sense of hopelessness, on the other hand, makes it
nearly impossible—and seemingly pointless—for
groups or individuals to continue their efforts.
It is no surprise, then, that hope is an important
theme in many works of social or political com-
mentary in literature. Readers often expect that
books that critique the status quo will offer sugges-
tions for change and encourage a sense of hope for
the future. Some literary works do so, while some
actively subvert this expectation. Utopian literature
is often quite hopeful about the possibility of a far
better world, whereas dystopian literature, such as
Aldous Huxley’s brave new worLd or Yevgeny
Zamyatin’s We, often portrays a future world that
seems hopeless. The very premise of dystopian fic-
tion may, however, imply hope for change; the books
stand as calls to action to prevent such a dystopian
future from ever coming about, which suggests that
some degree of hope remains.
One complication in the representation of hope
in politically oriented books is that literary works are
often intended less as conventional arguments and
more as explorations, or experiments in imagining
possibilities; in simpler terms, literary genres may be
better suited for raising new questions than for argu-
ing for a position without ambiguity or contradic-
tion. Furthermore, socially engaged literature often
reveals the inequalities, injustices, and power rela-
tions of everyday life, many of which go unnoticed
or are thought irrelevant to larger historical factors.
When showing the extent, degree, and pervasiveness
of these injustices, books often must address how (or
whether) one preserves hope in the face of such far-
reaching problems.
Some authors who discuss social change end
their books not with a stereotypical sense of upbeat
hope but with a more complex discussion of hope
and possibility. Jamaica Kincaid’s a sMaLL pLace^
discusses the lasting impact of British colonialism
in Antigua and elsewhere, as well as issues such as
globalization, class inequalities, racism, and govern-
ment corruption. The book ends with a meditation
on the ambiguity of hope; it suggests that the global
changes and individual failings that make oppres-
sion harder to identify, harder to resist, and harder
to escape may also allow for new possibilities for
human (and humane) connections.
Clearly, many works of literature explore how
hope relates to imagination; hope, after all, funda-
mentally depends on the ability to see beyond the
present circumstances. Tony Kushner’s two-part
play anGeLs in aMerica is particularly concerned
with this relationship as it depicts the character of
Prior Walter, who faces AIDS, his ancestors, angelic
visitors, and abandonment by his partner. Other
characters also struggle for hope and restoration as
the play deals with sexuality, politics, history, and
religion, as well as the medical and institutional
limitations of the 1980s that made treatments for
AIDS largely ineffective. In addition to angels, there
are ghosts, hallucinations, and a visit to heaven, all
of which push characters into expanding their sense
of what is possible. More down-to-earth confronta-
tions among characters have this effect as well, often
throwing characters’ worldviews into tumult. The
spiritual and psychological value of imagination,
and the ability to envision what others cannot or
will not, relates directly to these characters’ experi-
ences of hope or of despair and fear. Furthermore,
in this play, hope often springs from the capacity to
imagine and acknowledge surprising connections
between vastly different individuals—and also the
connections between heaven and earth, between
sex and politics, and between the past, present, and
future. By the end, many of the characters break into
a new stage in their lives that they never imagined
possible; most notably, Prior not only copes with the
abandonment but also fulfills the prophesy that he
would live years longer than anyone thought possi-
ble. Angels in America is thus part of a larger trend in
which authors find hope in times of great upheaval
by suggesting that chaos, in addition to its ill effects,
offers many opportunities for transformation. The
connection between hope and imagination is thus
bound tightly to the relationship between hope and
survival. For this reason, it may be possible to gener-
alize that books that discuss the relationships among
hope, imagination, perseverance, and the capacity to
survive and thrive implicitly argue that works of the
imagination (such as literature) are vital to the well-
being of individuals and societies.
See also Aristophanes: Lysistrata; Bierce,
Ambrose: “Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,
An”; Chekhov, Anton: seaGuLL, the; Davis,52 hope