I think religion is partly the answer to defeating dystopia. I am not sure if faith alone will always allow dystopian societies to be overthrown; however, I do think faith and God lead us to the resources needed to do so. For example, in the Brown girl in the Ring Ti-family Jean is bemoaning their poverty at the start of the play. “Wait, and God will send us something,” Ti-jeans mother reminds her sons. However, neither of them is convinced. The point that I want to discuss is when Ti-jeans mother discusses God will deliver them something they need. I think that faith leads us to resources and tools that we can use to our benefit. Ti-Jean’s understanding of faith resonates with me. Ti-Jean is willing to put her faith in God so completely that she doesn’t require material proof of God’s action, and as a result, she is able to put vital spiritual lessons into reality. Ti-Jean’s desire to believe in God and put the spiritual lessons she’s learned into practice aids in her survival. This, ultimately, enables her to defeat the Devil, demonstrating the power of faith. I am not too familiar with how Catholics in the 1960s developed a liberation theology to battle authoritarianism. However, it sounds like something that I would like to read more about.
In 1984 faith was not present throughout the book, and I would like to think if faith was present the book might have ended differently. We see how the ending of 1984 contrasts with the ending of Brown girl in the Ring. However, in other dystopian novels, there have been happy endings without the presence of faith, but this is at the discretion of the author. In reality, I think that religion is a necessary component of fighting oppression.
I am a sophomore psychology pre-med major. I am also from Houston Tx
