Like many here, I’ve been feeling the frustration that comes of watching the national scene in the USA, unable to comprehend how such awfulness could become so firmly entrenched in power. History shows too many other examples over the decades (and centuries). But putting aside the historical realities—I started wondering how, over that time, people have mentally processed such situations through the medium of fiction.
(A basic assumption: that humans do mentally and/or emotionally sort through real-life circumstances, in ways yet not fully explained, when we take in fiction.)
Many authors of notable fiction have handled the topic of horrible people lording it over others, whether in government, workplace, or family setting. Outcomes vary from the bleakness of Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm, to the relatively sunny conviction that Good Teens Will Win Out over Bad Rulers in the Young Adult dystopias (such as the Hunger Games and Divergent franchises).
I gathered over a hundred tales—novels, short stories, movies, television, plays, and even a poem—and sorted them into categories based on the authors’ choices on how to present the topic of Awful People. The result, I hope, is entertaining. The volume contains six full public-domain short stories, extended excerpts of other PD works, and quotations (under Fair Use) from copyrighted writings. All are examined from the standpoint of grasping how Story can help us mentally cope with the Awful People we know (or are subjected to).
The book is available in both paperback and eBook formats:
