A FICTIONAL NATION: DYSTOPIAN LITERATURE AND THE REVERSAL OF AMERICAN PROGRESS UNDER TRUMP

Abstract

A FICTIONAL NATION: DYSTOPIAN LITERATURE AND THE REVERSAL OF AMERICAN PROGRESS UNDER TRUMP This thesis argues that under Trump’s administration, America begins to reflect the political dystopias imagined in the 20th century, signaling a reversal in the democratic progress of the 21st century. The central research questions guiding this thesis are as follows: • What historical role has storytelling played in shaping political discourse and public consciousness? • How does dystopian literature reflect and critique the political conditions and anxieties of the era in which it was written? • In what ways does the political climate under the Trump administration parallel the dystopian themes articulated in 20th-century fiction? This thesis employs a mixed-methods approach to address these research questions. The qualitative component consists of a close textual analysis of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, which serves as the primary lens for interpreting contemporary parallels. Where relevant, it will also incorporate Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 as a supporting microlens to broaden the comparative framework. These texts are selected for their canonical status in the totalitarian-dystopian genre and their thematic resonance with current socio-political conditions. The quantitative component involves constructing a longitudinal dataset of dystopian novels published across the 20th and 21st centuries, cross-referenced with major political events in the United States. This dataset will help identify patterns in the rise of dystopian literature during political upheaval, democratic backsliding, or heightened civil unrest. Together, these methods allow for interpretive depth and broader contextualization of dystopian literature’s political function.