This is a work in progress table to help OCR A level students prepare for the Unseen in Dystopian Literature. The texts cited have either been used in part as unseen practice or have been read by the students.
Typicality and textual reference in unseens
| Narrative voice | 1st person: Handmaid, Delirium (Oliver), Divergent, Maze Runner
|
| 3rd person: 1984, Station 11, The Road | |
| Narrative tone | Factual: We (Zamyatin), NLMG |
| figurative: time machine, | |
| Setting: | |
| Future improved
|
Brave New World, we, Ender’s Game |
| Past | |
| Future degraded | The Road, (anarchic, post-apocalyptic), I am legend, Station 11, Riddley Walker, The time machine, Delirium, F451 |
| Location Earth?
Totalitarian/ police |
1984, Fahrenheit 451, Handmaid, Delirium (?) Hunger games, the dispossessed |
| Location elsewhere | Ready Player 1, |
| Location town (protection) | 1984, Handmaid, We, Hunger Games |
| Location country (to be feared or a sanctuary) |
1984, Station 11, The Road, I am legend, Logan’s Run (sanctuary) |
| Time of day | |
| Character types | |
| names | Ofred (offered and belonging, (Regal), Winston Smith, anonymous so universal – The Road, F451 Guy Montag – new beginnings, August (Station 11) -power |
| jobs | 1984/F451 – destruction of (written) language, mundane employment: 1984, We, Handmaid, F451(?), War of Worlds, Wyndham novels, Children of men: Lippiatt has a high status role, Station 11 – ‘the prophet’ |
| skills | In YA skills can be more evident- Catniss |
| Action Passive | Handmaid |
| Action Active | Winston Smith |
| Past was better | 1984 – Winston perceives past as better, official documents disagree. Handmaid. Delirium, Brave New World – reservations The Road, Riddley Walker, NLMG |
| Capitalist or Communist takeover | F451, There will come soft rains, Body Snatchers – USA 1950s/60s, Animal Farm, 1984 |
| Destroyed individuality | NLMG,1984, We, Hrarison Bergeron, Cloud Atlas (Sonmi 451) |
| Control by state | NLMG, 1984, BNW |
| Mankind corrupted | The Road, Chaos Walking trilogy, F451, Handmaid, Time Machine, Maze Runner |
| Individual against corrupt society | The Road- Man and child seek redemption |
| Class ‘warfare’ | Hunger games, Time Machine, 1984, brave new world |
English Teaching Resources 