Dystopian Reality in American Literature

 

Throughout American Literature II with Professor Beck, we have explored many different aspects of American literature. From the many different eras to the multitude of themes, characteristics, and ideas generated throughout literary history within the United States, we have attempted to comprehend this ever-evolving media. One of these many themes is that of Dystopia, which Alex Gendler explains in their YouTube video How to Recognize a Dystopia, is the reverse of Utopia, and represents the “not good place,” highlighting the underlying flaws that can be derived from taking societal trends to the extreme (2016, 0:53). These stories were created to be cautionary tales, warning of the risks inherent in attempting to mold humanity and the world into an ideal structure (2016, 5:01). In Miami Dade College’s article, Dystopias and Utopias: Home, they explain that a dystopian society consists of many different characteristics, from the use of propaganda to control the masses, the restriction and censorship of information, individual thought or communication, through a constant surveillance of the masses, or the conformation of the masses to “uniform expectations (2024).” They further explain that dystopias can represent the masses as dehumanized or with a “fear of the outside world,” or they can show them as worshipping specific concepts or persons of influence; however, they stress that a dystopian society is one in which it has the appearance of a utopian society (2024), or as Alex Gendler says a “paradise on Earth” (2016, 0:23).

Still image of Haymitch Abernathy from The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
directed by Francis Lawrence. Lionsgate, 2013.

I recently had the pleasure of reading a fantastic piece of dystopian American literature, Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins, and it exemplifies many of these dystopian characteristics. Those who have read the dystopian series The Hunger Games by Collins are doubtlessly familiar with the fictional country of Panem, an apparent haven on earth for future North American survivors, and with the character Haymitch Abernathy, who helped guide Peeta and Katniss to victory in the first novel. Though, this book takes place 24 years before the events in Katniss’s novels and it follows the trials and tribulations that Haymitch had to face during his youth and his own brush with the games and the Capital. The Capital and President Snow are the ruling force within Panem, and they maintain tight control of the masses through propaganda, censorship and fear. For example, we can examine the events that took place during the reaping in Sunrise on the Reaping. For those unfamiliar with the series, the reaping is a yearly televised event in which two children; however, in Haymitch’s year there were 4 children, are selected from each district to fight to the death on live tv as a punishment for an uprising that took place about 50 years before the events in this book.

The reaping itself is explored throughout Chapters One and Two, and this scene holds nearly every facet of literary dystopian characteristics; though, to refrain from spoiling the story for those who have not yet had the opportunity to explore it, I intend to highlight just a few of the ways in which this novel exemplifies dystopian literature. To begin, the district children of Panem are dehumanized as they are separated by gender and corralled like animals into pens with their families forced to watch as they are selected for death, which also highlights the sheer amount of fear the people of the districts feel and the control and power the Capital hold over them. However, one of the biggest dystopian themes within this scene, and the novel, is the control implemented through the use of propaganda. The games themselves are used as a tool of fear to control the masses; but during the reaping scene, the use of propaganda to control the people and the truth are front and center, as one of the male tributes, Woodbine, attempts to run after being selected. As he does, he is shot and killed, the cameras cease broadcasting and chaos erupts. It is during this chaos that Haymitch learns that the reaping isn’t truly live, and that it is delayed by 5 minutes to give the Capital time to mitigate any type of disorder that could arise without it being seen by the rest of the country. This manipulation of the truth continues as Haymitch is selected to replace Woodbine, through less than normal means, and the broadcast continues as if the death had never happened.

Highlighting the numerous characteristics of dystopian fiction in American Literature, Sunrise on the Reaping is an excellent example of how this genre persists in today’s literary world. As the masses of Panem are forced to conform to strict behavior under constant surveillance, as they are dehumanized and used for entertainment, or through the ways in which every aspect of their lives are controlled, such as the fact that they cannot hunt or gather their own food, and as the Capital attempts to convince them that they live within a perfect and ideal world, it is plain to see how Sunrise on the Reaping claims its place within Dystopian American Literature.

 

References:

Collins, Suzanne. Sunrise On the Reaping. First edition. Scholastic Press, 2025. Amazon Kindle.

Gendler, A. (2016, November 15). How to recognize a dystopia. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a6kbU88wu0

Miami Dade College. (2024, October 15). Dystopias & Utopias: Home. Home - Dystopias & Utopias - LibGuides at Miami Dade College Learning Resources. https://libraryguides.mdc.edu/topias

 

Artwork Cited:

Still image of Haymitch Abernathy from The Hunger Games: Catching Fire directed by Francis                        Lawrence. Lionsgate, 2013.

 

 

 

 

A Final Brief Note of Reflection

 

            I have greatly enjoyed the time I have spent within Professor Beck’s American Literature II class, and though we explored many authors and literary works that I was familiar with, we also explored many I had not previously had the pleasure of pursuing. As an avid reader and connoisseur of literature, there is no better pastime than curling up with a good book. While I enjoyed every work we explored throughout this class, I honestly believe that “To Build a Fire” by Jack London, that was presented in the 10^th edition of The Norton Anthology of American Literature 1865 – 1914, was my favorite (1088-1099). This is mostly because I have a deep love of Naturalist literary works, and due to my passion as a woman of science; however, it is also because of the story itself. The detached and almost scientific way the harsh realities of life are depicted within these works titillate my mind and beg for a deeper exploration. Though, in London’s “To Build a Fire,” the most captivating feature, to me, is the way in which he uses the husky to highlight the extent of nature’s indifference. The lack of connection between man and husky mirrors the lack of connection between the man and nature within the story, creating a masterpiece of naturalist literature.

 

References:

Levine, Robert S., et al. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Volume C: 1865-1914. W.W. Norton & Company, 2022.

Post Edited: May 5, 2025 - Image Added