The Representation of Social Reality in Dune Novel 1965 by frank Herbert

Abstract

Social reality is a sociological approach interested in studying social interactions among people living in groups. Social reality is an integral element in literary narratives. Accordingly, the present study aims to examine the extent to which literature succeeds in representing social facts in fictional narratives, taking Dune novel by Frank Herbert as a sample of this investigation. The conflict theory was adopted as the main methodological tool to analyze the social, political, and economic conflicts that are explicitly or implicitly represented in the novel. The analysis yielded that science fiction successfully represents social reality, and accurately depicts human interactions. This was reflected in the conflict between two contradicting powers over the planet Arrakis in Dune. This provides additional support to the achievability of literature in representing social realities beyond its aesthetic function.