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Comparing A Clockwork Orange 'And The Handmaid's Tale'

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Although the novels are set in very different worlds, ‘A Clockwork Orange ‘(ACO) and ‘The Handmaid’s tale’ (THT) both explore how punishments create a climate of fear and how this is necessary for both dystopian societies to maintain order and deter individuals from transgressing. However, Burgess and Atwood portray the enforcement of punishments in different ways. Atwood presents Gilead as a radical regime that uses its public displays of punishment like the salvaging as a means to indoctrinate the citizens, creating a climate of fear which stimulates conformity. While Burgess choose to explore how a society imposes its punishments on a more subjective base: he focuses on the idea of Classical Conditioning and Aversion Therapy as means to rehabilitate rather than punish the ultra-violent protagonist Alex. However, it …show more content…

Atwood frequently alluded to different parts of the Bible, the most striking reference being from Genesis 30: 1-3 where the infertile Racheal told her husband Jacob that he could have intercourse with her handmaid. This was incorporated in first epigraph of THT were it stated “Give me children, or else I die”. This acted as biblical justification for the leaders in Atwood's fictional state, with the use of the ‘Handmaids' to bear children in the dystopian society where, for a range of reasons, infertility and genetic defects are prevalent. It was her intent to place this all at the beginning of the novel in order to plunge the reader in what they would presume is an extreme change in society. Margaret Atwood intentionally extracted this trivial quotation from the Bible to spark debate and by using it as the bases of Gilead’s radical regime; it is understandable, how it was perceived as religious mockery. As many fundamentalist take these small passages to justify their horrific nature of punishments when ultimately, it wasn’t supposed to be apparent that way. However, structurally the theme of punishment develops from physical

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In addition, transitioning to the present-day system, Jacoby highlights the modern issues in prison “The Boston Globe reported in 1994 that more than 200,000 prison inmates are raped each year, usually to the indifference of the guards.” This information serves as a strong emotional approach, challenging readers to question the morality and humanity of our modern convictions. Lastly, Jacoby poses the question whether “puritans were more enlightened than we think, at least on the subject of punishment.” Jacoby strategically plays on the readers emotions, empathizing with a reflection upon the modern penal system. The idea of a quick, painful, corporal punishment as a potential alternative invites the reader to consider whether such measures are more humane and emotionally tolerable than the hidden atrocities within the penitentiary system.

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In the novels, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick, showing the human soul in very similar ways. In these two novels, they take away the understanding of the soul to push their beliefs on others. Saying that Handmaids or Androids don't have a soul, or aren't as valuable as others, makes it easier for people to see them as less than. In The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, the human soul is based on who you are.

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Due to the absence of the word ‘my’ when describing her torso, Atwood could be displaying how little authority Offred has over her body, and how due to this she barely perceives it as her own. In contrast, the lack of this first person pronoun could also be a product of the protagonist separating herself from her body to disconnect from the reality of the situation that surrounds her and is therefore of her own doing. Another reference to this is when the Handmaids are shown the film of a women being “cut into pieces”, and this is a direct description of women in the novel being valued as bodies and due to Atwood writing The Handmaid’s Tale as a satire, it is clear she is asking readers to consider current social attitudes and to reflect on the ways in which we view and treat other people. The growth of pornography, especially that which depicts violence against women, is a cause of great concern to many people and feminists such as Atwood view it as part of the ‘objectification’ of

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Utopian Vision Dystopian Reality One of America’s Founding Fathers , Thomas Jefferson once said, “I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery” (Andrew 99). Humanity should learn how history repeats itself as the past often has ironic relevances to the present and future. Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale and the director, Neill Blomkamp’s film Elysium both posit stories for the human race in the future of the oppressed, authoritarian societies, where the privilege enjoy a life of luxury and harmony while controlling and dehumanizing the much larger lower class.

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The differences and similarities between Offred and Ofwarren aka Janine two characters featured in Margaret Atwood 's Handmaid 's Tale exhibit the conditions one has to endure in a dystopian society, and the challenges one has to face within the society. Ofwarren and Offred are two characters that have many things in common which consists what they are were currently in their lives of being handmaid 's. However the still do have differences between one another due to what they endured in their past lives prior to when Gilead was in existence. Ofwarren life prior to when Gilead came into existence consisted of her being gang raped at the age of 14. Due to this incident she became pregnant and had an abortion.

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INTRODUCTION “What’s it going to be then, eh?” It is hard to improve upon Anthony Burgess’ classic opening line to his masterpiece. With this bold, taunting question, A Clockwork Orange’s protagonist, 15-year old Alex, opens the door for our descent into a terrifyingly grim world where ultra-violence and apathy pervade a shocking totalitarian society. The book is partly written in a Russian-influenced argot called nadsat which serves to minimize the horror of the violence depicted. It revolves around a devastatingly simple premise; when state authorities seek to reform young criminals like Alex, Burgess asks- what’s the cost?

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Zophine Saitua-Rippell Ms. Reeve ENG3U6 12 Jan 2022 Looking to the Past with a Warning for the Future: The Dystopian Worlds of The Handmaid’s Tale and 1984 There is something incredibly compelling about a well-crafted dystopian novel. They are set in a believable world, which can be seen to reflect the concerns of the time in which they were written. However, the novels hold an even greater relevance in that they are somewhat prescient and seem to have held warnings of some of the difficulties facing us today. While all dystopian literature is not equal, Margaret Atwood and George Orwell are renowned authors who have created exceptional dystopian worlds in their work.

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The society of both novel, “1984” and “The Handmaid’s Tale” shares familiar methods in order to maintain higher power to control lower class citizens. Their absolute goal to gain complete dominance is through removing or destroying a piece of humanity in order for disobedience or rebellion to be impossible. Gilead and Ingsoc constantly condition citizens by monitoring and invading their privacy. Both regimes employed similarly styles of monitoring, such as spies organisations or simply through the surveillance camera.

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Language is a major themes in both novels “1984” by George Orwell and “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwool. Language are heavily reshape in both novel in order to crave a goal to control individuals. “1984” creates authority over citizens through altering and reducing the English language to its most basic form. To “return” to the root of English, the Party have to eliminate the complexity of the language - synonyms and subtle meaning of words -from the existence of the people minds in the apparent belief that there is no justification from antonyms and ‘shades of meanings’, and only one concept should only subsist . However the true purpose of simplifying language and destroying words is to eliminate concepts that might led to the idealism of rebellion and disobedience; The Party does not want the thoughts of rebellion and disobedience to exist therefore they have to destroy and simplify to a huge extent.

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“We, the People, recognize that we have responsibilities as well as rights; that our destinies are bound together; that a freedom which only asks what's in it for me, a freedom without a commitment to others, a freedom without love or charity or duty or patriotism, is unworthy of our founding ideals, and those who died in their defense” (Barack Obama). With the newly elected president, the United States is changing in many different ways. A major fact about the United States is that the laws are not being carried out properly. Laws are being broken in many different ways all around the world. The Government is abusing their power and taking advantage of the people.

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854 Words | 4 Pages

A Comparison, Man in the High Castle vs. Handmaid’s Tale In this essay I will be comparing two dystopian novels, Handmaid 's tale by Margaret Atwood, and The Man In The High Castle by Philip K. Dick. Both of these books being popular pieces of dystopian literature from the mid 20th century, although, the novels were spaced out by about 20 years give or take. I think these books are similar in many ways while also sending out very different messages and seeing a dystopian past from a different point of view. Margaret Atwood’s piece follows a women called Offred (renamed by the new government put into place) and the new role her and many other women have been forced to take up by the Republic of Gilead (The new and not so great United States).

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Some of these methods include destroying identity through classification, objectification, and indoctrination. Most women of Gilead are sufficiently repressed that they seem to accept their assigned roles, at least outwardly resigned to their fate. Atwood uses gender roles in The Handmaid’s Tale to show the lengths to which misogynistic totalitarian governments will go, to protect their dictatorships. The Republic of Gilead is a hierarchical society which requires complete submission of women to men. By taking away women’s paid jobs, confiscating their property, draining their bank accounts, and giving them no recourse, the male leadership leaves women in a fully dependent and subservient position.

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480 Words | 2 Pages

Dystopian literature has become more common in today’s society. Some of the top book series are about dystopias. One of the top dystopian book trilogies is “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins. While most dystopian novels are similar in some aspects, “The Hunger Games” is specifically relatable to Margaret Atwood’s novel, “The Handmaid’s Tale”. Collins describes the society of Panem in “The Hunger Games”.

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From the outset, literature and all forms of art have been used to express their author’s feelings, opinions, ideas, and believes. Accordingly, many authors have resorted to their writing to express their feminist ideas, but first we must define what feminism is. According to the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, feminism is “the belief that women should be allowed the same rights, power, and opportunities as men and be treated in the same way, or the set of activities intended to achieve this state”. As early as the fifteenth century is possible to find feminist writings. Centuries later, and although she never referred to herself as one, the famous English writer Virginia Woolf became one of the greatest feminist writers of the twentieth

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Atwood connects the political events to show how Gilead gained control and keeps their control by establishing fear into the women. Gilead stays in control by limiting speech to religious references, keeping the women from talking about the oppression they are suffering. Additionally, women are blamed for the social issues that were present in a pre-Gilead society such as rape, abortion and adultery. Women get the blame for the issues and men do not suffer consequences since it is in their nature to cheat. Atwood uses allusions to the Old Testament and historical events to satirize the oppression of women in political, religious and social

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