Is the world ending or is it just changing? Or are we?
The main idea dystopias bring to mind is the question of what could be and who will be there to see that and maybe rebel against those in power. Roberta Trites argues that in a dystopian—and in YA fiction— the theme of power and powerless are what triggers the “exploration of the construction of identity” for the protagonist and other characters as they “negotiation, resistance and accept…various social and political issues (Kennon).” This is what brings up that fear of what can happen to our world and where we could be, in sense, the essence of a dystopian. Though some may never want to explore the worlds YA dystopias explore, it is still a good idea to bring into people’s lives and maybe in the classroom as well. These stories get its audience to think about the issues that are currently happening in their culture…their world. These get their imaginations stimulating what can happen and maybe how it can be presented, as we see here. It also gets children reading, involved in something, and talking to others about what they read. This quote from Reeve puts what I am talking about here in a better perspective and goes further to what I talk about:
“Stuck in those awkward years between childhood and full adulthood, bridling against the authority of parents and high school teachers, they can draw a bleak satisfaction from imagining adult society reduced to smoking rubble. They are also, perhaps, becoming aware of the deep injustices in the wider world, which dystopian fiction often reflects…But by visiting such woes on teenagers like themselves, these stories may make it easier for young readers to think about them, and to imagine what it might be like to live in a police state or a shantytown… Or maybe it's just cool to mentally recast yourself as a rebel against some future tyranny. There's a strong element of wish fulfillment in dystopian fiction (Reeve).”