Analysis and Comparison of Two Dystopian Novels – the Running Man and the Road

UNIVERZITA PALACKÉHO V OLOMOUCI Pedagogická fakulta Ústav cizích jazyků Analysis and Comparison of Two Dystopian Novels – The Running Man and The Road diplomová práce Bc. Martin Kirschbaum Mgr. Petr Anténe, Ph.D. Olomouc, 2019 Abstract This diploma thesis analyzes and compares two dystopian novels by Richard Bachman (The Running Man) and Cormac McCarthy (The Road). With dystopia emerging as one of the most popular literary genres among pupils, the author then applies gained knowledge in the creation of meaningful English lesson plans. At the same time, the author puts special emphasis on the themes such as modern technology or humanity, also reflected in the lesson plans created. Prohlašuji, že jsem diplomovou práci vypracoval sám s využitím uvedených pramenů a literatury. V Olomouci dne 15. 6. 2019 …………………………………. (vlastnoruční podpis) Acknowledgement I would like to thank my supervisor, Mr. Petr Anténe Ph.D., for his guidance and patience throughout the entire process. I would also like to thank my entire family for supporting me during my entire studies, especially during the last several months. Table of Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 6 1. Introduction to The Running Man ................................................................................................... 8 1.1. Why did Stephen King write books as Richard Bachman? ...................................................... 9 1.2. What inspired Bachman to write such an unorthodox story? .............................................. 11 1.3. Air pollution as an efficient way of reducing population ...................................................... 13 2. Introduction to The Road .............................................................................................................. 15 3. Different pace in novels in which characters face a similar dilemma ....................................... 18 3.1. Survival novels in which characters shape attitude .................................................................. 19 3.2. Where are we heading to with our consumption and hard-to-please society? ................... 24 3.3. Distinguishing the good from the bad ................................................................................... 27 3.4. Do the novels end on a positive note? .................................................................................. 29 4. Lesson plans .................................................................................................................................. 34 4.1. Lesson plan based on The Running Man ............................................................................... 36 4.2. Lesson plan based on The Road ............................................................................................ 45 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................. 53 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................................... 55 Anotace ................................................................................................................................................. 57 Resumé .................................................................................................................................................. 58 Introduction In George Orwell’s dystopian classic Nineteen Eighty-Four, the main character, Winston Smith, represents a middle-class citizen fighting against all odds. Citizens were constantly monitored and even encouraged to turn in any family member should they happen to rebel against the Party, giving citizens such as Winston Smith a marginal chance to lead a decent life. Orwell applied a psychological phenomenon later known as the Stockholm Syndrome. By means of establishing a hostile environment, he used humiliation and fear with the aim of taking out human’s identity. Such novels tend to expose the worst-case scenario of often not so distant future. Authors focus on the exercise of power, potential impact of high-tech on our everyday life or the mentioned suppression of human upside. Dystopias extend trends in the present day to a fantastic extreme, however, they remain recognizable as projections of a current situation of which they therefore act as a critique, a wake-up call to what is going on around us or what might happen moving forward.1 Since such stories can explore topics ranging from the lack of water to a reality show gone wrong, dystopian fiction has become a staple genre for teenagers and young adults. In fact, teenagers are showing consistent interest in the variety of possible scenarios for the future, with the best-selling The Hunger Games leading the charge. Children are particularly attracted to ‗‘what ifs‘‘. 2 What if the earth ran out of water? What if love was declared a dangerous disease? While some of these seem more likely than others, teenagers are attracted to the fantasy in it as well as uncertainty to how it all plays out. If nothing else, dystopian stories make young readers think about the current or potential issues while using their own imagination. The popularity of the dystopian novel continues to rise with Divergent, The Maze Runner or Legend, each hitting the bestseller list. Tahereh Mafi, author of the bestselling Shatter Me series, sums it up well: ―I think that‘s what makes it such a safe place for young people to explore their burgeoning understanding of darkness in the world. The realization that there is, in fact, evil in the world is a realization that‘s so unique to that coming-of age experience—it makes dystopian novels evergreen. There will 1FIDDES, Paul. Dystopia, Utopia, and Millennium: Competing Images of Presence in an Anxious World, p. 7 2 SPRYNGEN, Karen. Apocalypse now: Teens turn to dystopian novels, p. 22 6 forever and ever be young people growing up and grappling with the harsh realities of the world.‖3 Knowing youngsters react well to reading such texts, teachers may take advantage of the current trend in order to refine pupils’ reading and overall language skills. Thus, the methodological part of this thesis puts emphasis on creating suitable lesson plans to work with extracts from the dystopian novels —The Running Man by Richard Bachman and The Road by Cormac McCarthy. By using those possibly simplified texts, pupils can learn more about media education, which presents a growing need across the entire school curriculum. Additionally, pupils would improve variety of not only literacy skills when working with a text they should feel comfortable with. The theoretical part takes a general-to-specific approach to the topic of analyzing those previously mentioned dystopias. In addition to that, the comparison of the two dystopias should reveal an intriguing insight into the genre of dystopia, exploring various themes and features behind the ever so popular writers in Richard Bachman and Cormac McCarthy. Hardly any books are as gloomy as The Road. However, Richard Bachman in his The Running Man takes a more fast-paced and Orwellian approach, which should only make for an interesting analysis and comparison of these two dystopian novels. 3 BOOSE, Greg. Are Dystopian Novels Here to Stay?, p. 76 7 1. Introduction to The Running Man Written back in the early 1970s, Bachman’s The Running Man is reminiscent of various fiction and non-fiction. Its most direct literary ancestors are clearly George Orwell’s genre- defining Nineteen Eighty-Four or Aldous Huxley’s novel Brave New World. 4 In fact, Bachman applied similar conventions and techniques, using propaganda or technology as a tool to take control. In addition to that, Orwell and King both used a dialogue between the protagonist and a member of the party in charge to demystify and interrogate structures of power. The Running Man is fast-paced right from the beginning. Unnecessary details are omitted. The reader does not learn much about the main character and his life prior to entering The Running Man show. The sense of urgency is on the display right away with repeating chapter headings, starting with ‗‘Minus 100/and COUNTING…., eventually reaching ‗‘Minus 000…‘‘ When it comes to the story, the protagonist Ben Richards certainly should not have faced such an absurd scenario he was dealing with. Unable to afford medicine for his daughter, Richards desperately looks for options. As a second-class citizen to put it lightly, he ultimately did not have much of a choice apart from trying out for the Running Man, the Network’s most dangerous and at the same time most profitable show. The show broadcasts contestants in their improbable attempt to beat the odds – nobody lasted longer than eight days before Richards’ entering the show. The longer Richards manage to survive, the more he (or his family) gets paid. And if he somehow made it for thirty straight days, he would receive one billion dollars. As unlikely as it sounds, facing Hunters who were trained to kill with citizens seeking relevant information to help locate contestants location, Richards did not fall short of making an impression early on. He took things in his stride and was not afraid to stick up for himself and his family. It looked as if Richards enjoyed toying with cops and Network representatives in charge. He pushed their buttons to the maximum. Richards was certainly confident

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