DYSTOPIA AS A FORM OF SOCIAL PROTEST (AS ILLUSTRATED BY ZAMYATIN’S “WE”, GEORGE ORWELL’S “1984” AND COLLINS’ “THE HUNGER GAMES”)

Abstract

This article examines the distinctive features of the dystopian genre as a form of representation and a tool for social protest in 20th- and 21st-century literature. Drawing on the novels *We* by Yevgeny Zamyatin, *1984* by George Orwell and *The Hunger Games* by Suzanne Collins, the article analyses the evolution of dystopian discourse from classical totalitarianism to the repressive mechanisms of consumer society and mediocracy. The author examines how, through the deconstruction of totalitarian and authoritarian systems, writers express protest against the suppression of human individuality, the standardisation of thought, and the manipulation of public consciousness. The study identifies common strategies of artistic resistance, such as the de-automatisation of the individual, rebellion against rationalism and the demythologisation of state ideology, and traces the transformation of the image of the rebellious hero depending on the historical context.