Human civilizations have been developing for over 6,500 years yet society continues to repeat horrors from the past. Ignoring actions taken by our ancestors, society insists on digging an inescapable grave for our descendants. Climate change, discrimination, poverty, religious conflicts; all of these are current complications within our society. Society can learn a great deal from looking at the elements of dehumanization, fear, and social commentary illustrated throughout William Golding’s Lord of the Flies and Marissa Meyer’s Renegades.
Dehumanization is a major theme throughout Lord of the Flies. In the book, the author describes Jack’s character as “savage” towards the other people who aren’t in his tribe. He is seen as willing to do anything to destroy the other people, even though only a short while ago they were all in cooperation with each other. Golding writes, “Viciously, with full intention, he hurled his spear at Ralph” (Golding, 181). This shows how Jack no longer sees the other people that are not a part of his tribe as human as he is willing to intentionally hurt them. Later on in the book it seems he unleashed a full out war against Ralph as he and his tribe members hunt for Ralph in the forest as if they are hunting a wild boar for supper. In Renegades, the author took a different route to depict dehumanization.
In the preface of Renegades, the author gives the readers a description of what life was like before any prodigies, or powered people, rose to power. She said, “For hundreds of years, prodigies were feared by the rest of the world. We were hunted. Tormented. Feared and oppressed” (Meyer, 1). Before the outbreak for freedom for prodigies they were in hiding, feared by the rest of the world for being different, so the government decided to rid the world of them. Until the day came when they needed to be protected by them. One especially powerful prodigy rose to power in Gatlon City to overthrow the corrupt government. His goal was freedom for prodigies but instead other prodigies banded together to try to stop the villains, or Anarchists. It is revealed throughout the book that the new government of “good” prodigies are planning something that could change the world. The government is working on a serum to suppress the powers of prodigies who won’t join them or who have a risk factor attached to them. This is dehumanizing because they are potentially depriving them of qualities they are born with.
Society today is not far from becoming the savages that we fear. Technology is immersed all around us. People are almost fully dependent on some type of electronics during their daily life. Looking around, there’s plenty of evidence pointing towards a world with more machines and less humanity. Continuing in the manner could easily lead to a downfall of humanity. A world where people have given up their rights unknowingly. The protagonist makes an excellent point when she says, “humanity was becoming weak and pathetic” (Meyer, 497). Technology could very well lead our society to becoming less human and more dependent on machines. They’re already incorporated in daily life form mockup AI systems to self driving cars. The world is beginning to change, and whether its for the best or the worst humanity will learn in the coming years. This is when turning to the creative minds behind dystopian books can benefit. They give a warning of how society could turn out, and they’re not far from the truth. All the new technology is robbing people of basic human rights.
Fear is another element that books have shown society to be wary of. Not understanding that it’s fear driving people to do insane actions might be the biggest thing humankind can fail at. It is exemplified perfectly in Lord of the Flies. The boys on the island are terrified of a “beastie” they believe is out to get them. Throughout the book, the fear of the beast manifested into a greater problem because it was really a fear of the unknown. Everyone on the island were children so they had a considerable amount of fear after the realization of having no adults set in. The little boy Simon had the greatest understanding of fearing the unknown when he spoke about the beastie actually being themselves. He pointed out that “ ‘maybe it’s only us’ ”(Golding, 89). In this line, the author is conveying the message that humanity itself is what is most feared. This is an excellent point as throughout history, humans have repeatedly created turmoil at the cost of other people’s lives. In 1346,