Insularity vs. Islomania. The Island Setting and Shipwreck Experience in Three Dystopian Novels
M. Klaiber
Master's Thesis from the year 2021 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, language: English, abstract: This thesis explores three dystopian novels that depict different forms of island societies: "The Island of Doctor Moreau" by H. G. Wells (1896), "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding (1954), and "The Wall" by John Lanchester (2019). The author splits his text into two parts: a theoretical framework and an analysis. The theoretical framework is again subdivided. The first section lays the foundation for the analysis of dystopian island settings, and explains and discusses important concepts and key terms regarding dystopia and islands. Subsequently, the author provides an overview of functions that islands can fulfill for a society. The second section of the theoretical framework introduces and explains the tools necessary for the analysis of control mechanisms within societies. These tools make it possible to uncover how the respective fictional society organises and controls itself. For the analysis of control mechanisms and power structures in these societies this thesis draws on various concepts of power proposed by Michel Foucault. In the analysis, which constitutes the second main part of this thesis, the author examines each novel separately, in chronological order. By systematically applying the guiding questions mentioned in the methodology, a detailed analysis of the insular societies depicted in the three novels is conducted.
