There are obvious characteristics that each dystopian work shares on some level. To begin with, some manner of propaganda is used to control the inhabitants of the given society. Information, independent thought, and most importantly, an individual’s personal freedom is severely restricted- the population must conform to uniform expectations. Individuality and dissent are wicked concepts. There is usually a figurehead or a comparable concept that is worshipped by the populace. Citizens are perceived, whether they truly are or not, to be under constant surveillance by the authorities. There is also a strong sense of nationalism and citizens have a fear of the outside world and those that are outside their bubble. The society is generally stratified socially, economically, and politically causing a majority of inhabitants to live in a dehumanized state. For almost everyone except the protagonist, the society is a perfect utopian world. The melting away of this illusion is the journey a dystopian novel usually takes the reader. I can see these echoes of similarity between We and the many other great works of dystopian science-fiction such as Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451 and, for this discussion,
Orwell‘s novel 1984.
Both stories depict a post-apocalyptic world that has come into existence after a nuclear war has realigned the all of the previous geographic, political and social boundaries of the “old world”. Both stories are told by a government bureaucrat of sorts, living in a peculiar, yet glorious, futuristic society.
Both describe an insipid world where the desire for consistency, social order, and reverence had crushed almost any reminisce of true humanity, individual freedom, or emotion. Consequently, the fellow citizens of these societies have become warped, brainwashed caricatures of human beings and their interactions resemble that of a