Dystopia in Contemporary British Fiction

An attempt will be made in this essay to look at the effects of major changes in the environment on human – nature relationships. The essay would also highlight how human beings respond to an abnormal situation. The Carhullan Army by Sarah Hall, The Machine by James Smythe, and Watchman by Ian Rankin presented a world setting in which society was confronted with catastrophic phenomena. The change from the normal to the abnormal has not been smooth. The study is significant because the British society which these novels are portraying has undergone fundamental changes within the twentieth century right into the first decade of the twenty-first century. The Second World War saw the collapse of the British Empire and the concomitant effects of that socio-political and cultural upheaval. It is therefore an urgent matter for literary artists to draw critical attention to the effects of rapid modernisation on man and the environment. Issues such as global warming, insecurity, and techno science need to be properly confronted if our world would be protected. Although there have been studies done on these novels especially, The Carhullan Army, the approach has been Eco dystopia and Feminism. This study would use dystopian theory to underline the evolution in the different settings presented in these novels. The thesis is that a dystopic society usually evolves when the dream of a utopian setting is taken to an unmanageable level. In a constructed ideal setting the extremes of a few will tip the balance and then, dystopia and the ensuing chaos will ensue.