There is a certain beauty and fascination within a place that has fallen into disrepair, which has been neglected and forgotten. It demonstrates the mercilessness of time and humanity. While a place that has always been natural is beautiful, a place where man has asserted himself over nature and been beaten down tastes of melancholy, places that once would have been familiar, full of memories and celebration, that represent history and humanity that has been lost. The billions of words found throughout literature classified as the dystopian genre certainly convey this distinct essence, describing the neglect and melancholy of a beaten down society, humanity that has suffered over time. The genre dystopian is dynamic and fluctuates in definition, but often follows a similar formula. The word ‘dystopia’ comes from the ancient Greek words δυσ, meaning bad, and τόπος, meaning place (Roberts). It takes place in the future from the time it was written and consists of three distinct variations of the genre that can be united through the poet Dylan Thomas’s plea upon humanity to, “…Not go gentle into that good night. Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light” (Thomas). The first can be described as that of physical, organized resistance against an oppressive authority, such as displayed in popular young adult fiction such as Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games, Veronica Roth’s Divergent, and James Dashner’s Maze Runner. The second portrays a more personal and individualized resistance as in George Orwell’s 1984, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, and Yevgeny Zamyatin’s We. The third follows a post-apocalyptic, man versus nature plot, such as shown in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, Stephen King’s The Stand, and television series The Walking Dead. In this essay, each variation will be referred to as Type 1, Type 2, and Type 3 respectively. Though dystopian literature is often characterized as brutal, dehumanizing, and violent, there is a significant appreciation of the genre in society, which prompts the question: What are the most significant psychological appeals to dystopian literature? The setting of dystopian fiction is what makes the genre so unique, and ultimately what contributes to its psychological draw the most through extreme character successes and the justification and alleviation of present anxieties through seeing the world in such a pessimistic lens.

Through studies conducted by The Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour at McMaster University, it is shown that humans are naturally drawn to words that have a negative connotation. The study states “The presence of abstract, negatively-valenced, and commonly-used words predicted higher story ratings” (Maslej et al.). Type 3 dystopian caters to this pessimistic worldview through descriptions of an obliterated society, focusing on the lack of civilization. The Road is an example of this worldview in which an unidentified disaster has destroyed civilization and altered the natural landscape. “Perhaps in the world’s destruction it would be possible at last to see how it was made. Oceans, mountains. The ponderous counterspectacle of things ceasing to be. The sweeping waste, hydroptic and coldly secular. The silence” (McCarthy 89). Type 2 subsequently describes the horrors of such an imperfect world, though it often has more to do with an oppressive, psychologically painful authority. In 1984, the world is described as “A world of fear and treachery and torment, a world of trampling and being trampled upon, a world which will grow not less but more merciless as it refines itself. Progress in our world will be progress toward more pain” (Orwell 336). The attributes described all carry meanings of negative concepts, and a story in which negative words were frequently used would be appealing to readers for that reason.

Further than simply appealing to readers due to the natural tendency to appreciate pessimism over optimism, dystopian literature has become increasingly popular among society’s youth. Type 1 dystopian specifically features many young protagonists, but aside from the characters, the setting of the plot plays a large role in the appeal. During their teenage years, adolescents experience significant changes. They begin to doubt authority, to question the values of society, and to feel enormous pressure as more responsibility falls upon them. These are the same types of problems that dystopian novels present. The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents journal states, “This uncertainty and questioning is part of the process through which teenagers develop their own set of values. Dystopian fiction features protagonists who are likewise questioning the underlying values of a flawed society and their identity within it—who they are going to be and how they are going to act. Every choice the characters make can carry enormous consequences, often to the point of significantly altering the world they’ve always known. Teenagers connect with these protagonists as they feel a similar weight on their shoulders” (Scholes and Ostenson). Adolescents are living in a world that is becoming increasingly more confusing as they transition from childhood to adulthood, and a dystopian society reflects that to the extreme and allows them to feel justified in their discomfort (Hemmingsen). However, teenagers are not the only people who experience this. Depending on a person’s stage of life and surroundings, the same phenomenon will affect them. For example, there was a significant increase in watching and reading content of the dystopian genre during the coronavirus pandemic. Susan Watkins, a professor of Women’s Writing at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Leeds Metropolitan University, UK, stated “The pandemic is probably the most dystopian experience people, and particularly young people, have been through. Think about all the direct ways the state infringed on our personal liberty. You can’t go outside. You can’t see your friends or family. You can only exercise once a day. The restrictions were so dystopian; the fears about disease were dystopian. I think that explains the interest in it, because people need to work out imaginatively what they’re experiencing. Which is the purpose of literature, as far as I’m concerned” (Watkins). Anxieties about our current problems can be somewhat alleviated through viewing them through a futuristic lens. As we consider looking at present problems from the future as we look at past problems from the present, our perspective may shift. In Johan Norger’s paper “False Nostalgia,” he explains, “We survived these problems, so in retrospect they seem smaller. Otherwise we wouldn’t be here. But we can never be certain we will be able to solve the problems we are facing today. That, however, has been the predicament of every generation. And that is why we always look back at a simpler time. We know the radio didn’t ruin the young, but we don’t know if the smartphone will. We know we survived smallpox and polio, but we don’t know about Ebola or the coronavirus. We know the planet didn’t blow up during the Cold War, but who can say for sure that it won’t happen this time around” (Norberg). In a context of dystopian literature, Norberg’s claims of perspective are supported by an article published through Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Donna L. Roberts PhD, a doctor of philosophy in psychology stated regarding Type 3 dystopian. “Another cognitive construct that leads to our fascination with these doomsday scenarios is to combat the feelings of powerlessness and mistrust of those with power. There’s nothing like all out devastation to level the proverbial playing field. Without the structure that has maintained the hierarchy of power, life becomes a romanticized adaptation of Darwin’s survival of the fittest and we become masters of our own fate, at least theoretically. There is also a surreal romanticizing of the post-apocalyptic world. Taking us back to the basics of human survival releases us from the complex entanglements and overbearing demands of the modern world,” (Roberts). Whether dystopian literature makes us feel better about a world we are heading towards or better about the problems we currently have, dystopian fiction inherently provides a sense of justification, familiarity, and perspective.

Evidence from a study conducted by Gregory Webster, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Florida, and Jessica T. Campbell, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Kinsey Institute presents the conclusion that people form parasocial, or one sided, relationships with characters in which they see themselves and their inherent personality traits (Hernández). This research complements a study published in the National Library of Medicine, which stated, “The highest levels of parasocial bonding were observed for those high in both anxiety and avoidance… Attachment orientation not only determines how people engage with favorite characters, but also with whom viewers tend to engage… Identifying with these types of characters allows for one to temporarily assume these traits, allowing avoidant individuals to feel more independent in order to self-enhance and self-soothe” (Rain and Mar). Adults and adolescents alike are prone to attach themselves and form parasocial bonds with characters who reflect their own natural tendencies. In such an extreme, fluid, chaotic setting, this is not hard to do, as the characters are often stripped down to their most human traits, traits that will be reflected in almost everyone. An example of this is the Hunger Games within the book The Hunger Games, in which adolescents are forced to fight to the death for entertainment. When the young female protagonist offers herself as tribute for the games, a choice that means almost certain death, in order to spare her younger sister, her raw emotions and true values come to the surface. Her action will be interpreted in many different ways. Feminists may see her as a strong female character and attach to her because of this. Likewise, narcissists may admire her bravery and confidence. People who care deeply for others will respect why she made this decision in the first place. Parasocial relationships with characters form in any genre, however, and it is the setting that makes these relationships so unique to dystopian literature. In a peer reviewed study done in the field of behavioral psychology, it was found that “Perceiving others to have achieved more highly exceptional success is associated with greater motivation to learn, compared to perceiving more normal successes” (Quinn et al. 23). Due to the conditions in which characters within dystopian societies are forced to live, most success they achieve could be perceived as exceptional. Simply winning a game is a normal success, but winning a game in which the world is watching and one is being hunted by fellow children, represented in The Hunger Games, is an exceptional success, and will inspire curiosity and motivation within a reader. Making a journey to the coast for a better life may be considered a success in today’s world, but a journey through a desolated, inhuman world in which a father must push himself so hard he dies for the sake of his son, as demonstrated in The Road, makes the arrival to the coast a much more exceptional success. Having frequent meetings with a woman whom one is attracted to could be a success, but in a world where they would be killed for their unsanctioned sexual activity and tortured to the betrayal of their core values, shown in 1984, this would be considered an exceptional success. Because of the extreme circumstances of the characters with which people attach themselves to, their successes naturally require more of their dedication and energy and inherently motivate readers to feel driven toward achievements in their own lives. This kind of novelty, however, is short lived, and does not last for very long without further stimulus exposure, which would motivate a reader to seek out more similar literature (Brooks et al.).

Dystopian literature, whether classified as Type 1, 2, or 3, is widely appreciated. Although the presence of negative prospects is a factor that contributes to this appeal, it is a more reasonable explanation that people are drawn to the diminishing of anxiety, feeling of justification, and familiarity that comes from the setting, and the confidence and inspiration that stems from the relationships that readers build with characters as a result of their extreme circumstances within the dystopian setting. A limitation of this theory would relate to younger adolescents who are still living within a realm of innocence and expect a happy ending will be unable to relate to the imperfections of the characters, as they perceive themselves to be inherently good, undermining the effects of familiarity and relatability and causing these parasocial relationships to be potentially hostile. Despite this, most adolescents to adults, especially in situations of confusion, will lead to feelings of validation and lessening anxiety, and additionally the ability of readers to identify with characters, form parasocial relationships, and therefore vicariously experience motivation and success through their exceptional successes (Watkins; Hernández; Rain and Mar; Quinn et al. 23). The most significant appeals have to do with the extreme setting and the raw humanity of the characters within, which will likely lead to continuation of the increase in popularity of dystopian literature.

Works Cited

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