Dystopic Novels: Post- Reading

1. Write a blog post that answers the following question: Which "Utopian" world should be more feared; one in which government's control is so oppressive that people have no choice for themselves, or one in which people are so falsely happy that they do NOT realize the oppression of their government's control? Be sure to explain your answer with specific examples.

In class we have been presented with novels that address how dangerous the world can be when we allow others view of perfection cloud our own. Medias such as Anthem, "Harrison Bergernon", Antz, and 1984 are all perfect examples of dystopic medias. Three out of these four medias showcase the dystopic theme through an oppressive government that allows no choice for their citizens. But in one novel (Harrison Bergernon) we are shown how people are falsely happy and don't even realize their government's oppression. So which "utopia" is worst?

In my opinion I think that false happiness is much worse than a government's oppression impacting the people's choice. Although the three medias I mentioned earlier have a society where the people aren't happy they at least have a window of opportunity to realize how broken their system is and potentially change it. The people in Anthem  and Antz are told that they are happy but the protagonists disagree and reassure the society's doubts. But in "Harrison Bergernon" the people are so handicapped and brainwashed that they actually believe that they are truly happy. Ultimately, in a world with false happiness there is no possibility of change. When Harrison revolted it meant nothing to the people because they were to stupid to understand what was happening or think through and process what he had done, and why he did it. If the people truly believe that there is nothing wrong with their way of life then there is nothing to fix or correct. This differs in the other novel where the people deep down know that not everything is right. This gives them the ability to find and address fault. 

Another thing that is better for the other three medias is that even though the governments brainwash the people, if they aren't happy then the governments have a problem. The people's unhappiness keeps them in check at least to some degree. In 1984 the unhappiness of the people is definitely evident as we can see when Julia tells Winston that she has had previous relationships with others. This shows the need for individual expression among the society. Something the government hates and doesn't allow. But the unhappiness at least makes everyone long for more, but when the society actually thinks that they are happy, then what else is there to want? 

Both forms of dystopic societies are bad and dangerous, but false happiness is much worse. This means that the government can do whatever they want with out consequences, but at least the unhappiness of the other societies keeps the government in check. Ultimately, when a government is oppressive there is at least a little hope of freedom and individualism. But when when there is false happiness there is no hope. And that is the most dangerous thing that any society could embrace.