Dystopianism

Dystopianism is an important theme in the novel “The Summer Prince” by Alaya Dawn Johnson. Dystopianism involves a government, organization, association, or company that exercises tremendous or total power and influence in the lives of everyday people, often denying their human and legal rights in the name of the greater good. Those in power will do whatever it takes to retain power, and will do whatever is necessary to secure their own ends. On the surface, those with power have the stated goal of helping the people, but in reality, they are more likely to harm people than help them.

Four hundred years before the novel begins, a nuclear war devastates the planet. Humanity scrapes by, and survives mostly in cities. Among them is the metropolis of Palmares Tres, which has sustained itself on precise order and absolute rule by government under the auspice of security...