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Dystopian Society

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Many novels, as well as video games, deal with texts of the dystopic genre. Dystopia has become an instrumental form of literature in all countries; however, some texts are better at relaying their message than others. For example, in the video game, The Last of Us, the two protagonists, one adult male and one young girl, fight through hordes of “the infected”. They do so in order to save mankind from utter extinction. Despite being a video game, this text captures the quintessential elements needed in order to become a relatable piece of work and does so by making both Joel and Ellie (the protagonists) truthful characters. In addition to The Last of Us, the novel The Running Man, by Steven King, also deals with the topic of dystopia. This …show more content…

He soon approaches what looks like an injured man; however, the man was not injured and attempts to kill Joel and Ellie to steal his truck. This is a prime example of the modified human nature present in dystopian societies. In an attempt to preserve what human kindness Joel has left , he ends up in a situation much like that of Richards in The Running Man, creating a similarity in the two story arcs. The use of cliché as a rhetoric device is present in both Richards, and Joel and Eli’s lives, and serves as one of the reasons why both story arcs hold the attention of the player/reader. However, The Last of Us serves as a much more relatable situation for the player than that of the reader of Stephen King’s famous novel, due to the realism and player emersion that the game provides. The Last of Us puts the dystopian society into the hands of anyone that can hold a controller, yet still provides a meaningful plot with character development to bout. The length of the game in itself is an effective way to persuade the player of its meaning, and the dangers of a potential future. For the average player, it can take anywhere from 15 to 30 hours of playing time to complete the storyline for The Last of Us, constantly driving home the nature of the dystopian society. The fact that The Last of Us is a video game too makes it much more accessible and appealing to the younger generations. While Stephen King is a legendary author in his own right, it can be intimidating for someone to read one of his novels. Along with this comes the general growth of technology, and the fact that paperbacks are soon becoming irrelevant. The dramatic increase in technology makes a video game much more likely to get selected over a novel for leisure, regardless of the topic that each chooses to address. This is what makes The Last of Us a more realistic option for the spreading awareness of

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