Main Difference with 1984 and BNW

 BNW and 1984 both have oppressive governments that control everything or try to control everything the citizens do. Parable seems to have the opposite issue. There is no order to life. Whatever power people have they misuse which is true in the other books as well but in this book it’s on a slightly smaller scale. The most similar power structure to 1984 and BNW that I can see is towns like Olivar that create a very strict hierarchical society. It’s interesting how different this book is. They’re basically opposites, the other two are strict built up societies whereas Parable everything is crumbling and yet they all fit under the same genre of book. Do you think the differences between these books means that they fit in different genres or maybe that the genre of dystopian is too broad?

Comments

  1. L. MoffittMay 14, 2021 at 7:17 AM

    Yes! Parable makes a great contrast to the earlier books, and I do wonder that they can be so different. BNW and 1984 were written shortly after the two World Wars, respectively, so maybe people's minds were on authoritarian regimes, whereas now they are on environmental disaster and the potential for breakdown? I don't know.

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  2. rakeMay 14, 2021 at 7:36 AM

    I think PotS highlights that our idea of normalcy is actually a very specific balance of law/order/control and individualism/freedom, and all three of the books you mentioned display an upset of that idea of normalcy.

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