"The Opposite of Utopian"

I enrolled in Writing 39B the first quarter at UCI, immediately following a year abroad/gap year. I did not know what to expect of the course or myself since I had previously taken higher-level English courses, such as AP Literature in high school, but had deficient practice overseas. Additionally, English has never been one of my strong-points, making my taint uneasiness reasonable. However, the 39 series (or it's equivalent) is required for all undergraduates at UCI and I signed up with intent to succeed.

The theme of my writing course is “Dystopia,” a topic I was already fairly familiar with and interested in. Sophomore year of high school my preferred teacher referenced George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four and I felt intrigued enough to acquire the novel and finish it in a single sitting. Despite my lack of appreciation for reading and literature, the text paralleled many historical events I had studied and made me curious about my own society. This class was, however, the first time I drew connections between dystopian and utopian societies. Previously, I regarded utopias as “perfect worlds” and dystopias as “the opposite of utopias” without comprehensively acknowledging a bridge. Even while conducting a Google search to find the difference between "utopia" and "dystopia," many PowerPoints oversimplify these concepts and call them "opposites" when in reality they're very similar. 

Oftentimes, dystopian societies are a byproduct of totalitarian regimes that advocate the organization of a perfect society. Studying different themes in Lois Lowry’s The Giver (1993) served as the perfect focal point to grasp the concept of utopias in relation to dystopias. WR39B has provided me with the foundation and knowledge necessary to refine my writing and practice the use of rhetorical analysis in addition to literary analysis. None of my previous classes had explicitly required me to focus on “how the author said it,” so the idea of a rhetorical analysis terrified me. I had grown accustomed to answering “what is being said” or arguing a stance. At first, I was confused about much of my own voice and opinions should seep into a rhetorical analysis and struggled to make sense of the new set of instructions.

Nonetheless, my pieces have progressed significantly with each week. Before starting this portfolio I was unsure if this so-called “progress” was merely a "return to normal," and my state of writing pre-gap-year, or if it were actual progression in reference to my writing two years back. By reflecting on writings from this course and previous ones, I can now say with certainty that my writing has truly been enhanced by WR39B.