problems and find better solutions for them. Thus, their need for violence would be satisfied. On the whole, as dark as dystopian literature is, its relation with young adults is more than clear. The fact that Fahrenheit 451 has been tagged as a classic has not affected its usefulness for the purpose of this analysis. Montag’s quest for identity, his break-up with the system, and the violence he has witnessed are common features of dystopian literature. These characteristics have been used to provide evidence of the genre’s relation with young adults. Hence dystopia’s boom can be justified. However what is at stake here is more important. Following Bettelheim and Jones’s proposals, the debate about dystopian literature’s darkness becomes obsolete, and instead of asking if dystopias are too dark for teens, we can aim for more ambitious and useful thoughts. Dystopian literature’s power over young adults is unquestionable, and ultimately what it is used for is a better trigger to spark the discussion. References: 1. The New York Times - Room for Debate: The Dark Side of Young Adult Fiction. http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2010/12/26/the-dark-side-of-young-adult-fiction (Accessed October 28th, 2014) 2. Bradbury, R. (2008). Fahrenheit 451. London: Harper Voyager. 3. Best Books for Young Adults: Fahrenheit 451. http://www.bestbooksforyoungadults.com/fahrenheit-451 (Accessed November 2nd, 2014)
4. Herz, S. K. & Gallo, D. R. (1996). What is young adult literature anyway? Can it be any good if students like it? From Hinton to Hamlet: Building bridges between young adult literature and classics (pp. 7-12). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press 5. NCTE/IRA – Dystopias: Definitions and Characteristics. http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson926/DefinitionCharacteristics.pdf (Accessed October 28th, 2014) 6. De Vos, G. (2003). Storytelling for Young Adults: A Guide to Tales for Teens. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited. 7. Piaget, J. and Inhelder, B. (1959). The Growth of Logical Thinking: From Childhood to Adolescence. New York: Basic books. 8. Education Portal: Piaget’s Formal Operational Stage. http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/piagets-formal-operational-stage-definition-examplesquiz.html#lesson (Accessed November 2nd, 2014) 9. Counseling Outfitters: Counseling Adolescent Existential Issues. http://www.counselingoutfitters.com/vistas/vistas13/Article_27.pdf (Accessed November 2nd, 2014) 10. Erikson, E. (1950). Childhood and Society. New York: Norton. 11. The New York Times - Room for Debate - The Dark Side of Young Adult Fiction: Craving Truthtelling. http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2010/12/26/the-dark-side-of-young-adult-fiction/craving-truthtelling (Accessed October 28th, 2014) 12. The New York Times - Room for Debate - The Dark Side of Young Adult Fiction: Breaking Down the “System” http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2010/12/26/the-dark-side-of-young-adult-fiction/breakingdown-the-system (Accessed October 28th, 2014) 13. The New York Times - Room for Debate - The Dark Side of Young Adult Fiction: Pure Escapism for Young Adult Readers http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2010/12/26/the-dark-side-of-young-adult-fiction/pureescapism-for-young-adult-readers (Accessed October 28th, 2014) 14. Bettelheim, B. (1976). The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales. New York: Random House. 15. Jones, G. (2002). Killing Monsters: Why Children Need Fantasy, Super Heroes, and MakeBelieve Violence. New York: Basic Books.