DystopiaThis world ain’t perfect…

What is a dystopia?

• Dystopia is the opposite of utopia which means “a perfect society.”

• A dystopia would be a futuristic imperfect society that is highly controlled. They often make a criticism about a current trend, societal norm, or political system through an exaggerated scenario.

• Where have we seen a dystopian story before? – Short stories like “The Lottery”– Contemporary novels like The Hunger Games trilogy

• They are ruled by a totalitarian government• Propaganda is used to control the citizens of

society.• Information, independent thought, and freedom

are restricted. • A figurehead or concept is worshipped by the

citizens of the society. • Citizens are perceived to be under constant

surveillance. • Citizens have a fear of the outside world.

Characteristics of a Dystopian Society

Characteristics of a Dystopian Society

• Citizens live in a dehumanized state. • The natural world is banished and distrusted. • Citizens conform to uniform expectations. • Individuality and dissent is bad. • The society is an illusion of a perfect utopian

world. In other words, citizens don’t realize it’s not perfect.

Dystopian Protagonists

• Often feel trapped and are struggling to escape their society.

• Question the existing social and political systems. • Believe or feel that something is terribly wrong

with the society in which they live. • Helps the audience recognize the negative aspects

of the dystopian world through their perspective.

So what Dystopian story are we reading???

Things to know before reading…

• The characters in Divergent live in a futuristic society that is starting to have some problems.

• The protagonists are named Beatrice and Three, and they are teenagers that must make some serious choices regarding their future.

• In the society of Divergent, every citizen belongs to one of five groups. The groups are referred to as factions.

factionnoun. a group or clique within a larger group,

party, government or organization

Abnegationnoun. 1. the act of denying oneself of rights,

conveniences, etc. 2. the act of giving something up

Eruditeadj. learned or scholarly; characterized by great

knowledge

Amitynoun. 1. friendship 2. peaceful harmony; mutual

understanding and a peaceful relationship, especially between nations 3. cordiality

Dauntlessadj. fearless; courageously resolute, especially in

the face of danger or difficulty; not discouraged

Candornoun. 1. the state or quality of being frank, open

and sincere in speech or expression; candidness 2. freedom from bias; fairness and impartiality

• divergentnoun. deviating from what is expected; different

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