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UtopiaandDystopiaTheutopiaanditsoffshoot,thedystopia,aregenresofliteraturethatexploresocialandpoliticalstructures.Utopianfictionisthecreationofanidealworld,orutopia,asthesettingforanovel.Dystopianfictionistheopposite:creationofanightmareworld,ordystopia.Manynovelscombineboth,oftenasametaphorforthedifferentdirectionshumanitycantakeinitschoices,endingupwithoneoftwopossiblefutures.Bothutopiasanddystopiasarecommonlyfoundinsciencefictionandotherspeculativefictiongenres,andarguablyarebydefinitionatypeofspeculativefiction.ThewordutopiawasfirstusedinthiscontextbySirThomasMoreinhis1516workUtopia.ThewordutopiaresemblesboththeGreekwordsnoplace,outopos,andgoodplace,eutopos.Inhisbook,whichwaswritteninLatin,Moresetsoutavisionofanidealsociety.Asthetitlesuggests,theworkpresentsanambiguousandironicprojectionoftheidealstate.Dystopiaisdefinedasasocietycharacterizedbypoverty,squalor,oroppression.Mostauthorsofdystopianfictionexploreatleastonereasonwhythingsarethatway.Dystopiasusuallyextrapolateelementsofcontemporarysocietyandarereadbymanyaspoliticalwarnings.Manypurportedutopiasrevealadystopiancharacterbysuppressingjustice,freedomandhappiness.GeorgeOrwell'snovelNineteenEighty-Fourisadystopiannovelaboutacoerciveandimpoverishedtotalitariansociety,conditioningitspopulationthroughpropagandaratherthandrugs.MargaretAtwood'sTheHandmaid'sTaledescribesafutureNorthAmericagovernedbystrictreligiousruleswhichonlytheprivilegeddaredefy.CombinationsJonathanSwift'sGulliver'sTravelsissometimeslinkedwithutopian(anddystopian)literature,becauseitsharesthegeneralpreoccupationwithideasofthegood(andbad)society.OfthecountriesLemuelGullivervisits,onlytheCountryoftheHouyhnhnmsapproachesautopia;mostoftheothershavesignificantdystopianaspects.Manyworkscombineelementsofbothutopiasanddystopias.Typically,anobserverfromourworldwilljourneytoanotherplaceortimeandseeonesocietytheauthorconsidersideal,andanotherrepresentingtheworstpossibleoutcome.Thepointisusuallythatthechoiceswemakenowmayleadtoabetterorworsepotentialfutureworld.