Abstract

This study attempts to investigate the notion of guided conceptualization of identity and purposeful language reconstruction in dystopian literature. It explores the connection of identity and language with the creation of the genre as an optimistic, didactic, and cautionary one. Themes will be explored in terms of their instructiveness rather than descriptiveness; the characterization of the protagonists in dystopian works is examined accordingly. Moreover, this research offers a critical study of the factors that contributed to the onset of this literary trend. To achieve this, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Giver, and The Running Man are scrutinized in terms of modes, themes, and literary elements. Eventually, this research examines the representation of the concepts of identity and language in dystopian narratives and the role of this representation in presenting the genre as a utopian auspicious one; the seemingly pessimistic mold of this fictitious form inspires to and aims indirectly at change. Finally, this research finds that both identity and language are deliberately re-created and used to further authority’s goals in a dystopian society, but they also function as tools of resistance. This research highlights the role of this representation in the creation of the novels as optimistic ones. Even though the seemingly pessimistic dystopian genre offers a bleak image of a society under oppression, it holds hopeful aspirations. It narrates the protagonist’s laborious journey as they struggle relentlessly to grasp the handle of the door that leads to a brighter tomorrow fueled by the refusal to accept injustice.