Dystopia And The Handmaid's Tale Analysis

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Dreams thus are a projection of the world that is perceived through the senses. Literature too is an imitation of the perceived world but with a dash of creative imagination. Dystopian imagination is one such mode of writing where the real world is juxtaposed with the imaginative world that is governed by certain prevailing tastes. The twentieth century saw an amalgamation of various political doctrines such as Communism, Capitalism, Democracy etc., changing pattern of women’s position in society and dominance of science and scientific research which caused emergence of ‘dystopian fiction’ , a new type of imaginative writing that was a blend of modernism and social realism in one form. It reflected the currents and forces that were …show more content…

The conflict in the dystopian novel arises from the central idea of the novel, an idea that becomes a commanding passion and moves the plot ahead. Margaret Atwood 's The Handmaid 's Tale revolves around the revival of religious fanaticism and how this conservative totalitarian theocracy has made its citizens more or less captives. Thus the novel becomes the study of survival. Similarly Huxley builds the plot of Brave New World on the idea of staying human in the high-tech and materialistic society. Huxley 's vision moves on the premise whether the satisfaction of material wants and mindless pleasures would overpower the …show more content…

Both novels depict totalitarian societies. The worlds of The Handmaid’s Tale and Brave New World are governed by totalitarian party or group which strictly monitors most aspects of the lives of their citizens. This imposing form of totalitarian government is heavily present throughout both novels that sacrifice individual rights in favour of the interests of the ruling group. Gilead takes it even further, denying the integrity not only of the individual person, but also of the human body. Women in Gilead are important only