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AWEJ for Translation & Literary Studies, Volume 4, Number3. August  2020                                Pp.159- 172

National Identity as the Arena of Constellations of Nationalism and De-Nationalism in American Dystopian Novels

American Studies Doctoral Program
The Faculty of Cultural Studies, Universitas Gadjah Mada
Jogjakarta, Indonesia

Abstract:

This study aims to dismantle how national identity becomes the arena of a constellation of Nationalism and de-nationalism in some dystopian fiction. The national identity described as a factor forming Nationalism is one of the fields of Nationalism and de-nationalism that always appears in American dystopian novels. A mutually beneficial two-way relationship between the state and the people is essential to build state nationalism. The fading of Nationalism as a result from government’s opressions was revealed by Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, Westerfeld’s Uglies, Collins’s The Hunger Games, and Roth’s Divergent. The main problem of this article is to find out how the national identity becomes the arena of constellations between Nationalism and de-nationalism. The significance of this study is to reveal the Nationalism and de-nationalism through the constellations of national identity through American dystopian novels. Using Derrida’s deconstruction theory, the constellations appear in binary opposition as follows: country versus people; ruler versus society; regulation or oppression versus freedom; power versus weakness; independence versus dependence; intelligence versus stupidity; manipulative party versus receptive party; and global versus local. The main finding of this analysis in that the oppression and totalitarianism of the Government have eroded people’s identity, which turns the sense of Nationalism to de-Nationalism.

Cite as:

Sriastuti, A.  (2020). National Identity as the Arena of Constellations of Nationalism and De-Nationalism in American Dystopian Novels. Arab World English Journal for Translation & Literary Studies 4 (3) 159-172.

References:

Atwood, M. (1985). The Handmaid’s Tale. Canada: McClelland & Stewart Limited

Booker, M. K. (1995). The Dystopian Impulse in Modern Literature: Fiction as Social Criticism. Utopian Studies, 6 (2), Pp. 147-149

Bradbury, R. (1953). Fahrenheit 451. United States: Ballantine Books

Collins, S. (2008). The Hunger Games. United States: Scholastic Press

Derrida, J. (1997). Of Grammatology. London: John Hopkins University Press

Fietto, L. (2016). The People’s Teacher: Dystopian Literature as Social Evolution, Available at https://thepeopleteacher.blogspo t.com/2016/10/

Finlayson, A. (2014). Nationalism. In V. Geoghegan, R. Wilford (eds.), Political Ideologies: An Introduction pp. 100-102. United Kingdom: Routledg.

Naqvi, A.M. (1998). Nationalism | Al-Islam.org, Available at https://www.alislam. org/tags/nationalism

Roth, V. (2011). Divergent. United States: Katherine Tegen Books

Sarup, M. (1996). Identity, Culture, and the Postmodern World. United States: The University of Georgia Press

Smith, A. D. (1991). National Identity. New York: Penguin Group

James, P (1996). Nation Formation: Towards a Theory of Abstract Community. London: Sage Publications

Westerfeld, S. (2005). Uglies. United States: The New York Times Press

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Anna Sriastuti is a doctoral student of Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia. Her majoring is in
American Studies Program. Right now, she is working on her dissertation on “Deconstruction of
American Ideology through American Dystopia Novels”. Her interests are multiculturalism,
children literature, feminism, and American Studies. ORCid ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-
5776-6192