dystopian essay titles

100 Dystopia Essay Topics & Ideas

🏆 best dystopian titles, 📌 simple & easy dystopian title ideas, 👍 good dystopia essay titles, ❓ dystopian discussion questions.

• 20th Century Dystopian Fiction and Today’s Society The author considers the fiction works of that era as an attempt to convey the destructive nature of violence and everything related to injustice.”The tone of dystopia is of despair and the feel it gives […]
• Saunders’s “The Red Bow”: The Dystopian Reality of Totalitarianism This essay will consider the relevance of the topic introduced by Saunders and provide actual historical examples that support his hypothesis.”The Red Bow” starts with a group of men going out for a dog hunt […] We will write a custom essay specifically for you by our professional experts 808 writers online Learn More
• Gender Issues in Dystopian Film “Children of Men” The significance of this source is validated by its contribution to the argument of the relevance of the dystopian genre in cinematography for unfolding social issues.
• The Planet of the Apes – A Dystopian Film Via the cinematic experience the entire infrastructure of people’s culture and the state of the world at large can be seen and experienced.
• Dystopias “Brave New World” by Huxley and “1984” by Orwell The modern world is full of complications and the moments when it seems like a dystopia the darkest version of the future. In the novel, promiscuity is encouraged, and sex is a form of entertainment.
• The Concept and History of Dystopian Fiction Thus, the goal of this paper is to study the phenomenon of DF based on the examples of Orwell’s and Huxley’s fiction and determine the presence of the themes that overlap with the contemporary social, […]
• Genre: Science Fiction Dystopia The western genre is the most common movie genre used to highlight the dominance and development of both American and European cultures and economies to the rest of the world.
• “WALL-E”: Dystopian Narrative In addition, genre conventions, along with the rules of science fiction, promote the engagement of the movie with the issues of programming and consumption.
• Dystopia in “Gattaca” and “Never Let Me Go” Movies When people think about the future, in the majority of cases, they believe that science and technology should help to change the world. One of the goals of a utopia is to remove the overwhelming […]
• The Brave New World Dystopia by Aldous Huxley The primary assertion in the novel is that the cost of this stability is the loss of individuality, creativity, and genuine human connection.
• Genre Assessment: Dystopian Genre Review Based on the Film “Children of Men” The current proposal implies the creation of a review that explores the key features of dystopia as a cinema genre and based on a prominent example of such a film.
• Unhappiness of Society in Orwell’s 1984 Dystopia His character is a strong individual who will not transgress the ideals of his party and is fully committed to him.
• Welcome to Your Nightmares: The Dystopian Vision of the World It is quite peculiar that both Orwell and Huxley chose the same tool to express the tension and the absurdity of the situation that the people of the future were trapped in, creating the abridged […]
• Dystopias in “Animal Farm” and “The Handmaid’s Tale” In this regard, the aim of literary dystopias is to caution and warn society against the blind following of ideologies that lead to the breakdown of social order.
• Dystopias by Kurt Vonnegut and Robert Silverberg The feature of the story The Pain Peddlers is in the fact that the situation in it reminds bureaucratic procedures in reality.
• Utopia Versus Dystopia: Discussion However, the practical realization of Communist concepts in Russia, had resulted in millions of citizens loosing their lives and in those people, who managed to survive, during the course of Communist “social purges”, becoming the […]
• ‘Se7en’ by David Fincher: A Film Steeped in Dystopia A professional model is found dead in her bed with her nose cut off, a container of sleeping pills in one hand, and a phone in the other; her death was the result of a […]
• The Dystopian Societies of “1984” and Brave New World The three features which are discussed in this respect are the division of the two societies into social strata, the use of state power and control over citizens, and the loss of people’s individualities.
• Dystopian Fiction for Young Readers First of all, it must be noted that the article of the current analysis is devoted to the impact of dystopian fiction on young people.
• Dystopian Future in the “Blade Runner” Film The foremost aspect of how the urban landscape is being represented in Blade Runner is that the director made a deliberate point in accentuating the perceptual unfriendliness of the environment, in the foreground of which […]
• Dystopia Idea in the Movies and Novels If considering the rebels in the novel and the movies the “vermin” instead of the “prey,” the idea of the stories will change slightly.
• A Dystopian State: Astutopia The education system reinforces the essence of the dungeons, and the aim is to instill fear within the children so they can adhere to laid down teachings and doctrines.
• Popularity of Utopian/Dystopian Young Adult Literature The box is entrusted in the Mayor’s care and a tradition of passing it from one Mayor to the next is established.
• Dystopian Social Contract The Hunger Games series 1 is a science-fiction drama that delineates the situation of enslavement among the citizens of Panem to the governing class that reside in a city called Capitol.
• Subversive Literature/ Dystopia in science fiction novels In the endeavor to place a case in support of this line of argument, the paper considers the key traits of dystopian literature then showing how Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep possesses them in […]
• Utopia and Dystopia in The Future City
• An Analysis of Feminist Dystopia in The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
• Our Society is Becoming More Like a Dystopia Than a Democracy
• Integrating Research for Water Management: Synergy or Dystopia
• American Dystopia; American Spaces and Allen Ginsberg’s ‘Howl’
• The Brave New World’s Dystopia And Assimilation
• Gattaca and Fahrenheit 451 – Technology and Dystopia
• Dystopia: Science Fiction, Exaggeration, Or Imminent Reality
• Thoughts on Feminism and Dystopia in The Handmaid’s Tale
• Censorship in Dystopia in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451
• The Dystopia in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale
• Dystopia Caused by the Massive Boom of Technology in The Hunger Games
• The Theme of Feminist Dystopia in The Handmaid’s Tale, a Novel by Margaret Atwood
• Somewhere Between Utopia and Dystopia: Choosing From Incomparable Prospects
• The Causes of the Island’s Changes from Utopia to Dystopia in the Novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding
• Cowardly Current Dystopia In Aldous Huxley’s Novel “Brave New World”
• Searching for the Meaning of Life: Beckett’s Dystopia in “Endgame”
• Comments on: Totalitarian Government: Discovering Dystopia in Matched
• How Does Orwell Create a Dystopia in 1984
• Utopia, Dystopia or Anti-Utopia? by Choloe Houston
• Humanity And Dystopia In Anthem, By Ayn Rand
• The Contrast Between Utopia and Dystopia in the Novels 1984 and The Dispossessed
• The Role Of A Good City Thinking: Utopia, Dystopia And Heterotopia
• Concept of Dystopia in The Handmaid’s Tale, a Novel by Canadian Poet Margaret Atwood
• Similarities Between Dystopia and Harrison Bergeron
• The Portrayal of Dystopia in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World
• The Beauty Of Dystopia By Aldous Huxley
• Utopia and Dystopia in Harrison Bergeron and The Lottery
• Utopia and Dystopia in the Futuristic Novel, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
• Aldous Huxley’s Dystopia As Relating To Society Today
• Utopia and Dystopia in The Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin
• The Handmaid’s Tale: Dissecting the Feminist Dystopia
• Self-Repression and Dystopia: The Bumpy Road to Freedom in “Never Let Me Go”
• Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 Modern Dystopia Warnings
• Utopia and Dystopia in Animal Farm by George Orwell
• The Art of War: The Ancient Chinese Classic Adapted for Dystopia Circa 2032
• The Evolution of Dystopia Fiction in Some Works of Literature
• The Horror Of Dystopia Revealed By Neuromancer
• Similarities Between Utopia and Dystopia
• Contrastive Utopias: The Role of Nature and Technology in the Concepts of Utopia and Dystopia
• The Dystopia of William Gibson’s Neuromancer
• Analyzing Technology and Politics in The Blade Runner Dystopia by Judith Kerman
• The Concept of Dystopia in Harrison Bergeron, The Giver, and Uglies
• Utopia or Dystopia: The Future of Technology
• Religious Dystopia in The Handmaid’s Tale
• Dystopia As A Literary Genre In A Handmaid’s Tale
• Identity: Fighting Dystopia’s Cookie-Cutter Molds
• Dystopia in the Novels of Ray Bradbury and George Orwell
• Free Handmaid’s Tale Essays: The Handmaid’s Dystopia
• What Are Dystopian Novels?
• Which Writer Creates the Most Disturbing Dystopia Future Vision?
• Why Are Dystopian Novels So Popular?
• What Is an Example of a Dystopia?
• What’s a Dystopia Society?
• What Are the Five Characteristics of Dystopia?
• What Are the Four Types of Dystopia?
• What Are the Nine Traits of Dystopia?
• What Is Another Word for Dystopia?
• What Is Utopia vs. Dystopia?
• What’s the Opposite of Dystopia?
• What Is a Dystopia Person?
• How Do You Recognize a Dystopia?
• Why Is It Called Dystopia?
• How Do You Survive a Dystopia?
• What Happens to an Individual in a Dystopia Society?
• What Type of Government Does a Dystopia Society Have?
• What Is a Feminist Dystopia?
• Who Invented Dystopia?
• Is a Dystopia Society Possible?
• Why Dystopia Fiction Often Paints a Frightening Picture of the Future?
• Why Dystopia Literature Often Presents the Individual’s Quest for Meaning in Hostile and Oppressive Worlds?
• What Are the Issues With Human Progress in Utopia and Dystopia Fiction?
• How Does Individualism Manifest Within Utopia and Dystopia Novels?
• What Are Dystopia Societies and Progression Towards Equality?
• How Do Dystopia Novels Convey Humanity and Individualism?
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• Writing Prompts

56 Dystopian Writing Prompts

Escape to a dark, disheartened world with these 56 dystopian writing prompts .

Mass poverty, cruelty and fear cover a dystopian world. From the shelter-like homes to the dark, broken streets. Life is hard. When writing a story set in a dystopian world you need to describe the harsh reality of this world in great detail. Make the reader fear this world. Think about the leaders who have control. This control might be significant, where harsh rules are made to keep the peace. Alternatively, there could be a rebellion, where leaders have no control and civilians are running havoc. See our master list of world-building questions to help develop a believable dystopian world.

A dystopian world is a world in shatters and ruins. How did it become this way? What rules and regimes do civilians follow, if any? What type of crime is most prominent in this world? These questions will help you create a realistic and powerful dystopian world for your readers.

Looking for some name ideas for your new world? Check out this world name generator . You might also find this list of Earth day writing prompts and this list of over 110 sci-fi writing prompts .

Dystopian writing prompts

To help you create a powerful story about a society in crisis, here are our 56 dystopian writing prompts:

• In the year 2,121, sea levels have risen at an extreme rate. 98% of the Earth is now underwater. The remaining 2% is made of small islands scattered across the Earth. With resources at a scarcity, the islands must work together if they are to survive.
• A virus has wiped out 95% of humanity in the future. The only survivors are machines and a group of secret underground warriors who rebelled against technology for centuries.
• In the future, a virus has caused some humans to mutate into ravenous troll-like beasts. While the remaining humans have to learn to survive in the world with these beasts.
• The life expectancy of people has dropped drastically in the future. At the age of 18, humans start to deteriorate and slowly pass away. The ruler is an arrogant 14-year-old kid.
• Scientists have combined robotics with human tissue to increase the life expectancy of humans. Apart from the vital organs, such as lungs and heart, as well as parts of the brain, humans are mostly robotic. Eventually, humans start losing control of their bodies to machines. 
• From the moment a human is born to the day they die, humans are connected to the internet. Everything they need to know about life is on a screen to which they are connected. One day, a technology outbreak completely wipes the internet. Humans are switched off. What happens next?
• Scientists have found the secret to endless happiness. They create a new pill that needs to be taken once a day to remain happy. But is this new pill all as it seems?
• To promote equality in the future, humans have to dress the same and talk the same. Any inappropriate English and slang words are banned. All around the world, everyone must speak English. If these rules are broken, the rule breaker will be sentenced to prison or even death.
• With the brand new Cloner 3000, cloning is just a button press away. Clone your cat, your dog and even yourself if you dare. What are the potential dangers of cloning yourself too many times? 
• Law and order is destroyed in the future. People are free to do whatever they want without any consequences. Until a group of vigilante heroes decide to recreate the law.
• There are two types of people, the rich and the poor. The rich have an extreme amount of money and power. And the poor are living on the streets and undergrounds, struggling to get by. A poor orphan girl is adopted by a rich family and discovers a deadly secret about how the rich become rich. 
• The excessive use of technology and social media has meant that 95% of the world suffers from extreme social phobia. The slightest human interaction results in mass panic attacks. One brave human decides to create a group where people can meet face to face regularly to help them overcome this fear.
• Crime has become such a huge issue in the future, that every home in the world has become a prison cell. Prison guards patrol the streets and provide prisoners with the essentials. One guard feeling guilty that his family is locked behind bars, tries freeing them, and soon things get out of control. 
• Oxygen is the new currency in the future. Instead of money people buy, earn and sell little canisters of oxygen. Continue this dystopian story…
• Desperate to create the perfect world, the government provides every person with a free virtual reality headset. Once worn, the person is transported to a tranquil utopia. Meanwhile, the government secretly has other plans in the real world. 
• A virus has turned every tree, plant and flower on earth into flesh-eating monsters. The only way to survive is to kill all plant life on Earth, but how will the planet survive?
• A new mobile app in the future tells people when to eat, sleep, drink and essentially live. Without the app, humans would be lost, confused and clueless. A group of cyber hackers, hack this app to gain control of all humans. 
• Being the main cause of social disorders and suicides, the internet is banned in the year 2,098. With the ban of the internet, people slowly resort to the old ways of living before the internet ever existed. Until a group of individuals find a way to bring back the net. 
• Bored of old-style video gaming, humans resort to sticking chips inside prisoners. Once a prisoner is chipped, they can be controlled like a video game character. 
• Desperate to be beautiful and young, rich people resort to stealing the actual skin and facial features of ordinary people. These extreme surgeries soon start to have a weird effect on humans.
• The Earth has been destroyed by a huge asteroid. A few humans that survived by living underground finally emerge to start a new life on Earth. 
• With the Earth’s population at an all-time high, it’s time for every human to prove their worth. After the age of 16, humans must take a test every year. If they fail the test, they are killed immediately. One young adult scores incredibly high on the test making them the ‘chosen one’. 
• Due to the lack of resources on Earth, all luxury items have been banned. People survive on basic rations of bread, rice and beans each month. No vanity items, such as jewellery or make-up are allowed. One day a group of civilians discover that luxury items do exist, but only the leaders can use them. 
• For the sake of human evolution, scientists have turned the small town of Whitefish into a huge science experiment. No one is allowed to enter or leave the city unless they are told so. Every now and then, a new stimulus is introduced, so that scientists can record the human reactions for a research paper. 
• Write a story about the aftermath of World War 5. Who was at war and who lost it? What devastation did the war create on Earth?
• In the far future, robots are responsible for creating human life. They carefully program each human when they are born to do certain tasks in life. One human realizes that they don’t need to follow the orders programmed in them and fights for freedom.
• After a huge asteroid hits Earth, the last two survivors have to find a way to recreate life. It’s a modern, dystopian Adam and Eve story.
• World leaders ban religion and talk of God in the future. A man discovers a secret church up in the mountains where people secretly believe in God. 
• Due to animal cruelty, people are no longer allowed to have animals as pets in the future. All pets live out in the wild without any human masters. One homeless teenager finds a hurt dog in the wild and takes care of it. Eventually, authorities find out about this forbidden friendship.
• A bored scientist dedicates his whole life to recreating popular monsters like vampires, werewolves and Frankenstein in real life. He finally masters the procedure and offers it to rich people at a price.
• Tired of the rat race and busy city-living, people move to the country to live a peaceful and calm life. Eventually, cities like New York City become a playground for criminals and runaways.
• When the human population on land reaches an all-time high. One man goes on a quest to create the ultimate underwater city for humans. Continue this story.
• In the year 2,121, 100% of the population becomes vegan. Eating any sort of animal product is considered cannibalism. Farm animals realize that humans will no longer eat them, so decide to plan their revenge.
• Cyber-pets become a huge thing in the future. Technology advances so much that people would rather buy robotic pets inside of real ones. This results in more stray animals on the streets. With no human love, the pets turn into savages attacking both humans and the cyber-pets.
• Humans have left Earth for a better life on Mars. One day, thousands of years later, a space astronaut from Mars lands on Earth to find…
• In the future, the majority of jobs have been taken over by robots. The only way to earn money is to take part in a series of games and challenges created by the rich for their entertainment.
• Everyone on Earth has experienced some sort of mutation in the future. This mutation has made humans powerful and troll-like. As the only pure human (with no mutations), your character’s daughter is kidnapped by a group of mutants who want to use her blood to make humans human-like again. 
• Imagine you are the last human survivor on Earth. What would you do alone on Earth?
• Describe a future where all humans are either deaf or blind.
• You and your family live underground away from all the technology. Write a series of diary entries about life underground.
• Sugar is banned completely in the future. Even fruits that taste sugary are no longer available. You are the leader of a secret underground group that creates your own homemade sugar. However since humans haven’t tasted sugar in a long time, the results become very dangerous.
• Since Earth has been destroyed, every family lives in their own spaceship homes floating around the galaxy. Every now and then you need to protect your home from space invaders, pirates and of course black holes.
• Write a story about one boy, his dog and a group of robots living on Earth as the only survivors. 
• Lying dormant deep at the core of the Earth, dragons finally awake. After a series of powerful earthquakes, they burst through the ground one by one. 
• With surveillance cameras watching everyone. A new TV show called, ‘Did They Really Do That’ airs across the nation showing the most embarrassing moments of civilians living in your area. You then go on a mission to destroy all surveillance and destroy the TV show.
• One man’s dream to swim with the dolphins is taken to extremes, as he genetically modifies a group of humans, so that they can swim underwater. Unknowingly these humans turn into monstrous mermaid-like creatures.
• Huge floating islands are created all over Earth to cope with the increase in the human population. These floating islands become new countries on the map with their own rules and way of life. 
• In the year 3,021 world peace is finally achieved. Everyone lives in perfect harmony. But how was this world peace achieved? One curious civilian makes a shocking discovery.
• Write a news article about the latest riot happening in your town in the year 2,899. Why did this riot happen? Who was involved? Where did it happen? What exactly happened before and during the riot?
• You are a lab assistant for a company that creates genetic make-up for humans. The make-up keeps humans looking young for their entire lifespan of 180 years. One day you discover something shocking…
• Cats and dogs have evolved into human-shaped beings. They now rule Earth and treat humans like pets. 
• Due to natural extinction and the threat of disease, all animals are gone in the future. You and your family have created a secret underground zoo, which holds the last remaining animals on Earth.
• Write a story from the perspective of a servant robot who wants to be the mayor of the city. 
• Scientists have learned to extract emotions from humans and contain them in jars. At a price, you can remove negative emotions like anger, sadness and fear. You can also sell and buy positive emotions like happiness. To obtain a new emotion, you simply inhale the emotion directly from the jar. In a special clinic, over 10,000 jars of emotions are contained, until one day…
• The Earth is a massive video game for advanced aliens living on a distant planet. They randomly spawn monsters whenever they feel like, and can control any human they like. One day the aliens are so bored that they create a big scary boss monster for a town of people to fight.
• In an effort to create a better world, all humans must take a personality test. If your personality does not meet the criteria set by the government, then you are sent to work camps. People at the work camps live a horrible life of abuse, torture and endless hard work for 18 hours a day. Imagine that your main character fails the personality test, and is sent to one of these camps.

For more gritty ideas, check out our guide on what is dieselpunk plus story ideas .

What do you think of these dystopian writing prompts? Which one is your favourite? Let us know in the comments below.

Marty the wizard is the master of Imagine Forest. When he's not reading a ton of books or writing some of his own tales, he loves to be surrounded by the magical creatures that live in Imagine Forest. While living in his tree house he has devoted his time to helping children around the world with their writing skills and creativity.

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104 Dystopia Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

Inside This Article

Dystopian literature has become increasingly popular in recent years, with many authors exploring dark and disturbing visions of the future. If you're looking for inspiration for your next dystopia essay, look no further! Here are 104 dystopia essay topic ideas and examples to get you started:

• Discuss the role of technology in creating and perpetuating dystopian societies, using examples from works such as George Orwell's "1984" and Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World."
• Analyze the theme of government control in dystopian literature, comparing and contrasting different forms of authoritarian rule in works like Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451" and Suzanne Collins's "The Hunger Games."
• Explore the concept of surveillance in dystopian societies, examining how constant monitoring and lack of privacy impact individuals' freedoms and behavior.
• Investigate the role of propaganda in shaping public opinion and controlling the masses in dystopian worlds, drawing examples from novels like Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" and Anthony Burgess's "A Clockwork Orange."
• Examine the portrayal of gender roles in dystopian literature, looking at how societies enforce strict gender norms and expectations on their citizens.
• Evaluate the impact of environmental degradation on dystopian societies, considering how pollution, climate change, and resource scarcity contribute to the downfall of civilizations.
• Compare and contrast different types of dystopian societies, such as totalitarian regimes, post-apocalyptic wastelands, and high-tech surveillance states.
• Discuss the consequences of genetic engineering and biotechnology in dystopian futures, exploring themes of genetic manipulation, bioethics, and the commodification of life.
• Analyze the role of violence and oppression in maintaining social order in dystopian worlds, examining how fear, coercion, and punishment are used to control dissent.
• Explore the theme of rebellion and resistance in dystopian literature, looking at how individuals and groups challenge oppressive regimes and fight for freedom.
• Investigate the portrayal of class inequality and social stratification in dystopian societies, considering how economic disparities lead to exploitation and injustice.
• Examine the role of education and indoctrination in shaping citizens' beliefs and values in dystopian worlds, looking at how propaganda, censorship, and mind control are used to manipulate the masses.
• Discuss the impact of war and conflict on dystopian societies, exploring how militarism, imperialism, and nationalism contribute to the downfall of civilizations.
• Analyze the role of memory and history in dystopian literature, considering how governments manipulate the past to control the present and future.
• Explore the theme of isolation and loneliness in dystopian societies, looking at how individuals struggle to connect with others in dehumanizing and alienating environments.
• Examine the portrayal of technology and artificial intelligence in dystopian futures, considering how advanced technologies like robots, drones, and virtual reality shape human interactions and behaviors.
• Compare and contrast different utopian and dystopian visions of the future, examining how idealistic dreams of progress and harmony can turn into nightmares of oppression and despair.
• Discuss the role of language and communication in dystopian societies, looking at how propaganda, newspeak, and doublethink are used to manipulate and control citizens' thoughts and beliefs.
• Analyze the theme of memory and identity in dystopian literature, considering how individuals struggle to maintain their sense of self and humanity in dehumanizing and oppressive environments.
• Explore the portrayal of religion and spirituality in dystopian societies, looking at how faith, belief, and ritual shape individuals' responses to suffering and despair.
• Examine the impact of consumerism and materialism on dystopian worlds, considering how capitalist values of greed, consumption, and commodification lead to social decay and moral corruption.
• Discuss the theme of love and relationships in dystopian literature, exploring how individuals navigate intimacy, trust, and connection in dehumanizing and repressive societies.
• Analyze the role of art and creativity in dystopian futures, looking at how artists, writers, and musicians challenge authority, inspire rebellion, and preserve humanity in the face of oppression.
• Compare and contrast different forms of resistance and revolution in dystopian societies, examining how individuals and groups use nonviolent protest, civil disobedience, and armed struggle to challenge oppressive regimes.
• Explore the theme of memory and trauma in dystopian literature, considering how individuals cope with loss, grief, and suffering in dehumanizing and violent environments.
• Examine the portrayal of family and community in dystopian societies, looking at how relationships, bonds, and loyalties are tested and transformed by social upheaval and political repression.
• Discuss the impact of globalization and neoliberalism on dystopian worlds, considering how economic deregulation, corporate power, and cultural homogenization lead to social disintegration and environmental degradation.
• Analyze the role of race and ethnicity in dystopian futures

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Heavenly bodies, write a story imagining 'what if' one historic invention had never happened. how would our world be different now, set your story in a world where time travel has been perfected, and people can use it to hop between alternate timelines — but at a cost., set your story in a society where everyone is constantly aware of unwanted surveillance., set your story in an unfiltered world, where people are always honest about how they feel., write a story that starts with, "the clock ticked past 61.".

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• Write about the end of the world… of Atlantis.

A mobile app tells you the amount of time that you have left to live. One morning, this time on everyone's phones syncs to the same number.

The last ragtag group of humans on earth meets the last ragtag group of zombies on earth..

• Write about an apocalypse triggered by technology. What happened?
• Write a story about two enemies who must band together to survive the aftermath of the end of the world.

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You are a clone designed to mimic your human's every movement and habit so that you can seamlessly take over after the apocalypse starts, but there's just one problem: your human is the weirdest human being ever.

It's one hour before the end of the world. what do you do with that time.

• Write a story about a group of zombie friends who go adventuring together after the apocalypse.

No one left on Earth knows what the color blue looks like… until one day, the great fog parts and the sky appears for the first time in a millennia.

In the form of diary entries, write a story from the perspective of the last remaining person in the world., in the end, it wasn't humankind that destroyed the world. it was (fill in the blank)., set your story in a town that’s teetering on the edge of something dark, literally or metaphorically., your character, by chance or habit, peers through a telescope. they see something unusual — what is it, set your story in a silent house by the sea., set your story in a town disconnected from the rest of the world., win $250 in our short story competition 🏆.

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The best dystopian writing prompts

We're living through strange times — but they could always get stranger. Dystopian literature allows us to project ourselves into the distant (or not too distant) future, and imagine what we might find. Perhaps a post-apocalyptic landscape ravaged by war, a nightmarish government who are in absolute control of its citizens, or a human race that has merged with technology. The possibilities are endless, and we're here to provide some more inspiration.

To get you started, here are our top ten dystopian writing prompts:

• Write a story about a character who is certain the world is going to end today.
• In the end, it wasn't humankind that destroyed the world. It was (fill in the blank).
• You are a clone designed to mimic your human's every movement and habit so that you can seamlessly take over after the apocalypse starts, but there's just one problem: your human is the weirdest human being ever.
• A mobile app tells you the amount of time that you have left to live. One morning, this time on everyone's phones syncs to the same number.
• No one left on Earth knows what the color blue looks like… until one day, the great fog parts, and the sky appears for the first time in millennia.

If you're looking for some more help writing your dystopian story, check out this free resource:

• The Ultimate Worldbuilding Guide (free resource) — To write a dystopian story, you need to understand the world you're creating, inside and out. What kind of resources are available? How has society changed? Is there crime, or poverty, or has the world left its issues behind — or at least the government claims it has? Our worldbuilding template will ask the questions you need to find this information.

Want more help learning how to write a dystopian short story? Check out How to Write a Short Story That Gets Published — a free, ten-day course guiding you through the process of short story writing by Laura Mae Isaacman, a full-time editor who runs a book editing company in Brooklyn.

Ready to start writing? Check out Reedsy’s weekly short story contest , for the chance of winning $250 , plus potential publication in our literary magazine, Prompted ! You can also check out our list of writing contests or our directory of literary magazines for more opportunities to submit your story.

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Dystopia Essay Titles

• Utopia and Dystopia in the City of Tomorrow
• An Analysis of Feminist Dystopia in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale
• Our Society Is Evolving to Be More Like A Dystopia Than A Democracy
• Integrating Water Management Research: Synergy or Dystopia?
• American Dystopia, American Spaces, and Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl.”
• The Dystopia and Assimilation of 1984’s Brave New World
• Technology and Utopia in Gattaca and Fahrenheit 451
• Dystopia: Science Fiction, Exaggeration, or Near Future Reality
• Some Reflections on Feminism and Utopianism in the Handmaid’s Tale
• Censorship in the Dystopian Novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
• The Dystopia in the Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
• The Hunger Games Dystopia Results from A Massive Technological Boom.
• The Theme of Feminist Dystopia in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale
• Somewhere between Utopia and Dystopia: Selecting from Unparalleled Opportunities
• The Causes of the Island’s Transformation from Utopia to Dystopia in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies
• The Current Cowardly Dystopia in Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World.”
• Searching for the Meaning of Life: The Dystopia of “Endgame” by Samuel Beckett
• Remarks on Totalitarian Government: Finding Dystopia in Matched
• How Does Orwell Construct A Dystopian Society in 1984?
• Utopia, Dystopia, or Anti-Utopia?
• Humanity and Dystopia in Ayn Rand’s Anthem
• The Contrast between Utopia and Dystopia in 1984 and the Dispossessed
• The Function of a Good City: Utopia, Dystopia, and Heterotopia

Essay Topics on Dystopia

• The Idea of Dystopia in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale
• Similarities between the Novels by Harrison Bergeron and Dystopia
• The Portrayal of Dystopia in Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
• Aldous Huxley’s the Beauty of the Utopia
• Utopia and Dystopia in the Works of Harrison Bergeron and the Lottery
• Utopia and Dystopia in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World , A Futuristic Novel
• Aldous Huxley’s Dystopia About Modern Society
• Utopia and Dystopia in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and Ursula Le Guin’s The Dispossessed
• The Handmaid’s Tale : An Analysis of Feminist Dystopia
• Self-Repression and Dystopia in “Never Let Me Go”: The Uneven Path to Freedom
• Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 Modern Dystopia Warnings
• Utopia and Dystopia in George Orwell’s Animal Farm
• The Art of War , A Dystopian Adaptation of the Ancient Chinese Classic, About 2032
• The Development of Dystopian Fiction in Selected Literary Works
• The Horror of Dystopia Revealed in Neuromancer
• Comparable Features of Utopia and Dystopia
• The Role of Nature and Technology in the Concepts of Utopia and Dystopia in Contrastive Utopias
• The Dystopia of Neuromancer by William Gibson
• Examining “Technology and Politics in the Blade Runner Dystopia” by Judith Kerman.
• The Dystopia Concept in Harrison Bergeron, the Giver, and Uglies
• Utopia or Dystopia: Technology’s Future
• Religious Dystopia in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale
• The Literary Genre of Dystopia in The Handmaid’s Tale
• Identity: Challenging Dystopia’s Templates
• Dystopia in Ray Bradbury and George Orwell’s Novels
• The Handmaid’s Tale

Dystopia Discussion Questions

• What Constitutes A Dystopian Novel?
• Who Produces the Most Unsettling Dystopian Future Vision?
• Why Are Dystopian Novels So Well-Liked?
• What Is an Illustration of a Dystopia?
• What Exactly Is A Dystopian Society?
• What Are the Five Attributes of a Dystopia?
• Which Four Types of Dystopia Exist?
• What Are the Nine Characteristics of a Dystopia?
• What Are Some Alternative Words for Dystopia?
• What Are Utopia and Dystopia?
• What Is the Antithesis of Dystopia?
• What Is A Dystopia Individual?
• How Do You Recognize A Dystopia?
• Why Is It Known as Dystopia?
• How Does One Survive in A Dystopia?
• What Happens to A Person in A Dystopian Society?
• What Type of Government Exists in A Dystopian Society?
• What Exactly Is A Feminist Utopia?
• Who Created the Dystopian Novel?
• Is A Dystopian Society Conceivable?
• Why Does Dystopian Fiction Frequently Depict A Frightening Future?
• Why Does Dystopian Literature Frequently Depict the Search for Meaning in Hostile and Oppressive Worlds?
• What Problems Does Human Progress Pose in Utopian and Dystopian Fiction?
• How Does Individualism Manifest Itself in Utopian and Dystopian Literature?
• What Are Dystopian Societies and the Advancement of Equality?
• How Does Dystopian Literature Portray Humanity and Individualism?

Research Topics on Domestic Violence

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100 dystopian writing prompts

November 23, 2023 by Richard Leave a Comment

Imagine chilling futures where emotions are suppressed, memories are hacked, nature is walled-off, and totalitarian regimes control everything from relationships to the weather. Welcome to our 100 dystopian writing prompts. 

Let your creativity run wild envisaging sinister agencies, social manipulation, banned contraband, restricted freedoms, underground resistance, and daring escapes.

Buckle up for a thrilling ride into menacing speculative worlds where you’ll encounter thought police, memory black markets, mandated cryogenic freezing, sinister surveillance, climate totalitarians, and other dystopian threats.

In this comprehensive prompt collection, you’ll find 100 disturbing, tantalizing scenarios captured through cliffhanger “write about…” cues guaranteed to spark new realms of suspense, conflict and tension.

From emotion-suppressing drugs to memory-recording devices gone wrong, mandated matchmaking by genetic compatibility to expiring at a certain age, these prompts zoom in on rebellious individuals fighting corrupt power structures for a second chance at passion, self-determination and a future they define.

Let these dystopian sparks ignite stories of defiant resistance, dangerous flaw-exposing exposés, tense psychological operations, off-the-grid escapes into the wild, and other bold tactics to undermine oppression. Can truth and justice prevail? That’s for you to decide…

Now, enter these speculative dystopian worlds and let your imagination run wild! Where will these 100 dystopian writing prompts take you?

• A device is invented that allows the government to control people’s thoughts and actions. Write about someone trying to escape this fate.
• Strict laws are passed limiting how many children families can have. Tell the story of a family faced with an impossible decision.
• A catastrophic event wipes out most of humanity. Write about a small group of survivors banding together.
• All books and writings from history are burned. Write about an effort to preserve or recreate knowledge.
• A virus spreads causing infertility. Follow individuals desperate to have children in this dire world.
• The population is segregated into zones based on genetic engineering marks. Write from the perspective of someone yearning for the outside world.
• Water becomes extremely scarce. Write about the lengths one teen goes to in order to save their community.
• A company develops AI androids used for manual labor. Tell the story of an android developing forbidden aspirations for freedom.
• Citizens’ use of language is restricted and simplified. Write about a group secretly communicating in metaphors and code.
• Memories and dreams are recorded as digital data. Write about a hacker who accesses people’s intimate memories illegally.
• The government mandates that certain emotions must be suppressed. Write from the perspective of someone struggling with this.
• Time travel is invented but strictly forbidden. Write about someone risking it all to change past atrocities.
• The population is herded into city centers while the wildlands are off limits. Write from the view of someone escaping to experience natural life.
• A virus spreads that removes facial features. Write about the fear and identity issues that arise in afflicted society.
• The government replaces school with endless VR propaganda simulators. Write about an underground effort to preserve free thinking.
• A strict rating system quantifies each citizen’s worth. Write about someone striving to boost their rating or hide their true selves.
• The population is forced to take pills that alter perceptions of reality. Write about someone slowly realizing the deception.
• Strict beauty standards are set by genetic modification. Write about someone pursuing dangerous underground procedures for a boost in status.
• The elderly are exiled once past working age. Write about someone hiding an elderly relative.
• A curfew is set banning unauthorized night activity. Write about a group of youths planning secret late night events.
• Population growth is restricted through mandated cryogenic freezing at certain ages. Write about someone fighting the system or going on the run as their freeze date approaches.
• A pandemic requires protective gear covering the body and face, removing unique identifiers. Write about someone desperate to see a loved one’s uncovered face before they are frozen.
• The government tracks every move of citizens through mandatory chips. Write about a man who tries to live off the grid, undetected.
• A tiered citizenship system is based on serving in civil or military duties for years at a time. Write from perspective of a low-tier citizen dreaming of elevation in status.
• Failure to take your mandated medications results in banishment to lawless outlands. Write about someone hiding mental clarity without chemicals.
• The natural landscape outside congested urban centers is off limits behind walled boundaries. Write from the perspective of someone who escapes to experience freedom in nature.
• A company owns the patent to a synthesized formula needed for human health and jacks up the prices, causing suffering. Write about activists trying to recreate it.
• The government controls the weather and all climate conditions. Write about a group that wages weather terrorism demanding natural variability.
• Corporations run sovereign city-states. Write about a skilled worker trying to break their never-ending contract.
• A virus makes most animals extinct. Write about underground efforts to save remaining species.
• The government mandates matchmaking based on genetic compatibility. Write from view of someone struggling when they fall for the “wrong” match.
• The ability to reproduce has become allocated to only certain designees. Write about a black market for illegal conceptions.
• A pandemic requires everyone to live in isolated pods. Write about someone fighting sensory deprivation to stay sane.
• Lifespans are significantly cut short at a certain age through mandated termination procedures. Write from view of someone approaching their expiry trying to fight it.
• Write about the invention and consequences of a device that can record and play back memories.
• Only ultra high-IQ individuals are allowed in leadership roles. Write about identity struggles for a character judged unintelligent by mandated measurements.
• Write about teams competing in a post-apocalyptic city for scarce resources needed to survive decaying conditions.
• Write from the perspective of a hacker who works to take down an authoritarian technocracy from the inside.
• Write about someone forced to become an “information specialist” manipulating news and data feeds to serve ulterior motives.
• Write about a pandemic leading to development of advanced robotic caregiver technology that goes awry.
• Write about a protest against emotion-suppressing drugs led predominantly by teenagers seeking freedom and passion.
• Write about a survivor banding groups together to restore culture in a controlled dystopia that has erased past artifacts and identity.
• Write about black market dealers who smuggle banned physical books to those yearning for lost knowledge and history.
• Write about a student who discovers long-suppressed writings revealing troubling truths about their society’s history.
• Write a conversation between an elder and a young person who yearns to experience fundamental rights and choices stripped from society, like childbearing.
• Write about a small group that escapes into the wilderness and attempts to build an equitable utopia outside dystopian constraints.
• Write about someone fighting the system through graffiti symbolizing hope and metaphorical messaging to incite revolution.
• Write a debate between a rebel faction leader and authoritarian regime loyalist on freedoms vs order.
• Write a prison narrative about inmates alternating virtual reality experiences to mitigate their sentences through psychological manipulation.
• Write a tale of genius inventor who creates wondrous technology in secret that could undermine authoritarian control or elevate freedom if revealed.
• Strict sleep quotas are enforced via brain implants that monitor REM cycles to maximize productivity. Write from the perspective of someone suffering from sleep deprivation who secretly changes their schedule.
• In order to improve worker compliance, the government has developed a chemical to make citizens enjoy menial labor tasks. Write about a janitor who loves their job a disturbing amount.
• A powerful caste system has formed among humans after rampant genetic experimentation. Write from the perspective of an oppressed “inferior” caste dreaming of a better life.
• Most animals have gone extinct except for those pets approved by the Environmental Ministry. Illegal pet ownership is severely punished, but a thriving black market exists.
• In a bid to reduce crime, the government now requires parents to screen embryos for a variety of physical and psychological illnesses. However, many families now feel pressured to produce the “perfect child”.
• Due to food shortages, restaurants and grocery stores have been outlawed. All meals are now supplied by the Nutritional Distribution Bureau’s ready-made, cost-effective food products. However, a speakeasy dedicated to actual cooking has opened.
• In an effort to increase efficiency and national unity, a universal language with strictly monitored vocabulary and grammar standards is imposed. Those who fail language tests are penalized by social restrictions.
• The Life Extension Agency provides age rejuvenation treatments, but primarily to the social and financial elite. The poor struggle with shortened life expectancies, leading some to join radical insurgent groups.
• An innovative new Direct Neural Interface allows people’s brains to connect directly to a vast online network. However, hacking into someone’s mind is now disturbingly easy.
• In order to prepare youth for the harsh, dangerous streets, local Fight Clubs are organized to systematically toughen up teens and channel aggression effectively.
• Due to rampant unemployment, the government now drafts citizens into mandatory civil or military service positions for 10-15 years. Failure to accept an assignment results in imprisonment.
• In a bid to improve public safety, petite auditory assistants called “Shoulder Angels” are issued to all citizens to provide helpful guidance. However, their advice is not always ethical, wise or in one’s best interest.
• In order to improve citizen health and longevity, the ingestion of all non-synthetic foods and beverages is highly restricted. However an underground movement of “Whole Food Rebels” persists.
• Due to widespread infertility, prospective parents are only allowed children via cloning, therefore insuring a continuous labor force. However, a generation of identical offspring creates disturbing identity issues.
• In order to eliminate homelessness and unemployment, all citizens must work as general labor at massive collective Farms that supply the nation with food and textile materials. The division of labor is demanding but fair.
• Rigid rules dictate what colors, textures and styles of clothes that citizens may wear depending on their age, profession and social status. Fashion diversity is forbidden, with black market clothing trends continuously emerging.
• Due to rampant hacking, personal data devices have been outlawed and removed. However an illegal group of elite hackers known as “The Archives” still uncovers and leaks confidential information.
• Write about a future in which a volcanic eruption blots out the sun for years, killing crops and plunging society into chaos, violence and despair.
• Write about an agency that pushes invasive brain implants that allow video recording of memories and forced data sharing against people’s will.
• Write about a future where dreams can be bought and sold on a black market operated through tapping into people’s minds as they sleep to steal visions.
• Write about a divided territory where selected wealthy elite live safely in utopian cities while the remaining majority survive dystopian wastelands of pollution and scarcity.
• Write about those battling a law requiring registration with Social Harmony Agency that tracks emotions and punishes discord deemed damaging to psychological unity.
• Write about resisters fighting against authoritarian rules forbidding casual relationships, friendships or non-approved personal connections in order to boost productivity.
• Write about an uprising against an enforced caste system that assigns professions, living quarters, resources access and more based on DNA-based hierarchies.
• Write about rebels secretly trying to instill history, art and free thinking in younger generations raised in a neutered, whitewashed and overly structured world.
• Write about someone from an agency assigned to manipulate records to maintain historical propaganda narratives confronting their buried conscience.
• Write about teachers secretly providing banned materials, intellectual freedom and emotional nurturing despite rigid restrictions on permitted lessons and development.
• Write about twin siblings torn apart by diverging citizenship tiers granted to each one, leaving the other in oppressive conditions they try escaping.
• Write about time travelers tasked with altering past mistakes and unintentionally fracturing reality through over-corrections of history.
• Write about nature rebels trying to preserve plant life needed for clandestine botanical experiments to undo genetic disasters humans have caused through manipulation.
• Write about librarians archiving confiscated artifacts, art and documents on the black market struggling to preserve cultural history for future generations.
• Write about a hacker leaking scandalous secrets of upper-crust elite, revealing their criminal hypocrisy and oppression behind friendly public facade.
• Write about investigators tracing early warning signs of current totalitarian injustice back many generations to disturbing past historical events.
• Write about rebels secretly planning targeted infrastructure sabotage or disruptive hacks of controlling surveillance systems to enable societal chaos that disrupts tyranny.
• Write about scientists furtively trying to revive extinct species in a controlled environment before authorities crush their unauthorized genetic efforts.
• Write about youth experiencing forbidden cultural artifacts like non-digitized photographs, physical vinyl records or ancient paper books for the first time, feeling awakened.
• Write about a team planning a high stakes escape mission to lead refugees from border detention camps to safe international territory.
• Write about hackers digitally falsifying citizen records to manipulate assignment of soul-crushing undesirable labor mandates.
• Write about activists utilizing hidden shortwave radio signals, coded language newspaper ads and other old-fashioned techniques to secretly coordinate resistance.
• Write about rebel scientists planning risky psychological experiments challenging theories that current authoritarian rule is an inevitable consequence of innate human society dynamics.
• Write about smugglers obtaining prohibited goods like sugar, caffeine or alcohol from foreign black markets to cater to restricted domestic population demands.
• Write about resisters launching independent radio broadcasts challenging state-sanctioned news propaganda to circulate suppressed truths.
• Write about rebel journalists using old-fashioned typewriters, printers and paper materials to publish and distribute banned insider exposés anonymously.
• Write about a team capturing footage of dystopia oppression via hidden shoulder cameras to make viral videos awakening outside world to atrocities.
• Write about citizens banding together under pretense of harmless community sport team as disguise to enable secret seditious coordination.
• Write about defectors and infiltrators leaking confidential information regarding government-sponsored experiments trying to control or manipulate citizens’ minds.
• Write about a duo discovering shocking classified files revealing orchestrated crisis events used as pretext to justify implementing incremental totalitarian measures.
• Write about activists utilizing public wall art, performance protests, symbolic clothing and defiant slang phrases to express seditious messages under the radar.
• Write about rebel families harboring unauthorized pregnancies in concealed rooms or underground spaces, despite harsh penalties if newborns are discovered.
• Write about defiant hackers digitally attacking key infrastructure in Vendetta-like psychological operations to expose regime corruption, undermine authority and awaken masses.

I hope you enjoyed our 100 dystopian writing prompts, and I hope they inspire you to write something great. If you write something you want to share, please leave it in the comments. Also, please remember we have many other writing prompts on our site you might find helpful.

Related posts:

• 1000 Writing Prompts
• 10 Even More Horrifying Horror Story Prompts
• 50 historical fiction writing prompts
• 150 Romance Writing Prompts
• 100 Thriller Writing Prompts

About Richard

Richard Everywriter (pen name) has worked for literary magazines and literary websites for the last 25 years. He holds degrees in Writing, Journalism, Technology and Education. Richard has headed many writing workshops and courses, and he has taught writing and literature for the last 20 years.  

In writing and publishing he has worked with independent, small, medium and large publishers for years connecting publishers to authors. He has also worked as a journalist and editor in both magazine, newspaper and trade publications as well as in the medical publishing industry.   Follow him on Twitter, and check out our Submissions page .

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Home Essay Samples Literature

Essay Samples on Dystopia

Feminism and totalitarism in 'the handmaid's tale' dystopia novel.

Dystopia is the opposite of the ideal society, which is a utopia, that often appears in literature and artistic creation. Dystopias are typically post-apocalyptic or totalitaristic, but there are other forms of dystopias as well such as feminist, cyberpunk, off-world, etc. With 'The Handmaid's Tale'...

• Literary Criticism
• The Handmaid's Tale

Futuristic World in Dystopia: the Illusion of a Happy Society

A utopia is an imaginary society where all citizens are treated equally and with dignity, and citizens live in safety without fear. Since utopias do not exist, attempting to create one can have detrimental consequences. The utopia can become a dystopia. A dystopia is a...

• Literary Genres
• Literature Review

Technology Myth In "The Circle" By Dave Eggers

The Circle: The Technology Myth The novel begins on a glistening, sunlit day in June, Mae Holland cruises campus on her first-ever day at the Circle (Eggers, 1). The company is a creative and strongly favorite web organization, which has seized the globe by a...

• Impact of Technology

Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale as Dystopian Fiction

Published in 1985, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale emerged during an auspicious time for dystopian fiction, following works such as Adoux Huxley’s Brave New World, George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four and Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange. These dystopian narratives provided readers with captivating examinations into bleak,...

Presentation Of Authoritarian Control In George Orwell's 1984 And Brave New World

In the two novels ’Brave New World’ by Aldous Huxley and ‘1984’ by George Orwell, authoritarian control is a recurring theme throughout both plots. The two authors, who were influenced by their experiences of war on a large scale during the twentieth century were saddened...

• Brave New World

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Survival Is Insufficient In Novel Of Station Eleven

Societies can interconnect human life but can also isolate people from each other with the technology within. Station Eleven is a novel about a society devolving into a Dystopia, but it also explores what a society is. Mandel explores society through different perspectives by describing...

• Station Eleven

The Lifetime Memories Of The Past And Present In Station Eleven And Monkey Beach

Individuals experience many things over their lifetime that make them who they are. Joyful, stressful, exciting and traumatic experiences are often things every individual goes through; the one thing that connects all of them is memory. Memory allows one to reflect on experiences that are...

The Theme Of Gratitude As A Beacon Of Hope As Seen In Station Eleven

Station 11, by Emily Mandel, revolves around the topic of gratitude and reveals that people, when they lose certain privileges, realize the gravity of the things that they actually have. In the book, before the pandemic, society is presented as unremarkable. In the golden age...

The Comparison Of Dystopian Worlds In 1984 And Brave New World

Huxley's Brave New World and Orwell's 1984 are both Dystopian novels written ahead of their time that, in their own way, frighteningly predicted the western world of today. 21st Century western society has turned out to be a combination of both Huxley and Orwell’s visions...

The Expression Of Memories Through Art In Station Eleven

Magazines in houses that were deserted in order to try to recollect the world she was once living in and keen memories about the people she once knew and cared for. Lost memories sometimes are results of post-traumatic experiences and in Kirsten case it was...

Comparative Analysis Of Station Eleven And War For The Planet Of The Apes

The history of humanity has been riddled with new diseases and mass pandemics that have threatened the collapse of society. In today’s media, artists like to imagine a world where this disastrous event does happen, when medicine fails and the world is thrust into a...

Hope and Faith as the Tools for Survival in "Station Eleven"

The doomsday book Station Eleven by Emily Mandel has the theme of faith and fate, demonstrates how in events of struggle and fear, such as an epidemic, people turn to faith for help. The author represents faith as something that has similar importance in the...

Dystopian Society In Never Let Me Go

Never Let Me Go, written by Kazuo Ishiguro in 2005, is about the perspective of a female named Kathy who grows up knowing how she will die and her friends. They attend a boarding school called Hailsham that raises them from birth and is informed...

• Never Let Me Go

Feminism in Dystopian Novels: Parable of the Sower, Woman on the Edge of Time, and Binti

Feminism has been changing the way people think about gender since the 1960’s, and this change can be seen in the writers of different novels. Feminism and gender roles are portrayed in the characters in Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy, Parable...

• Parable of The Sower

Trepidant of Dystopian Societies: Brave New World and V for Vendetta

Throughout the novel, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and the movie V for Vendetta, directed by James McTeigue, the author and director both reveal and display significant messages about how dystopian societies function and maneuver of how dictatorial governments rule the civilization. Through the...

• V For Vendetta

Thebes’ Dystopian Aspects in Oedipus Rex by Sophocles

While the definition of dystopia is being debated by scholars to this day, Gregory Claeys provides a broad definition as to what the concept of dystopia is: something that showcases the “negative visions of humanity generally” (Vieira 3), is opposite to what is regarded as...

• Oedipus The King

Critical Appreciation of Dystopian Themes in The Children of Men

The ‘Children of Men’ presents the various dystopian tropes through the use of the linguistic techniques in order to question society’s troubles and create a parable to our own reality. PD James introduces the dystopian trope of the uncanny through this setting. By using similar...

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Dystopian Writing Prompts: 45 Dark and Edgy Ideas to Get You Started

By: Author Paul Jenkins

Posted on September 21, 2022

Categories Writing , Inspiration

Do you love writing dark and edgy stories? Are you looking for something to get you started? Then look no further! In this blog post, we will provide 45 dystopian creative writing prompts to help get your creative juices flowing. These prompts are perfect for writers who want to explore a darker side of storytelling. So what are you waiting for? Start writing your short story or novel!

32 Dystopian Writing Prompts

1. What would people be like in a world where the sun never shines, and the moon is always full?

2. In a world where everyone is required to take a monthly government-mandated happiness pill, what would happen if someone decided not to take it?

3. In a world where technology has taken over, and humans are nothing more than slaves to machines, how would the resistance fight back?

4. In a world where the wealthy live in opulent mansions while the poor live in squalor, what would happen if the two classes decided to switch places?

5. In a world with an ongoing war between two factions, what would happen if a neutral third party tried to broker peace?

6. In a world where the government is constant surveillance of its citizens, what would happen if someone found a way to turn off the cameras?

7. In a world where climate change has made it so that there is only one livable city left, how would the citizens react to being told they must build a wall to keep everyone else out?

8. In a world without laws, what would happen if someone proposed that the old laws should be reinstated?

9. In a world where the government uses brainwashing to ensure the loyalty of its citizens, what would happen if a group of rebels tried to break the hold of the brainwashing?

10. In a world with strict guidelines on what can be eaten and what can’t, what would happen if someone decided to break the rules and eat something forbidden?

11. In a world where people are given a choice of being executed or having their memories erased, what would happen if someone chose to die?

12. In a world where the government controls all forms of entertainment, how would people act if someone managed to smuggle in illegal documents?

13. In a world where compulsory beauty is enforced, how would the free thinkers react when they met the people responsible for enforcing the rules?

14. In a world where there is a natural law that states only the strong can rule, what would happen if an old man tried to fight his way to the top?

15. In a world where the government has banned all forms of technology, including electricity and computers, how would people cope?

16. In a world where people are pressured to be perfect, how would the misfits cope?

17. In a world where there is a law decreeing that a certain group of people must be killed, what would happen if someone refused to kill their friends?

18. In a world where people are encouraged to report their neighbors for breaking the law, what would happen if somebody disobeyed?

19. In a world where the few people who can read and write are considered more valuable than everyone else, what would happen if someone tried to teach others to read?

20. In a world where everyone is required to live in containment shelters, how would the citizens react to a group of people who chose to live outside them?

21. In a world where the government controls all food sources, how would people react if someone started a black market for food?

22. In a world where everybody is forced to take a drug that controls their behavior, how would the free willers react?

23. In a world with a law stating that all people over 50 must be killed, what would happen if someone tried to break the law?

24. In a world where a nuclear war has destroyed the world, what would happen if people found a way to survive?

25. In a world where scientific research is always under government supervision, what would happen if someone tried to break the rules?

26. In a world where all communication is carried out in pictures, what would happen if someone figured out a way to communicate in words?

27. In a world where everything is controlled by a government monopoly, what would happen if someone tried to start their own business?

28. In a world where there is a computer program that can tell your future by analyzing your DNA, what would happen if someone asked it a very personal question?

29. In a world with a drug that can make people invisible, what would happen if someone started selling the drug?

30. In a world where everyone is assigned a number based on their skills, how would the unnumbered people react?

31. In a world where people are chosen to participate in a game where they must hunt the other players, how would the players react if they found out their fellow humans were the prey?

32. In a world where the government is under constant attack by terrorists and saboteurs, what would happen if someone tried to break the cycle of violence?

And there you have it, 32 great ideas for your next dystopian story! These ideas can be combined or individually as inspiration for your next writing project.

13 Dystopian Character Ideas

1. A teenage hacker rebels against the government by breaking into their systems and spreading anti-authority propaganda.

2. A group of revolutionaries who fight to overthrow the current regime, even though they know that they may not survive in the end.

3. An evil dictator who rules over the people with an iron fist, crushing any resistance with ruthless brutality.

4. A disillusioned soldier who has seen too much violence and bloodshed, struggling to hold onto his humanity as he fights in a never-ending war.

5. A downtrodden factory worker who is sick of being exploited by greedy corporations and strives for a better life for herself and her fellow workers.

6. A young girl trapped in an oppressive society where women are treated like second-class citizens, fighting to claim her own space and freedom in a male-dominated world.

7. An enigmatic leader who has risen to power through cunning manipulation and political intrigue, using brute force to maintain control over a society.

8. A woman is forced to turn her back on her beloved brother after he killed their abusive father and was sentenced to death.

9. A doctor is forced to work for the government after they kill her husband, helping them to diagnose and destroy the subversive elements in the population.

10. An idealistic revolutionary fighting to overthrow and replace the government with a more humane regime.

11. An amnesic woman who doesn’t know who she is, her backstory, or the world she came from but is determined to find out.

12. A teenager discovers that the government is lying to its people about the state of the world and leads a secret resistance movement to overthrow the corrupt regime.

13. A female bounty hunter who uses her deadly fighting skills to capture fugitives and bring them back to the authorities.

What Makes a World Dystopian?

In a dystopian world, everything is wrong. The government is corrupt. Society is collapsing. The environment is ruined. People are unhappy. But what makes a world truly dystopian? Is it the presence of these things, or is something else required for a world to be truly dystopian? Let’s take a closer look.

The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about dystopian worlds is usually government control and fear in the population. Often accompanied by conformity. In George Orwell’s 1984, the government controls everything from the food people eat to their thoughts. Similarly, in Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games, the government dictates every aspect of citizens’ lives, from what they wear to whether they live or die. In both of these examples, and in many others, the government’s stranglehold on power makes the world dystopian.

But government control is not the only factor that can make a world dystopian. In Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, society has collapsed due to an unspecified cataclysmic event. There is no government, no law, and no order. People are reduced to eating each other to survive. In this example, it is not the government that makes the world dystopian but rather the complete breakdown of society itself.

A truly dystopian future is one where everything has gone wrong. The government is corrupt, and society is collapsing. The environment is ruined, and people are unhappy. But what makes a world truly dystopian? Is it the presence of these things, or is something else required for a world to be truly dystopian? It seems that the answer may be both.

Is Dystopia a Genre or Theme?

Genres are categories of literature that are defined by specific conventions, such as plot structure, style, and characterization. There are many different genres, such as mystery, romance, science fiction, etc. A genre is like a template you can use to write your story.

Themes are ideas or topics that are explored in a work of literature . A theme can be something as simple as love or loss or more complicated as betrayal or redemption. Unlike genres, themes are not constrained by specific conventions. You can use any literary device to explore a theme in your stories, such as symbolism, foreshadowing, or flashbacks.

So, is dystopia a genre or a theme? The answer is both! Dystopia is a genre that explores the idea of a society gone wrong. If you’re interested in writing a dystopian story, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with the conventions of the genre. But don’t let those constraints limit your creativity-remember that you can always explore additional themes in your story.

How to Start a Good Dystopian Story

Dystopian stories are all the rage these days. With so many popular books and movies being set in dark, post-apocalyptic worlds, it’s no wonder that writers are looking to get in on the action. But what makes a good dystopian story? And how do you start one?

The first thing you need to do when writing a dystopian story is to come up with a compelling premise. What has caused the world to become a dark, dangerous place? This can be anything from a natural disaster to a totalitarian government.

Once you have your premise, you need to decide what kind of story you want to tell. Are you going to focus on the struggles of a single character as they try to survive in this new world? Or will you paint a more sweeping picture, showing how different people are affected by the new world order?

Once you have your premise and focus, it’s time to start writing! The important thing to remember when writing a dystopian story is that while the world may be dark and grim, there should still be hope. After all, what is a story without hope? So don’t forget to inject optimism into your tale, even amid all the darkness.

How to Describe a Dystopian City in Your Writing

A dystopian city can be a great setting for your story. It can be a place of extremes where the rich live in opulence, and the poor are left to fend for themselves. It can be a place of indoctrination, where an oppressive government regime controls people. A dystopian society can be dangerous, where law and order have broken down, and crime is rampant. Whatever form your dystopian city takes, here are some tips on how to describe it in your writing.

1. Establish the mood. Is your dystopian city dark and foreboding? Is it a bright and shining example of what could go wrong? The mood you establish will set the tone for the rest of your descriptions.

2. Get specific with your details. The more specific you are with your descriptions, the easier it will be for your readers to picture the scene in their minds. When you’re painting a picture of your dystopian city, don’t forget the small details that will make it come alive.

3. Use sensory language. Be sure to use all five senses when describing your city. What does it look like? What does it smell like? What does it sound like? By engaging all of the senses, you’ll give your readers a fuller understanding of the world you’ve created.

4. Compare and contrast. A great way to add depth to your description is to compare and contrast different city elements. For example, you might describe the divide between the rich and the poor or the effect of living in an oppressive regime.

5. Show, don’t tell. One mistake many writers make is telling their readers what they should be feeling instead of showing them through their words. If you want your readers to feel scared, don’t tell them, “this city is scary.” Show them why it’s scary by describing everything that makes it so.

The Importance of a Strong Main Character in Dystopian Fiction

In any good story, the protagonist is the engine that drives the plot forward. But a strong protagonist is even more essential in dystopian fiction, where the stakes are often high, and the world is often dark and oppressive. After all, it’s up to the protagonist to lead the charge against the forces of evil and bring about a better future.

But what makes a strong protagonist? In dystopian fiction, there are a few key qualities that a strong protagonist must possess to be successful.

• Strength of character. The protagonist must be willing to stand up against overwhelming odds and fight for what’s right, even when it seems like all hope is lost. They must be brave and determined, with an unshakeable belief in their cause.
• Intelligence. The protagonist must be able to outthink their opponents, whether they’re governmental forces or other rebel groups. They must be able to see through deception and manipulation and be quick on their feet to take advantage of opportunities as they arise.
• The protagonist must withstand whatever obstacles are thrown in their path, whether torture, imprisonment, or death. They must be able to pick themselves up after defeats and setbacks and never give up on their quest for justice.

Dystopian Fiction to Study

• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

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49 Amazing Dystopian Writing Prompts

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Welcome to the next article in our adult writing prompt series . To keep with our mission of offering 500+ genre-specific writing prompts and story ideas potential authors can use to write their next bestseller, today, we offer up 51 amazing dystopian writing prompts.

Let’s quickly define dystopian fiction.   Dystopian fiction is a genre of fictional writing that often refers to a setting and/or society marred by depression, poverty, and general unhappiness. These works of speculative fiction often explore the social and political aspects of these dark and inhabitable conditions.

If you are interested in improving your creative writing and learning from a dystopian best-selling author- We highly recommend Margaret Atwoods MasterClass .

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So if your someone like me who has always enjoyed reading and writing these happy-go-lucky themed books, then you will definitely like some of these inspirational writing prompts.

• In a post-apocalyptic world, where a person’s five senses are taken away and earned back through monetary credits earned through indentured servitude to the privileged class.
• A society in which a family’s wealth dictates how many of its own children that they can keep.
• A futuristic world where everyone’s thoughts and dreams are constantly monitored so they can be taken and used by the wealthy privileged class to remain in power.
• A world so dependent on technology, that the human race has stopped being a social mammal, and this unbreakable solitude now puts them at risk for extinction.
• When Earth is ravished by a series of climate-related catastrophes, the survivors have no choice but to fight over the small plot of land that is still fit for human survival.
• Artificial intelligence and augmented reality have become a staple in day-to-day with life, so much so that the average person spends 24 hours a day in a virtual state. What happens when they find out the AI discovered a way more useful use of this technology and entertains the people in it.
• In a future world that prides itself on optimal efficiency, each person is given the exact path they are to live down to the very day starting with the day they’re born.
• A world with limited resources after an intergalactic war destroys most of the planet, forces, and citizens to self-police population growth. The law says for every person born into a family one must die.
• Earth loses an intergalactic war to a hostile invading species within the enslaved the survivors to help them extract every last resource out of the planet.
• In this world, thoughts are crimes. Artificial intelligence is judge, jury, and executioner.

• After the last great world war, all religion was banned. This included all religious works and artifacts. But what happens if one Bible still remains?
• In this society, the only currency anyone has his life expectancy. The ruling class oppresses the masses of poor citizens by forcing them to trade days of life for the basic goods and services needed for survival.
• In a society that is focused on gene manipulation and the furthering of the human species, any people with less than desired DNA is either made infertile and sent into slavery or eradicated at birth.
• The human race is overtaken by alien hostiles, they are forced to live in a quasi-vegetative state offset by augmented reality while their bodies slowly decay as they are used as human carbon batteries.
• All learning is banned from society. The Internet is totally rewritten and all books are destroyed. The only thing society has is the propaganda given to it by its oppressive ruling class.
• In a world, where it is been determined, that the optimal age for existence is 28, humans are perpetually cloned at that age and granted existence until they turn 29.
• Society has gotten over the automated, and the richest class has gotten richer and richer while everyone else has fallen into squalor. To deal with the boredom and help entertain the ruling class,  poor citizens turned in use as pets.
• In a society 100% under state control, humans are selected at random to face off against each other in a 24 hour broadcasted deathmatch.
• A weaponized biologic is used to control everyone’s actions as it empowers its creators to instantly activate it inside of any one person killing them within 24 hours.
• In a world where disease is left unchecked, the only ones privileged enough for Medicare and the cures are the controlling class of Aristocrats.

• A world where all money is done away with, instead, people must pay their way with an intellectual or physical contribution to society. What happens when a system of deciding the value of contributions is rigged?
• Women have come to power over 3000 years ago, slowly the value of men has declined. To the point where their only value and reason for existence is procreation of more women.
• In a twisted futuristic world, society’s darkest minds are connected to an Augmented Reality machine to have their machinations come to life as entertainment for the rest of society. When these virtual reality horror shows come to life the world will never be the same.
• A world that no longer believes in prisons, instead these prisoners are used as human prey in a dark and twisted hunting game.
• Sports, as we know them, are long gone, they have been replaced by darker, deadlier versions of their past games. The new death games are meant to be a social release for the masses to avoid unleashing true demons on themselves.  But what if the games were really a way to desensitize and train people to act the very way the games were said to prevent.
• Every city in the world is reduced to rubble in the blink of an eye, all except one building that is left standing in each. Now the survivors need to figure out what caused the tragedy and what is the significance of these remaining structures.
• A zombie plague has slowly overtaken the planet. A cure was found and now 80 percent of the population are functioning zombies, which can still participate in society and keep the world going, but each day is potentially a dark day, as these zombies are still liable to kill their human counterparts at every turn.
• After an unknown cyber attack takes out the world’s power grid, the world is thrown into shambles. Anarchy rules the streets, and long-term survival is unlikely as the chaotic war zone is unleashed on the public.
• A global food shortage occurs with severe climate change. Leading to severe famine for the last several decades. In this world, food is more valuable than money or gold every was. The most abundant food source is human flesh, and the evil ruling class has no problem with that. In this world, you are either wealthy or eventually turned into dinner.  
• Society has long become dependent on pharmaceutical drug Zenvia. A highly addictive CNS drug that creates a feeling of euphoria. The government uses is to hook the population and bend them to their will by manipulating them through their Zenvia addiction.

• A society that uses its citizens as subjects in medical and psychological experiments decides the current generation of people will partake in the breaking point study, which is designed to have these people subjected to non-stop mental stress, and depression-inducing stimuli to see how long it takes to break them for good.
• A society where gender identity has been completely wiped away, anyone that demonstrates any masculine or feminine traits is imprisoned to be cleansed.
• In this society, dreams are controlled my mind mimics. But these dreams are far more real as is the danger they pose.
• Society had been wiped out by a huge nuclear war.  Now they live in the safety dome, forced to relive the same mundane life simulation every single day.
• Earth was under attack when defeat became clear they started to evacuate to a space station that was still under construction. Unfortunately only 5000 people made it out, now they are stuck on the bleak space station that is barely functioning.
• Nanobots were once touted as a great technological breakthrough, but now they dictate everything about your life. You know longer have free will, only an ability to follow the path that the nanobots set out for you.
• In this alternate universe, Hitler won World War II and his persecution expanded to anyone that didn’t have blond hair blue eyes. They are now slaves in concentration camps until they can’t work anymore.
• After a full economic collapse, the world boils over unleashing the worst part of humanity onto itself.
• An alien box lands on the planet that promises to hold unleash knowledge and power the world has never seen before. But in order to unlock it, humanity must commit certain atrocities on itself. What choice will they make?
• In a horrible society where women are treated like second-class citizens, once a year, The reaping goes on for 24hrs, where men are allowed to hunt and treat women any way they choose with no repercussions.
• The air quality on earth is so bad that it can no longer sustain most human life, without assisted breathing apparatus. But as the sun gets more and more hidden from society and breathing becomes more and more dangerous, will the human psyche crack before the body.
• In a world where all disease can be cured, that is if you have enough money, through a process called human transfer, society’s richest people are allowed to select random members of the poorer class to transfer their health issues onto and get a clean bill of health for themselves.
• In a future where everyone communicates telepathically, the language disappears, then human interaction, then procreation leaving humanity on the brink of extinction.
• Severe environmental changes cause certain animal species to go into a type of accelerated evolution for survival. Now the planet is overrun with beasts that hunt humans and as they reclaim their place at the top of the food chain.
• Children are born and given a test to make sure they don’t carry a certain gene that may be susceptible to the zombie plague as part of the government’s prevention strategy since getting the zombie crisis under control. But what happens when every child born has the gene?
• A zombie pandemic has taken down 40 percent of the population. Promises of a cure have led to zombies being caught and retained until a cure can be found to bring loved ones back. But what if the cure is only made available to the richest people in the world?
• A huge electromagnetic pulse destroys all technology on the planet sending back to the stone age overnight.
• In a world where children are born with a lust for blood, they begin to hunt and kill their parents. Now people need to decide, stop having children and guarantee extinction or continue to have them and fight the demons until normal children are found again.

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I hope you have enjoyed these 49 Dystopian story ideas. Feel free to take any of these 500 writing prompts and use them as inspiration to craft your next best-selling dystopian novel.

Remember that we have a full series of free adult writing prompts that you can check out in other genres. If you like these then make sure to check out the rest.

Sometimes writers hesitate to use a publicly shared writing prompt as their inspiration for their next novel.  But, I will tell you, you shouldn’t be, because alone none of these writing prompts are worth the paper they are printed on, and that’s really bad since this is digital.

But it’s true, this dystopian writing prompts need to be fleshed out, to create a full plot and satisfying novel.

That is where you come in, As a dystopian writer, it’s up to you to create a believable world that engages readers by putting them in a deprived setting that is barely worth living.

So good luck with your writing, I hope you can use one of these dystopian story ideas as inspiration that will lead to your next great published book.

As always, Thanks for Reading and more Importantly Writing!

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The Marrow Thieves: Exploring Dystopian Themes

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Definition of Dystopia

Dystopia is a literary device and genre used by writers to present a vision of the future that challenges readers to reflect on the current social and political environments in which they live. Dystopian literature often portrays society in cataclysmic decline resulting from environmental ruin, control through technology, and government oppression of individual freedom and expression.

Dystopian fiction is speculative, arising as a response to utopian literature which portrayed ideal societies based on rational thought, fairness, and human decency. Instead, dystopian works typically portray societies that are frightening and dehumanizing as a dark warning of the potentially dangerous effects of political and social structures on the future of humanity.

Dystopia is a significant literary device in its ability to educate readers and warn of the potentially dark consequences for humanity if changes are not made to present day societal and governmental constructs. In addition, dystopian literature is often enjoyable for readers in its engaging and thought-provoking content.

For example, in his novel   A Clockwork Orange , Anthony Burgess creates a futuristic society in which there is a subculture of young characters that participate in intense and extreme acts of violence:

The sweetest and most heavenly of activities partake in some measure of violence

As a response, the authoritarian government in the novel uses behavioral techniques to “rehabilitate” aberrant behavior among the characters that don’t conform to societal rules. Therefore, individual freedom of choice and action is eliminated.

Examples of Central Themes in Dystopian Literature

Dystopian literature tends to feature common, central themes that allow writers to create alternate realities while imparting deep meaning to their readers. Here are some examples of central themes in dystopian literature:

• government control : dystopian works often reflect extremes in terms of governmental rule, from oppressive totalitarianism to violent anarchy
• environmental destruction: dystopian stories are typically set in “apocalyptic” environments that reflect destruction of life and an uninhabitable landscape, usually as a result of war and weaponry
• technological control : dystopian works often reflect advancements in science and technology that grow out of human control and become domineering and fear-inducing
• survival : characters in dystopian literature are often left to their own means of survival due to oppressive or violent societies
• loss of individualism : dystopian literature often emphasizes the needs of society and conformity at the expense of individual freedom and expression

Examples of Famous Dystopian Novels

Many writers use the novel form to create dystopian literature. This allows for detailed development of the setting , characters, plot , and theme so that readers can enjoy the story but also consider the novel’s levels of social commentary. The popularity of dystopian literature reflects a collective human curiosity about the future and progress of society.

Here are some examples of famous dystopian novels:

• brave new world
• Ready Player One
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
• Parable of the Sower
• The Drowned World
• The Maze Runner
• The City of Ember
• Station Eleven
• Never Let Me Go
• The Time Machine
• A Clockwork Orange

Common Examples of Well-Known Dystopian Movies

Many dystopian movies are created as adaptations of dystopian literature, although there are original dystopian scripts that are made into films as well. This genre of filmmaking is popular among audiences due to the artistic and cinematic portrayal of alternate realities as well as thought-provoking content.

Here are some common examples of well-known dystopian movies:

• The Hunger Games
• Catching Fire
• Planet of the Apes
• Logan’s Run
• Minority Report
• Soylent Green
• Blade Runner
• The Lobster

Difference Between Dystopia and Science Fiction Genres

There are a great number of similarities between the dystopia and science fiction genres. However, there are some distinctions between them as well. Science fiction typically is set in the future and often features elements of fantasy . For example, anything is “possible” in the genre of science fiction, including time travel, space travel, the existence of aliens, sentient artificial intelligence, etc.

Dystopia, as a genre, is often grounded in “reality” without elements of fantasy. In addition, dystopian literature typically reflects a lack of harmony in society, revealing its political, cultural, and/or social distortions . This leads to common endings among dystopian works of dark futures as a warning to present day society in terms of making changes. Science fiction literature does not necessarily end with such predictions of doom. However, many works of literature artfully combine dystopian and science fiction elements and themes.

Examples of Dystopia in Literature

The use of dystopia as a literary device allows writers to create stories that are centered around the opposite of a utopian environment–a “perfect” society. Though dystopian literature often portrays an ideal society on the surface, the underlying oppression, violence, desolation, and/or chaos reveals the many ways that humans can be corrupted by power , greed, control, war, and other factors.

Here are some examples of dystopia in well-known works of literature:

Example 1:  The Handmaid’s Tale  (Margaret Atwood)

There is more than one kind of freedom,” said Aunt Lydia. “Freedom to and freedom from. In the days of anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are being given freedom from. Don’t underrate it.

In Atwood’s famous novel, she creates a dystopian country, ruled by an authoritarian patriarchal theocracy based in Puritanical Christianity. All women characters in the novel are subjugated, indoctrinated, and divided into rigid classes of “chaste” and childless wives, housekeepers, and “handmaids” who are still capable of bearing children to relinquish to the wives. Among the many themes explored in Atwood’s dystopia is the dark future prescribed as a result of political control over women’s bodies and reproduction. This leads to objectification, violence, and full surrender of women to patriarchal rule.

In addition to the oppression of women, Atwood’s dystopian work emphasizes the peril of nonconformity and the extreme measures taken to enforce obedience of thought and behavior. The novel portrays a frightening police state in which anyone can be a government spy and threaten someone’s life. Those who don’t conform to the rules and norms of this society, in terms of behavior and thought, are publicly executed or removed as punishment to a radioactive wasteland called “The Colonies.” This dystopia calls upon readers to consider the dire consequences of societal and political control, oppression of women and people of color, and pursuit of uniformity.

Example 2:  Fahrenheit 451  (Ray Bradbury)

If you don’t want a man unhappy politically, don’t give him two sides to a question to worry him; give him one. Better yet, give him none. Let him forget there is such a thing as war. If the government is inefficient, top-heavy, and tax-mad, better it be all those than that people worry over it. Peace, Montag. Give the people contests they win by remembering the words to more popular songs or the names of state capitals or how much corn Iowa grew last year. Cram them full of noncombustible data, chock them so damned full of ‘facts’ they feel stuffed, but absolutely ‘brilliant’ with information. Then they’ll feel they’re thinking, they’ll get a  sense  of motion without moving. And they’ll be happy, because facts of that sort don’t change.

Bradbury’s novel is perhaps one of the most famous works of dystopian literature. The novel portrays a future society in which the job of a fireman is to burn books. This reflects an extreme in terms of governmental and political control, based on the theme that censorship of information, learning, and thought is a fundamental necessity for totalitarian rule. Most readers consider Bradbury’s work to be prophetic in its portrayal of a society obsessed with technology and constant entertainment, which drowns the characters’ abilities to think with any sort of freedom or creativity.

Another interesting element of Bradbury’s dystopian novel is how the majority of characters embrace the policy of banning books and their preference to be consumed by technological devices and perpetual media stimulation. This is most evident in the protagonist ’s wife, Mildred, who agrees that there is greater public happiness due to the ban of books. Mildred keeps “Seashells” in her ears, which are thimble-sized radios so that she can have the constant presence of music and talk. In addition, Mildred wishes to have a fourth television “wall” so that she can more completely watch her “family” of tv characters. This censorship and interruption of thought and contemplation keeps Mildred and others in this dystopia from facing the empty and vapid nature of their lives.

Example 3:  2BR02B  (Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.)

The law said that no newborn child could survive unless the parents of the child could find someone who would volunteer to die. Triplets, if they were all to live, called for three volunteers.

In this short story , Vonnegut presents a future in which the United States’ population has stabilized at 40 million “souls.” On the surface, the fictional world appears utopian in that many societal issues seem to have been resolved, such as poverty , war, prisons, diseases, and even old age. In the story, death occurs only by accident or for those who volunteer to end their life. This poses a moral dilemma for the protagonist of the story, a man whose wife is delivering triplets.

Vonnegut’s story explores the theme of governmental control over human life at the level of basic existence in terms of who gets to live and who dies. The theme is made even more insidious by the presence of the phone number “2BR02B,” marketed as an adventurous and righteous choice for characters to elect to die–volunteering to commit suicide. In addition, this dystopia reflects the sacrifice of the individual for the well-being of society, which ultimately leads to devaluation of human life in its beauty and complexity.

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Why Having Children Made Me More, Not Less, Hopeful That We Can Fight the Climate Crisis

By Megan Hunter

When I had my first child at the age of 25, I was, like many new parents, overwhelmed by the strength of my love for him, and by his vulnerability. I would push his buggy down the polluted local high street, unable to quite process the fragility of his tiny head poking above the blankets, surrounded by dust and fumes from passing cars.

I had grown up with a sense of doom about the environment, and in my 20s this only deepened, the anxiety broadening to include my children and their future. I remember an apocalyptic climate-themed front page of the newspaper beside the hospital bed where I lay with my second baby shortly after her birth. There was guilt, in bringing children into this world, alongside the inevitable fears, both large and small. When you have a child you see their death over and over, in the accidents that could happen, all the ways you could fail them. And in the climate crisis, this existential fear—and remorse—was rendered so much larger, planetary in scale. By the time I was writing my first novel in 2016, it seemed inevitable that the book, set in the near future as a woman gives birth to her first child, would take place in a world of climate disaster and upheaval: an imagined time when London is completely under water.

But as I wrote I found, in amongst despair and destruction, chaos and loss, there remained a thread of hope. This came from the protagonist’s baby, of course—from his first smiles, his crawling, his discovery of first foods amongst scarcity—but also from all the other loves in the book, for family and friends, even for strangers, bonds formed in extremity. In my own life, my children would constantly inspire me with their passionate delight in the world, but I was also struck by the relationships I formed with other women, and by the kindness of people who didn’t even know me. Once, when my toddler was having a tantrum, and my newborn baby was screaming in her buggy, a woman in a park knelt down beside me as I tried to pick my son off the ground. “You are not alone,” she said. I didn’t see her again, but I never forgot that moment.

Now, nearly nine years later, the book I wrote— The End We Start From —has become a film with the same name, adapted by Alice Birch, directed by Mahalia Belo, and starring Jodie Comer . Alongside my joy in the film itself, in how moving it is to see my book come to life in such a beautiful way, there is a sadness in how it has become all the more relevant to our climate-threatened world. As the narrator of my novel states: “This is what you don’t want, we realize. What no one ever wanted: for the news to be relevant.”

It does feel, in many ways, that there are now even fewer reasons to be hopeful, with the film’s setting now seeming less a dystopian future and more a contemporary story about the times we live in, with the UK once again ravaged by flooding , the climate emergency becoming more urgent while political solutions are inadequate and compromised by a profit-driven economy. I have often felt that the time since my children were born can only be characterised by an increasing sense of despair in relation to the climate, cumulative disappointments that seem to point solely to catastrophe.

But as I watched the film, I found myself drawn again to the love it depicts, how this love emerges from the flood waters, damaged as the city is, but still alive, still forceful. One of the most hopeful images in the film is of two mothers supporting and protecting each other, stronger through their friendship, singing as they walk through a sodden landscape. I was struck again by the thought that hope is not the same as optimism; it isn’t based on facts, or predictions. It comes from the refusal to give up, just as the unnamed heroine of the book and film can never give up, must always fight to survive, for herself, her son, for all those she loves.

It doesn’t seem to me that this is a passive kind of hope, a wishing for the best while sitting back and doing nothing. It’s a hope based on love itself, of what love drives us to. Whether for our children, our parents, our friends, love compels us to want a better future. And, crucially, this future relies on our care extending beyond those we are related to: it needs to go beyond self-interest, beyond even our personal ties—like that stranger who showed me kindness in the park—to a habitable, more equal world for everyone. I’ve long held the belief that hope can broaden our outlook. Though my hope may, in one sense, have started in my child, in his freshness in the world as I pushed his buggy along the street, it has gained strength in its expansion, in a wider view that encompasses a better, fairer world for all.

With my children now both at secondary school, I see how motherhood—and the hope it inspires—has propelled me to take action; to help create that better world. Now, they have their own fears and speculations; there are difficult questions about how we should live, and what their future will be like. As parents, all you want to do is reassure, and sometimes that doesn’t feel possible. But hope encourages me to keep going, to push beyond the limits of my own home, my own family, and—just as books and films do—to broaden the horizons of my life. When I wrote The End We Start From —and when I watched the film—this felt like something the story can offer, now: some small, steadfast image of a new beginning, even in the midst of disaster.

By Alexandra Macon

By Leah Faye Cooper

By Jenny Berg

‘The End We Start From’ by Megan Hunter is published by Picador. The film is out now.

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