The past, memory and trauma in young adult dystopian writing

Identifier:  TDX:2245

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/TDX2245

Authors:  Baran, Katarzyna Agnieszka

Abstract:
The last twenty years have witnessed an unprecedented interest in dystopian literature for young adults. During the late 1980s and early 1990s the interdisciplinary field of memory studies began to gain a more widespread recognition. Within this eclectic area of research, trauma became one of the most significant points of focus. Moreover, since the early 1990s, there has been an increase in the publication of children’s books on trauma. However, to date, there has been little scholarly research into the concepts of trauma and memory in dystopian literature for young adults. The main aim of this dissertation is to analyse how the past, memory and trauma are reflected in recent young adult dystopian writing. The thesis examines a selection of novels by American and British writers: Lois Lowry, Doris Lessing, Ursula K. Le Guin and Allie Condie. With the use of theories from the field of memory studies, the thesis traces how, in these novels, memory, the past and history are used by repressive regimes to strengthen the status quo. Moreover, the function of memory is ambiguous as it can be oppressive - but also liberating. The complexities of this process are examined together with the representation of trauma in young adult dystopias.