Urban and Natural Spaces in Dystopian Literature Depicted as Opposed Scenarios

Abstract

Most scholarly studied dystopias show that in dystopian literature the action takes place in urban space. Some authors, nonetheless, portray, together with an undesirable metropolis, an outer environment in which characters usually see features opposed to those of the city. This can be seen in some of the major titles included in the genre. The purpose of this research is to verify if this aspect is a recurrent element in the dystopian genre, first in a choice of well-known titles of the 20th century and, secondly in some examples of dystopias published in the 21st. Should it be the case, the need to analyze in which ways will arise, with the aim of setting up a theoretical description in order to undertake a further study on a wider range of texts of the genre. As they are parodies of actual totalitarian policies, they might shed some light on urban patterns that have had a reflection on literature and has turned into an influence.