paradigm shift in utopian fiction :: essays research papers

Utopian fiction or the imaginary projection of a perfect society in which all need and want have been removed and conflict is eliminated, has a long history. Sir Thomas More’s Utopia is a focal point in the tradition of the genre, and More’s contemplation of a society removed from daily struggle to a place of ease, has had a powerful and lasting effect on subsequent visions of the future. Dystopian fiction is the natural correlative of this literary mode and presents visions of imaginary worlds in which the worst of all possible social conditions pertains and where all ethical, aesthetic and metaphysical judgments are consequently problematised. A strict definition of utopia would serve no useful purpose; as Nietzsche says, ‘only that which has no history can be defined.’ A utopia always maintains a close and specific relationship with the sociopolitical environment from which it stems. Utopia is thus a game played between the two poles of reality and fiction.( George Orwell, A reader’s guide to essential criticism, edited by Daniel Lea,2001) The term â€Å"utopia† first appeared in the 1516 work Utopia by Sir Thomas More , literally meaning â€Å" nowhere†, it represents the perfect society. Thus, the idea is inherently ironic in that can never be achieved. Utopian Literature of the 20th century stands out / marks out through the relinquishment of the perspective which governed the utopia of past centuries: a positive utopia, confident in institutions and progress- an internal law of utopian genre. In the first years of the 20th century, utopia ceases describing the advantages of progress in the service of community, eliminating individual. In the first half of the 20th century, utopian history is dominated by H.G.Wells’ s work.. His creation marks the transition from one period to another. Social and political themes are still present ,but this time are accompanied by scientific speculation. Characteristic to the 20th century is the next mutation or shifting : political and social regimes are no longer a concern or an interest, but rather the human nature, altered gradually, eugeny or controlled evolution; utopia abolishes history and past, in general, being placed in a parallel present, but in the 20th century, it is planned in the future. Anti-utopia or dystopia continues the tradition of utopia from the point of view of invention and of technique, but it differs regarding intention. Instead of welfare and prosperity, we have despair and misery; instead of flourishing, the end of humanity.