ginacivey
Pearl Clutcher
refupea #2 in southeast missouri
Posts: 4,685 
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Post by ginacivey on Oct 10, 2014 14:27:35 GMT
Looking specifically for books based upon a utopian society. I have plenty of Dystopian choices.
I am googling but i value the recommendations of you all....
gina
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Apr 26, 2024 3:26:34 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2014 14:33:34 GMT
Island by Aldous Huxley
Probably not for middle school, but we read it in HS.
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Post by pretzels on Oct 10, 2014 14:59:52 GMT
Plato's The Republic, and Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
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Post by lightetc on Oct 10, 2014 22:09:23 GMT
We read Brave New World and then watched Blade Runner. Can't say it was my favorite unit and is a book I may need to read again without the influence of high school English.
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perumbula
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,439
Location: Idaho
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Post by perumbula on Oct 10, 2014 23:13:03 GMT
The problem with Utopian lit is usually halfway through the book you find it's actually distopian. There really isn't a lot out there that's true Utopian. There's no conflict in a perfect society.
Now if you're looking for pretend to be Utopian on the surface, The Giver is a good choice, especially with the movie out now.
Ursula K. Le Guin has several Utopian on the surface books for teens. Gifts is a good choice and has a couple of sequels. The Telling is technically for adults, but it can be enjoyed by a younger audience as well. I suggest you steer clear of Lefthand of Darkness with younger teens, but older teens should be able to handle the subject matter (there's a strong theme of gender exploration in the book.)
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Post by myshelly on Oct 10, 2014 23:22:51 GMT
We read Brave New World and then watched Blade Runner. Can't say it was my favorite unit and is a book I may need to read again without the influence of high school English. That would be dystopian, not utopian. |
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Post by myshelly on Oct 10, 2014 23:25:15 GMT
The problem with Utopian lit is usually halfway through the book you find it's actually distopian. There really isn't a lot out there that's true Utopian. There's no conflict in a perfect society. Now if you're looking for pretend to be Utopian on the surface, The Giver is a good choice, especially with the movie out now. Ursula K. Le Guin has several Utopian on the surface books for teens. Gifts is a good choice and has a couple of sequels. The Telling is technically for adults, but it can be enjoyed by a younger audience as well. I suggest you steer clear of Lefthand of Darkness with younger teens, but older teens should be able to handle the subject matter (there's a strong theme of gender exploration in the book.) Exactly. Utopian books would be really boring. There would be no conflict and thus nothing to drive a plot. The story would be incapable of progressing. Fiction books that describe a utopia advance the story by then moving on to show how/why the society is actually dystopian under the surface. |
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Post by ktdoesntscrap on Oct 11, 2014 0:40:31 GMT
The Giver is what I was thinking!
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mimima
Drama Llama
Stay Gold, Ponyboy
Posts: 5,014
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Post by mimima on Oct 11, 2014 0:47:27 GMT
When I Googled, I had read none of the (very few) listed. I would think that the gold standard would be Thomas More's Utopia
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The Great Carpezio
Pearl Clutcher
Something profound goes here.
Posts: 2,913
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Post by The Great Carpezio on Oct 11, 2014 1:50:07 GMT
I was going to say the same thing about utopian stories. There isn't such a thing. A utopia is untenable. People think they are creating one, but in reality they fall short. In fiction (and often in reality) they turn dystopian. One person's utopia is usually another's nightmare.
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Post by lightetc on Oct 11, 2014 2:13:58 GMT
We read Brave New World and then watched Blade Runner. Can't say it was my favorite unit and is a book I may need to read again without the influence of high school English. That would be dystopian, not utopian. Agreed, but it was our trigger for discussions about the concept of Utopia and how impossible it was to achieve such a society. |
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Post by hennybutton on Oct 11, 2014 4:25:53 GMT
I read a lot of SF&F. I majored in English Lit. I cannot think of a single modern book that could be considered utopian. It's all dystopian, apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Apr 26, 2024 3:26:34 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 11, 2014 4:52:51 GMT
I read a lot of SF&F. I majored in English Lit. I cannot think of a single modern book that could be considered utopian. It's all dystopian, apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic. "Island" is the only one I can think of. |
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ddly
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,947
Jul 10, 2014 19:36:28 GMT
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Post by ddly on Oct 11, 2014 11:49:01 GMT
Lost Horizon by James Hilton. It's an old book but good. I also agree with The Giver.
Lisa D.
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Post by pierkiss on Oct 11, 2014 14:56:09 GMT
Walden 2 by BF Skinner
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Post by hennybutton on Oct 11, 2014 16:54:31 GMT
Lost Horizon by James Hilton. It's an old book but good. I also agree with The Giver. Lisa D. Lost Horizon would probably be a good one. I've only seen a movie of it, haven't read the book. I will disagree with The Giver. It's definitely dystopian, not utopian. |
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