Das utopias às distopias: o reflexo da idealização utópica em distopias literárias e o diálogo com o totalitarismo

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the possible transformations of utopian genre to incorporate the dystopian on it. As well as the similarities and differences of these two types of social representations once that utopias and dystopias bring fictionalized societies, with the initial difference of that the utopias imagine good places to live while dystopias are bad places. This work has as analysis corpus two works considered as utopian: The Republic (1ª ed. 380 a. C.) by Plato and The Utopia (1ª ed. 1516) by Thomas More and three considered dystopian: Brave New World (1ª ed. 1932) by Aldous Huxley, 1984 (1ª ed. 1949) by George Orwell and the trilogy of The Hunger Games (1ª ed. 2008-2010) by Suzanne Collins. Taking in consideration the societies systematically imagined in these five works, we will establish a dialogue with their socio-historical moment of production and how this can influence the settings as utopian or dystopian. Other socio-historical aspect that will be checked is the context of strong production of dystopian literature in the half of the twentieth century and in the beginning of the twenty-first century. However this time instead, focused on the youth audience. Possibilities of identification of this public with the dystopian production will also be raised. In addition to these aspects, will be explored the influence of the narrative focus on utopian and dystopian constructs. Having in dystopias representations of totalitarian societies as harmful, we will seek in the work The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt, identify how dystopian societies define themselves. References of this work go through Sociology, Philosophy and Comparative Literature.