Includes bibliographical references (leaves 123-127) / This dissertation examines how three dystopian texts, namely Aldous Huxley’s Brave New
World, Jasper Fforde’s Shades of Grey and Veronica Roth’s Divergent trilogy, exhibit social
conformity as a disciplinary mechanism of the ‘carceral’ – a notion introduced by
poststructuralist thinker Michel Foucault. Employing poststructuralist discourse and
deconstructive theory as a theoretical framework, the study investigates how each novel
establishes its world as a successful carceral city that incorporates most, if not all, the elements
of the incarceration system that Foucault highlights in Discipline and Punish. It establishes that
the societies of the texts present potentially nightmarish future societies in which social and
political “improvements” result in a seemingly better world, yet some essential part of human
existence has been sacrificed. This study of these fictional worlds reflects on the carceral nature
of modern society and highlights the problematic nature of the social and political practices to
which individuals are expected to conform. Finally, in line with Foucault, it postulates that
individuals need not be enclosed behind prison walls to be imprisoned; the very nature of our
social systems imposes the restrictive power that incarcerates societies / English Studies / M.A. (English Studies)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/26525 |
| Date | 02 1900 |
| Creators | Chamberlain, Marlize |
| Contributors | Kalua, Fetson Anderson |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Format | 1 online resource (127 leaves), application/pdf |
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