1. Dave Astor - Why do we like dystopian novels? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dave-astor/why-do-we-like-dystopiannovels_b_1979301.html A large chunk of the novels we read in school are classified under dystopian novels, needless to say many of the world’s greatest books are related to or based on the idea of dystopia. Examples of some of these great dystopian pieces are 1984, The Giver, Brave New World, and Fahrenheit 451, which is actually the main piece I chose for my ISU. That being said, this article by Dave Astor is based on the question, “Why do we like dystopian novels?” Rather than just stating ideas of why we as readers enjoy dystopian novels, Astor actually backs up his reason with evidence from popular pieces of writing by George Orwell, H.G. Wells, Cormac McCarthy, and more. One of the important statements Astor makes is, “We're fascinated by the terrible things these characters face, and by how some react bravely and some react cowardly or with resignation.”(Astor 2012) The concept of the unknown is something many readers find very interesting. Something Astor touches on is the admiration of viewing the worst-case scenarios of the future, which opens up the mind of current civilization and what we can do know to ensure that bad things don’t happen later on in our lives.
One of the last things Astor mentions is, “we're compelled to turn the pages as we wonder if rebels and other members of the populace can somehow remake a wretched society into something more positive. We also wonder who will survive and who won't…”(Astor 2012) This again relates to the idea of the unknown, but also talks about how the use of “rebel-like figures” are commonly relevant in dystopian novels, much like The Hunger Games or the Divergent Series. Overall, dystopian novels are extremely common in today’s society of literature and media, so it’s definitely fair to say it’s a genre people really enjoy and look forward to experiencing not only for the story itself, but the lesson it may be teaching to the world.

2. Frank Dietz – Fahrenheit 451 This primary source is an analysis of the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. It talks about the actual plot of the book, but also does a critical analysis of the relevance of dystopia within it. Much like my first source, this piece by Dietz uses other dystopian sources like 1984 and Brave New World. Dietz states under his critical analysis, “The most crucial element in the dystopian hero’s process of initiation, however, is the discovery of books that help explain the existence of the dystopian society and offer means to overcome it.” This is an important