Dystopian fiction sees our present conditions as the roots that could bear the fruit of dystopian trends and practices in the future.

Dystopian fiction encourages us to guard our freedom

Dystopia is a popular theme among young adult fiction these days. This is because it teaches the value of courage and love for freedom among teenagers. The story of a young person overcoming the odds by overthrowing a corrupt regime or defying the status quo has a certain appeal to the young and idealistic. The main character succeeds in liberating himself and others from an oppressive system in some creative way.

Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games series is a popular dystopian young adult fiction where its protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, epitomizes the ideal strong young hero. She’s like a futuristic Joan of Arc who defies the system by instigating others to revolt.

Dystopian themes in young adult fiction are an appropriate fit with the intellectual and emotional changes that occur during adolescence. In the adolescent stage, young people are more capable of grasping more critical concepts about society and it encourages them to exercise their critical faculties. This exercise leads them to develop an interest in social issues and makes them feel more involved.

As adolescents move into adulthood, they begin to pay more attention to the structures and systems that lie ahead, taking with them the valuable lesson that their freedom must be guarded and that they must exercise it with responsibility.

Dystopian fiction gives us hope

Dystopian fiction appeals to our anxieties. It amplifies our impression that the world is getting worse. Sometimes we prefer to shut ourselves in isolation rather than hear more news about global warming, political despots, terrorism, and inflation. But isn’t that the purpose of writing fiction? Dystopian literature pokes us in the eye and gives us a scenario that tells us a bad action can yield worse results.

Dystopian fiction serves as a warning of what the future would look like if we don’t get our act together. Orwell’s 1984 continues to be a staple of discussion among literary circles when it comes to the futuristic depiction of society. Some of his prophecies in this dystopian classic are materializing as time continues to march on. Still, it offers us the optimism that it’s not yet too late, and that the future, while it’s not written, can still be altered for the better.

Whatever the backdrop of the dystopia—a tyrannical government, an overpopulated society—we come to understand that society has lost regard for justice and humanity. We become appalled by the actions of those who have the means to exercise power and authority as they wield it to advance their own agendas. The bleak and naked possibilities that dystopian fiction offers behooves us to go the other way—the right way. When we see a character doing all that he can to triumph over insurmountable social ills, we renew our confidence in our role as human beings. The world may change, but human beings will remain the same.

This is why dystopian fiction is popular.