1984, along with Brave New World, is a dystopian novel. The word dystopia is a play on the word, Utopia, which means “no place” or “good place.” What might be the point of writing a dystopian novel? What purpose would a writer have in setting a narrative in a terrible place or time? Consider some recent dystopias: V for Vendetta, The Giver, Children of Men, Minority Report, The Planet of the Apes, and The Matrix, The Hunger Games.