Idealism and reality

[Zootopia]

Can anyone refer me to any novels dealing with the theme of idealism destroyed by reality or nihilistic ideas?

[Munro]

Animal Farm by George Orwell. Based on the corruption of ideals that occurred during and after the Russian Revolution, Orwell writes a scathing attack on Stalinism and tells the story of a totalitarian regime being replaced by yet another totalitarian regime due to corruption and greed, in the style of a farmyard fable. It is a work of genius, a brilliant book, with a very thought-provoking end.

[didiervg]

I've just read a great novel by Per Olov Enquist called 'the Royal Court Physician's visit'. Apart from the fact that I found it to be one of the very best historical novels I've ever read it does deal, amongst others, with the theme of idealism destroyed by reality: the german doctor Struensee, and enlightened idealist himself, is called in to treat King Christian VII of Denmark who's gone 'mad' (actually: whose fragile mind was destroyed by an all too brutal upbringing) and this allows him for a very short period of time absolute control over the country, until reality (i.e. the powers that be) step in. Read it, it's great.

[Sam Gamgee]

How about Lord of the Flies

[hadji9]

Can anyone refer me to any novels dealing with the theme of idealism destroyed by reality or nihilistic ideas?

'Gravity's Rainbow' by Thomas Pynchon is probably the most nihilistic novel ever written . . . it will haunt your waking and sleeping mind :D . It is a fictionalized World War Two story about a lieutenant named Tyrone Slothrop whose sexual encounters throughout London coincide perfectly with a map of V-2 rocket impacts. The government sends him on some of the most outrageous misadventures in the history of English literature, including a custard pie fight with a hostile American miltary plane in a giant hot air balloon. Here is one of many passages that capture the all-pervading dehumanization of Pynchon:

--Son, been wondering about this, ah, "screwing in" you kids are doing. This matter of the, shooting the electricity into the head, ha-ha?
--waves, Pop. Not just raw electricity. That's fer drips!
--Yes, ah, waves. "Keying waves," right? ha-hah. Uh, tell me, son, what's it like? You know, I've been something of a doper all m'life a-and--
--Oh Pop. Cripes. It isn't like dope at all!
--Well we got off on some pretty good "vacations" we called them then, some pretty "weird" areas they got us into 's a matter of fact--
--But you always came back, didn't you.
--What?
--I mean it was always understood that this would still be here when you go back, just the same, exactly the same, right?
--Well ha-ha gues that's why we called 'em vacations, son! Cause you always do come back to old Realityland, don't you.
--You always did.
--Listen Tyrone, you don't know how dangerous this suff is. Suppose someday you just plug in and go away and never come back? Eh?
--Ho, ho! Don't I wish! What do you think every electrofreak dreams about? You're such an old fuddyduddy! A-and who sez it's a dream, huh? M-maybe it exists. Maybe there is a Machine to take us away, take us completely, suck us out through the electrodes out of the skull 'n' into the Machine and live there forever with all the other souls it's got stored there. It could ecide who it would suck out, a-and when. Dope never gave you immortality. You hadda come back, every time, into a dying hunk of smelly meat! But We can live forever, in a clean, honest, purified Electroworld--
--**** that's what I get, havin' a double Virgo fer a son. . . .[/i] (GR, p.698)