Dystopian Genre

My favorite genre is dystopia, for the reasoning that typically, one can draw parallels in classic dystopian novels such as Orwell's 1984, despite the fact that it was written in 1945. Also, the elements of risk and overbearing government are involved which always are able to keep my attention. Lastly, I also enjoy the comical sense of irony in many classic dystopian novels, such as anything written by Vonnegut.

Out of this genre, my favorite novel by far is Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. It takes place in a future state that is seemingly supposed to be and oversensitive America, where books are completely banned from the hands of civilians and a firefighter's job is to burn them. Guy Montag, the main character is a fireman and he begins to go through a transformation after burning the books of a woman, who later burns herself alive. Soon, Montag is reading and questioning society and gets caught by his chief, but only warned once. After meeting a retired English professor named Faber, he becomes further enamored in literature after reading the bible and soon has an episode that causes him to be investigated and go on the run. I will not tell the ending because it is a novel all should read.

The next one of my favorite dystopian novels, and also novels in general is George Orwell's Animal Farm. This novel is an analogue of the Russian Revolution and the transformation from Lenin to Stalin using animals on a farm. Old Major (Lenin), leads the farm at the beginning and  the farm is meant for people like Snowball (the proletariat)  and the other animals to prosper equally from the work of society as a whole. Napoleon (Stalin) then brutishly pushes his way into power and the society begins to collapse. Snowball is killed (The Great Purge) and Napoleon begins to violate the traditional rules as Stalin did as he took power. Overall, this novel represents what Orwell sees as a real-life dystopia.