School in a Dystopian World in Last Teen Standing Essay Example

Imagine life as you knew it completely changing due to an unpredictable supernatural disaster. “What kind of lessons would the students learn?”, “What would they eat?”, and “How would they access resources?”(Lo); these are the questions Samara Lo asked herself when creating her dystopian society.  “Last Teen Standing” is a short story written to imagine what school would be like in a dystopian world. The short story successfully develops a dystopia and helps the audience imagine a different environment. Samara helped achieve this purpose by creating a background and future for the dystopia. She uses different rhetorical devices to do so, and she does it quite effectively. Although the story is short, Lo was able to achieve her purpose by answering prompt questions and following a line of thought. “Politicians with polished hair and pressed suits choking up the news,”(Lo) showcases her use of literary devices to further support her overall goal. After reading Samara’s writing, the audience has a clear understanding of the purpose of her story and enjoys another sci-fi read. Lo effectively achieved the reason of creating a dystopian society using multiple literary devices, and use of rhetorical appeal to the benefit of her tale.

Furthermore, Samara combines the use of Pathos and literary devices to overall enhance her story and the flow of her writing. “The burning sun turns her hazmat suit canary yellow.” (Lo) shows the authors clear understanding of the importance of these devices to improve her writing. She also presents a great example of flashback to further support the purpose of her short story. “The oven timer buzzed when the satellites went. No internet, fuzzy television and a phone that always got the busy signal.” (Lo) helps further the depth of her creative writing. This along with the use of pathos really helps strengthen her general assignment. “But in truth, no one wants to remember the before.” (Lo) Helps the reader realize how monumental the change from the disaster was. The audience can determine from the text that the narrator went through a lot, and it helps to create sentimentality within the tale. Samara showcases multiple skills in her writing to help achieve her purpose of creating a dystopian community.

In addition, Lo goes on to give various details to amplify the tragedy of her concept. “Their flowery speeches could’ve talked Mother Tereasa out of sainthood,” “Then the power cut. Family dinner by candlelight followed by boardgames didn’t sound too boring,” and “Warm spring air perfumed with lavender,” (Lo) are examples of the imagery and tone expressed in her writing to help the audience picture the situation. Lo used lighthearted, engaging diction to tell this drastic story, and it makes the writing even more understandable for the audience from this because it’s relatable. The role that school plays in the story really helps makes it a fun read for the audience due to the fact that education is a universal experience. Mentions of the school subjects, Geography, Biology, and Mathematics, helps formulate the basis for Samara’s creation and ultimately supports the purpose for it. Centering the piece around being a teenager going through high school benefits the author in great measure because it makes the story reader friendly and assists in making the story’s purpose evident.

“Sure, the hazmat suit gets a bit stuffy, the de-radiated water tastes salty and lunch is the same old beefy liquid in a pouch…” (Lo), serves as details to string the story along. It creates more depth in the short story and makes for a more intriguing read. These details also respond to the author’s questions for the purpose of writing her story, “What would they eat? How would they access resources?” “How much force is needed to knock down a mass of say… a fifty-kilogram teenager accelerating away from you?” (Lo) also supports the outline Samara created as the foundation for her storyline. Although the situation of the piece is rather disheartening, the literary devices expressed within the writing created a delivery enticing to the audience. The inclusion of imagery, mood, humor, and the irony of surviving a disaster but telling the story in an airy way helps the reader imagine life after a monumental crisis in a comprehensive way.

Samara Lo created a dystopian lifestyle and published it to a website in hopes of making a good story for science fiction readers. Her use of pathos by making experiences relatable, of imagery to help envision the scenario, and the diction used along with the mood of the piece successfully does what she hoped. Lo “…imagined what it would be like to go to school in a dystopian world.” (Lo) and wanted to capture that in her piece for the audience to envision. Implementing various literary devices, as well as examples of pathos and high school friendly vocabulary, made her purpose for the story possible. “Last Teen Standing” formulates a vision of another world for the reader and accomplishes the imagination of living there.