Jordyn Kopelson- Blog Post 8

1)   Inquiry Question: To what extent does light contrive a deeper meaning within dystopian works?

2)   Maxwell, Anne. "THE UTOPIAN IMPULSE IN URSULA LE GUIN'S

THE NEW ATLANTIS." Social Alternatives 28.3 (2009): 15-9. ProQuest. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.

3)   Anne Maxwell’s article, The Utopian Impulse In Ursula Le Guin’s The New Atlantis, comments on Ursula Le Guin’s “The New Atlantis”, which she claims includes elements of a utopia within the overall dystopian work. Maxwell explains that within “The New Atlantis”, there are many major horrors, such as natural disasters and other conflicts concerning aspects of power that prevail throughout society. Yet, despite all of these dystopian-like issues, there is a group of normal people within “The New Atlantis” who hope for a “better world” (Maxwell 15), which represents a spark of utopia that enters into this depressing world. As a whole, Maxwell describes “The New Atlantis” as being a world filled with absolute terrors, yet that encompasses aspects of a utopia, such as “light”, “harmony”, and “dreams”. Overall, Maxwell’s shows that Le Guin’s story is very similar to the reality we live in today, as despite the bad things that occur, there are still those individuals or groups of people who hope and dream for both the presence of happiness and peace.

4)   Overall, Maxwell’s article speaks to the issue of my inquiry question by claiming that within dystopian works today, there are commonly elements of a utopia that are present. In Maxwell’s essay she talks about “a shed of light”, which can be assumed to similarly relate to the bright light that is presented in The Giver. This indicates an element of hope and or a sense of utopia that forms within the darker world in which it came from.