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Durham E-Theses Katniss Shrugged: The Problematic Legacy of Ayn Rand in Contemporary American Young Adult Dystopian Literature BECKETT, STEVEN,NELS How to cite: BECKETT, STEVEN,NELS (2019) Katniss Shrugged: The Problematic Legacy of Ayn Rand in Contemporary American Young Adult Dystopian Literature , Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/12945/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 Katniss Shrugged: The Problematic Legacy of Ayn Rand in Contemporary American Young Adult Dystopian Literature Steven N. Beckett Abstract In this thesis, I examine Ayn Rand’s magnum opus Atlas Shrugged and her philosophy of Objectivism, in order to explain how contemporary American young adult critical dystopias are the literary heirs to Rand’s Americanist sociopolitical female-driven novels of rebellion in the face of totalitarian governments. Interwoven with my study on Rand, I focus on four trilogies: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau, Matched by Ally Condie, and Divergent by Veronica Roth. In examining these works through an Objectivist lens, I make an original contribution to the field of literary criticism by addressing the legacy of Rand’s political and ethical philosophy in these contemporary YA critical dystopias. I focus on Ayn Rand, her influence on politics and literature, and the similarities between her work, Atlas Shrugged, and these contemporary YA critical dystopias. I argue that Rand created an archetype of the female rebel that we now see emerging in the identified texts, the coming-of-age Randian heroine; i.e., a young female protagonist with an ethical system that is congruous with Objectivism. It is through the use of this archetype, that these contemporary YA critical dystopias promote a political and ethical philosophy that is consistent with Rand’s Objectivism. Furthermore, that these works provide young adult readers with a uniquely Objectivist solution to contemporary American social concerns through the actions of their coming-of-age Randian heroines. I conclude by addressing the need for further research into how Rand’s work has influenced other areas of literature, philosophy, politics, and society in America and beyond. Katniss Shrugged: The Problematic Legacy of Ayn Rand in Contemporary American Young Adult Dystopian Literature ––––––––––––––– Steven N. Beckett ––––––––––––––– A Thesis submitted for the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy ––––––––––––––– Department of English Studies Durham University September 2018 Table of Contents Part I – Non-Contradiction: Framing ........................................................................ 1 Chapter 1 – Dystopian & Young Adult Dystopian Literature ........................................ 2 Chapter 2 – Rand: Check Your Premises ....................................................................... 13 Chapter 3 – With a Rebel Yell: Good “Bad Girls” ........................................................ 27 Chapter 4 – Cultural Implications ................................................................................... 40 Part II – Either-Or: Government and Politics ........................................................ 58 Introduction – The Political Angle .................................................................................. 59 Chapter 1 – The Aristocracy of Pull: Rand’s Theory of Government ......................... 62 Chapter 2 – The Hunger Games Trilogy ........................................................................ 80 Chapter 3 – The Testing Trilogy ...................................................................................... 99 Chapter 4 – The Matched Trilogy ................................................................................. 126 Chapter 5 – The Divergent Trilogy ............................................................................... 144 Part III – A is A: Individual Morality .................................................................... 163 Introduction – The Moral Angle .................................................................................... 164 Chapter 1 – Atlas Hugged .............................................................................................. 166 Chapter 2 – The Hunger Games Trilogy ...................................................................... 178 Chapter 3 – The Testing Trilogy .................................................................................... 204 Chapter 4 – The Matched Trilogy ................................................................................. 220 Chapter 5 – The Divergent Trilogy ............................................................................... 231 Part IV – The Objectivist Solution ......................................................................... 245 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 246 Chapter 1 – The Hunger Games Trilogy: Socioeconomic Inequality ........................ 248 Chapter 2 – The Testing Trilogy: Access to Education ............................................... 259 Chapter 3 – The Matched Trilogy: Creative Censorship ............................................ 272 Chapter 4 – The Divergent Trilogy: Identity Politics .................................................. 279 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 290 The Phantom Menace ..................................................................................................... 291 Appendix 1 ................................................................................................................ 302 Bibliography ............................................................................................................. 304 Copyright Declaration: The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without the author's prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. Beckett 1 Part I – Non-Contradiction: Framing Beckett 2 Chapter 1 – Dystopian & Young Adult Dystopian Literature Dystopian Literature Conventional wisdom and scholarship places the birth of the dystopian novel in the late 19th century. Over the course of most of the 20th century a steady stream of dystopian novels were regularly published, with increases at or near times of war, political upheaval, and technological advancement. As an academic area of study, dystopian works have often been attached to utopian studies, science fiction, or contemporary literature. The term dystopia is rather straightforward in its evolution. In his 1994, and now highly cited, article “The Three Faces of Utopianism Revisited,” Lyman Tower Sargent set the record straight by properly pointing out that there is a discrepancy in the use of the word “utopia.” In both academic and non-academic circles the word “utopia” is often used with the intent of describing a perfect place or society; however, this is not the original meaning of the word. The word “eutopia,” derived from the Greek “eu” meaning “good” and “topos” meaning “place,” literally “good place,” was actually the first of the “topian” terms. The first major notion of a negative “eutopia” was in 1516 when Thomas More coined the term “utopia” with the publication of his work of the same name. Although the term derives from the Greek “ou” meaning “not” and again “topos” meaning “place,” literally meaning “not a place,” the two terms were confused in the 17th century and “utopia” became the term used to describe a “perfect place.” More’s Utopia was a work of satire so it is possible that the satirical element was lost on many individuals during the 17th century; however, it is also possible—and more likely—that the confusion arises from the fact that both terms are pronounced identically in English and “utopia” became the Beckett 3 dominant spelling. So it is that in this thesis that when referring to a perfect, ideal, or better than contemporary society the word “eutopia” will be used rather than “utopia.” The next major moment in the negative “eutopia’s” history came when the term “cacotopia” was used by Jeremy Bentham in 1818, with the prefix coming from the Greek “Kakos” meaning “bad” or “wicked.” Writing in a Plan for Parliamentary Reform, in the Form of a Catechism, Bentham suggested, “As a match for utopia, (or the imagined seat of the best government,) suppose a cacotopia, (or the imagined seat of the worst government)” (73). Although Bentham’s term did not pass the test of time, his student John Stuart Mill used it along with a new term fifty years later while speaking before the British House of Commons. Mill stated, “It is, perhaps, too complimentary to call them Utopians, they ought