There have been many dystopian novels written over the years. The dystopian novels are characterized by oppression or rancid poverty. Ayn Rand, Aldious Huxley and George Orwell are known for their dystopian works. Generally, dystopian novels are also considered science fiction works. Below is a list of the most famous dystpian novels in literary history.
Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand (1957): Tells the story from the point of view of Dagny Taggart, a high level railroad executive. She struggles to run the railroad in a time when government and society are combined against her. One by one, all the industrialists begin to inexplicably disappear. No one seems to know what is going on. Atlas Shrugged coined the phrase “Who is John Galt?”
Fountainhead, by Ayn Rand (1943): This novel by Ayn Rand is about a young and idealistic architect, Howard Roark. Roark does not wish to comply to standard societal norms and rebels against those norms. Roark would rather work in obscurity and poverty than comply.
Lord of the Flies, by William Golding (1954): A group of children crashes on a deserted island. No one, except the children survive the ordeal. A leader is chosen among the group and they struggle to develop an organized and caring society. Slowly, the group succumbs to a dictatorship as one of the strongest members of the group begins to take over.
Brave New World, by Aldious Huxley (1931). Set in the distant future in the year 2540, Brave New World tells the story of scientific advancement run amok. Food is plentiful and much of the world is under the control of one government. Society is controlled by breeding in hatcheries and castes are determined based on the type of drugs that are administered to the fetuses. The highest cast, named the Alphas, are the dominant group in the society.
Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury (1953). Guy Montag is a fireman in the distant future. At that time, the role of firemen was not to put out fires, but to burn books. Books and all forms of reading have been declared illegal. In the course of his duties, Montag occasionally steals some books and illegally keeps and reads them.
Animal Farm, by George Orwell (1945). This is the story of oppressed farm animals. They violently overthrow their farmer masters and take control of the farm. They develop a set of laws where each animal is equal and performs tasks to the best of their ability. Slowly, the pigs begin to take control of the farm and replace their former humans as masters of the farm. The pigs also became more dictatorial and brutal than their predecessors.
Nineteen Eighty Four, by George Orwell (1949): Winston Smith is a low level government official in a society dominated by the powerful government symbolized by “Big Brother”. Big Brother watches everyone, and tries to control everyone’s thoughts. Freedom is strictly forbidden, as is independent thought. Smith struggles with his independent thought and eventually is arrested by the authorities for thought crimes.