Ship Breaker Dystopian

Dystopia is common theme which dates hundreds of years in literature worldwide. Dystopian novels and short stories often depict a society repressed by a totalitarian government which comes to power after a cataclysmic occurrence, wielding unforgiving power and control over inhabitants for their own good. These dystopias are often perceived by the average citizen as a normal or unavoidable way of life, sometimes even a better way of life, yet there is often a single person or group of protagonists who question the justification of such living arrangements and threaten upheaval of the utopia sold by the ruling class.

A dystopian novel is a story relating to or denoting an imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded one. 1984 by George Orwell, is indeed a dystopian novel as it describes a nightmare vision of future society which is opposite to a perfect world. George Orwell creates this image using a few different techniques including, the language or style, the setting, characterization, and oppression.

Strong theme, harsh tone, powerful message, good dialog, strong character development, an overall amazing story. Paolo Bacigalupi’s sci-fi post-apocalyptic book Ship Breaker includes everything a book would need to attract multiple audiences, and keep readers intrigued.

“Ship Breaker”a novel by Paolo Bacigalupi has a futuristic twist that is known to be a science fiction replica of our world. Although my first thoughts of the novel where of a ship that ended up in the middle of an ocean of sand, due to global warming, turned into a fascinating story that gives the reader an unthinkable twist towards humanity and its pity for selfishness. Juxtaposed by multiple life changing disasters (such as melted ice caps and the loss of every costal islands) Nailer, Nita, and Tool will soon come to see the reality of greed and loyalty. Everything starts once a young teen named Nailer who was a ship breaker that salvages parts for money saves a young teen named Nita (a rich and well educated teen who comes from a powerful family). Nita enters Nailers life once a heavy storm takes place where she was cursing. At this point Nailer and his crew were walking along the ocean when they suddenly stumbled upon lucky girl (a.k.a Nita) wrecked ship. Throughout the story Nailer, Nita, and Tool face difficult situations where their beliefs change. They demonstrate that greed is more important than loyalty.

Today, our society is a very judgemental and economic status based society. I will be looking throughout 3 stories using the Marxist lens. We tend to think that we are all split up into different class mainly based on wealthiness, race, gender and ethnicity. People tend to think that the more money you have the more economic status and power you should have over lower class people. Marxists believe that a human’s ability to produce goods and services means people can move past the conflicts of a society that is divided into classes. “First class and coach land at the same runway at the same time.” The person who said this quote was steve jobs and I really loved it because it showed how the classes arent that different. People should not be treated any differently based on economic status and wealth.

In Ship Breaker, many themes are present, but the theme of differences in class within society emerged over all others. From the very start of the novel, Nailer was a poor ship breaker who didn't know if he would have enough food for dinner. To elaborate, Nailer’s only chance at food for the night was if he met his quota for the day, “‘I’m not going to meet my quota,’ Nailer said. ‘Just keep lookin,’’ replied Bapi” (Bacigalupi 23). Despite the differences, Nailer eventually teams up with Sadna, a privileged girl that came from the upper echelons of society: “‘Yes, I’ve got a private chopper we can take down to Orleans,’ exclaimed Sadna narcissistically” (Bacigalupi 159). The author included this miniscule detail to show that no matter where you began at, you can eventually reach the top. This added to the plot because it showed the audience that it doesn’t mean anything where you came from, but you can still be successful. Also, the theme was further supported by the fact that micro societies emerged in Nailer’s hometown of Bright Sands Beach and in Orleans.

From having to jump off the train and having to land barefoot, being robbed, being stung in face by bees and hearing of many that go days without food or having to drink dirty water shows the struggle that many went through.

In a world full of issues such as poverty everyone is just trying to survive to keep their families safe. Life is already hard on its own but when thrown issues such as poverty it just makes it harder. Paolo Bacigalupi displays the money issues people are facing when two kids from different socioeconomic rankings clash in the book Ship Breaker. When Nita and Nailer who have two very different lives meet their perspective on life changes. Nita opens her eyes to what is going on in the world when she goes from living her swanky life to living in fear and poverty. The book Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi demonstrates how people in a higher socioeconomic status have more appreciation for life when they experience poverty first hand.

The whole book, describes the income, the transportation time, the struggle to afford housing, the poor treatment of employees and finally the hard and difficult physical work you must perform. In addition, the mental aspects of living from paycheck to paycheck.

A dystopian world is a very unpleasant place that is considered to be the opposite of perfect, The three stories, “The Ones Who Walked Away from Omelas”,"The Pedestrian", and “The Lottery”, are all good examples of what a dystopian world is. Each story has good descriptions of dystopian society and world looks like. They all show how people are in a dystopian world. In the three stories you can also tell the difference between dystopias and utopias.

With the lack of nutrition, sanitation, space, and the constant labor, it is amazing that anyone at all could survive this camp for very long.

A dystopian society, usually illusory, is the reverse of an idyllic utopia: it is generally tyrannical and inhibited. Dystopian societies mirror our future- they are usually a hyperbolic familiar society with satirical exaggeration. This kind of literature is written to amend other people 's idea of the kind of society they should thrive for. As well as that, they are written to express their concerns about the future and humanity. Societies of this nature appear in many works of fiction, predominantly in novels set in a speculative future. Dystopian culture is often mused by societal collapse, dehumanization, poverty, and deprivation.

As long as it has been in existence, society has always been fractured into social classes, the very rich and the very poor. I see within our society the chasm growing by the year. The proletariat, boxed into cramped houses, while the bourgeoisie reside in mansions that jut up towards the sky touching the clouds. The rich, who control mostly everything in todays age, capitalize on those less fortunate than themselves and bask in the ignorance of the lower class. It is painful for myself to see the common worker, the average person, being taken advantage of and not even knowing his rights against such things.

Popular literature often reflects society’s beliefs and struggles, and dystopian fiction is once again gaining popularity. From Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro to Hulu’s reimagining of The Handmaid’s Tale, written by Margaret Atwood, and all the young adult dystopias in between, one does not have to search far to find a unique dystopian read. While every dystopia is different, these novels have similar characteristics that define their genre.

A dystopia in the 21st Century consists of an unpleasant society that's made to seem as if it were a utopian world, but in reality is quite the opposite because of its unjust laws and rules, oppressive society, and harsh rulers. According to John Adams the word "dystopia" comes from Greek origin meaning literally a "bad place. [2] Dystopian fiction is a literary genre that "explores" political and social structures, usually of a futuristic setting. This genre has grown to be immensely popular, especially in the "Teen" category. The dystopia genre is relatively new as it's less than a century old. The dystopias usually consist of a protagonist going against a system made to seem like a utopia and fighting its oppressive government in hopes of defeating it and freeing themselves along with everyone else.