Abstract

AbstractThis article compares seven novels published from 1932 to 1980 which are set in drug dystopias (near future societies where pharmacology produces or reinforces a dystopian social order) in order to answer two questions. What are the effects and symbolic meanings of the fictional drugs they describe? Why are there so few examples of this subgenre? Today, their warnings about the reduction of populations to docility or of assaults on the integrity of individual minds seem overwrought, and the apparent passing of the subgenre need not be mourned. Two of the seven novels, however, Brave New World and A Scanner Darkly, continue to be read because they warn against more subtle forms of tyranny.

Full Text
Paper version not known

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.