Thoughtful Thursdays: A First

I would like to introduce something that I will be calling "thoughtful Thursdays." Alliteration aside, I really enjoy the idea of taking quotes from another author or something and applying it to this idea of dystopia.  Along the way, I also get to advertise some of my other favorite books/authors that wouldn't make it here otherwise. Killing two birds with one stone, and spreading my love of books? I'm up for that, and  hope you are too!

So please bear with me as I start in on this process. Hopefully, it'll work out like I plan. And if not... more fun for me to figure out to do with the blog.

Quote for the day:

"Evil doesn't die. It never dies. It just take on a new face. A new name. Just because we've been touched by it once, it doesn't mean we're immune to ever being hurt again." --The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen 

Ok, I'll admit that I probably shouldn't be advertising these particular books on a blog meant for dystopias and teens. However, I'm a fan, and these books score pretty high on my "Everyone must read" list... if you can get past her nitty gritty storytelling. To put in another way: I love these books and my mom wonders how I put up with them. Then again, my mom barely made it through the Divergent books while Veronica Roth picked off most of her characters.

But back from side wondering. How does this quote go to dystopian futures? As always, I'll try to keep spoilers to a minimum, but no promises.

 

"War, Terrible War" Video from The Hunger Games movie

I'm thinking about how the new societies came to form. The Hunger Games had some sort of civil war, while Divergent was some sort of WWIII deal. (For that information, read Allegiant, book 3). It doesn't start out seeming that way, but book three throws a number of twists into the plot about what you did or didn't think.

I think it (the quote) exemplifies what a Dystopia is, I guess. Everyone rises to the challenge of rebellion because whatever the system was wasn't working. But really one form of evil was traded for another. So you end up with things like the districts or factions, where one is always better than another and everyone still looks down upon each other.

The Laws in Animal Farm, Courtesy of  Deviant Art

Dare I mention Animal Farm? I know it's part social commentary on socialism or whatever and not exactly a normal dystopia, but it fits. Think about it for a minute. The pigs take over, but by the end of the book they're worse than the humans ever were. Plus, they've actually become humans in a sick and twisted sort of way. And like most dystopias, beautiful social commentary.

Did my point come across? I Hope so. As always, feel free to disagree & let me know what you think!