A Sociopsychological Study of Dystopia in Price's Starters
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55737/qjss.393775432Keywords:
Dystopian Fiction, Utopia, Bildungsroman, Patriarchy, PsychoanalysisAbstract
Dystopia and utopia work in parallel in the same sphere. Every Dystopia has a Utopia, and every negativity has traces of positivity. Utopia is an attribute of modern thought and one of the most obvious results. With a contradiction at its core that does not need to be resolved, it was clear early on in its history that it could take on new meanings, serve new purposes, and crystallize into new structures. This study describes the issues raised by the psychological condition of the protagonist in Lissa Price's Starters, which relates her situation to a dystopian world and leads her to Utopia. In contrast, a descendant of satirical Utopia and anti-utopia, dystopia rejects the idea that humans can attain perfection. Taking mainly the shape of a process and refusing the label of an 'impossible dream', Utopia is a program for change and a gradual betterment of the present; in that sense, it operates at different levels, as a means of political, economic, social, moral and pedagogical reorientation. Finally, Utopia has become a strategy of creativity, clearing the path humans can only follow: the path of creation.
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