ipl-logo

The Handmaid's Tale And 1984

2679 Words11 Pages

Uniformity and Resistance: An Exploration of Identity Under Oppressive Government In her work, The Human Condition, Hannah Arendt claims that identity can be discerned through speech and action, as it is perceived by others. However, in dystopian societies such as the ones depicted in Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale and George Orwell’s 1984, where even though it is a form of rebellion, individuals are robbed of this experience. Atwood and Orwell employ different narration styles and protagonists to emphasize the same point—that individual identity and totalitarian government can not coexist. Through pervasive surveillance, propaganda, and forced uniformity, oppressive governments control and diminish the individual identity of their subjects, assigning them one collective identity. The …show more content…

What I must present is a made thing, not something born” (Atwood, 58). By conforming to the collective identity of Gilead, Offred is suppressing her individual identity and merely playing a role in society. As Arendt states in her essay, Truth and Politics, the main effort of oppressive regimes is “...directed toward keeping the propaganda image intact, and this image is threatened less by the enemy...than by those inside the group itself who have managed to escape its spell and insist on talking about facts or events that do not fit the image” (Arendt, 14), and this is eradicated ”by the conversion of language and culture into mental barriers...” (Feder, 3-4). Through a collective identity, governments are able to unify their citizens under their ideology and legitimize their rule. By creating this feeling of belonging, totalitarian governments can brainwash their subjects into “an absolute refusal to believe in the truth of anything, no matter how well this truth may be established” (Arendt,

Show More
Related
987 Words | 4 Pages

After reading a select few words of science fiction from the twentieth century, one of the most recurring themes was the power of words and literature. Or rather, the fear of the power that literature and words may have on society. In the dystopian novels, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Fahrenheit 451, and The Handmaid’s Tale, the envisioned societies were all controlled by governments that disvalued books. It could be assumed by readers of these novels, that the reasoning behind the prohibition of novels in these works is due to the ideas that could influence those in their so-called utopias. The symbolic representations of the newspaper in Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, the pillow in Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, and the temperature at which paper

Read More
608 Words | 3 Pages

In 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Wittenberg Castle church, sparking the reformation and the entire church we know today. This separation from the Catholic Church wasn’t taken great by everyone, and it led to 50 million lives, both protestant and catholic, to be lost. (TheTrumpet 2016) Queen Mary 1, or “Bloody Mary” was one of these rulers that incited and encouraged this violence against the protestants. Queen Mary 1 was born in 1516, two years before the reformation started, and had a rough life.

Read More
1031 Words | 5 Pages

‘Positive characters … usually prove miserably ineffectual when contending with ruthless overwhelming powers’ claims Amin Malak, noting on such protagonists as Winston Smith and Offred in George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, and, when looking at the dystopian genre as a whole, he certainly seems to be correct. Dystopian fiction does seem to portray the worse side of human nature than the better, leaving the positive traits to the struggling protagonists. While utopian writers seemed to think that the essence of human nature was to do good, dystopian writers seem to think very differently and it is from this notion that these novels seem to be written. Nineteen Eighty-Four certainly seems to do this, with almost every member of the society representing one or more negative aspects of humanity.

Read More
1202 Words | 5 Pages

A story of suppression of individuality: How rebellion can change lives in Orwell’s 1984 and Atwood’s The Handmaids Tale Rebellion is a powerful force that is present in many societies, especially those where citizens are unhappy with how they are governed. This is particularly true in dystopian novels where societies have typically taken a turn for the worst. George Orwell’s novel 1984 follows Winston, an inner party member, as his increasing dislike of the party leads him to work against the party. This novel lays a blueprint for future dystopian novels as they follow with many ideas outlined in this text. One of these novels, Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid’s Tale, tells the story of how unhappy handmaid Offred tries to work against her

Read More
2977 Words | 12 Pages

Introduction Background In her 1986 novel The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood presents a scathing critique of a dystopian society that focuses on the subjugation of women and denial of their basic human rights. The novel takes place in the Republic of Gilead, a theocratic regime that has replaced the United States of America, in which women are degraded to reproductive machines, without access to education, independence, or even the ability to read. Central themes in this novel include patriarchal oppression, religious fundamentalism, and totalitarianism. Atwood’s sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale, The Testaments, published in 2019, continues to explore and expand upon these themes, but the subject of her criticism shifts slightly.

Read More
285 Words | 2 Pages

Margaret Atwood began writing one of her most famous novels, The Handmaid’s Tale in the Spring of 1984 while she was living in West Berlin. The Berlin Wall was still in place at this time. As she visited several countries, she experienced firsthand the wary feelings of being spied on, the oblique ways of conveying information, changes of subject in conversation, as well as constant fear and paranoia. These emotions she felt at this time had an impact on Atwood as she continued to struggle in her writing of this novel. Atwood was born in 1939, so she was conscious of what was going on in World War II.

Read More
1239 Words | 5 Pages

In ‘1984’ and ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, the destruction of the individual is due to a combination of the destruction of independence, language and totalitarian monopolistic control. Complete collectivism, despite separate political beliefs, is presented throughout dictatorial societal jurisdiction as being the predominant way to maintain eternal power. The regimes seek to control individuals and therefore engage in continuing reconnaissance or surveillance of the populace. The mind is the most individual source of power to any person and totalitarianism aims to create complete orthodoxy by controlling and manipulating the mind. Both Orwell in ‘Nineteen Eighty Four’ and Atwood in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ are examples of how dystopian literature presents

Read More
1435 Words | 6 Pages

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.

Read More
1002 Words | 5 Pages

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.

Read More
342 Words | 2 Pages

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.

Read More
1784 Words | 8 Pages

By utilizing propaganda through mass media, fear-based and false campaigns to create a“camouflage” rhetoric, the government perfectly shapes public opinions and manipulates societal action in a way that best benefits those who hold positions of power. Such approaches are reflected In The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. The Republic of Gilead contains a strict class and hierarchy which the government requires everyone to perform a certain role. On the surface, Gilead appears to be a perfect society. Yet, the totalitarian aspects of gilead take over.

Read More
952 Words | 4 Pages

In Margaret Atwood’s novel, ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, Moira is depicted as the symbol for resistance to authority and represents hope to the Handmaids. Atwood presents her as a polar opposite to Offred. She is independent, strong-willed, and outspoken. Conversely, the pair can be argued to be doubles in the fact that they both ‘resist’ to the oppressive Republic in Gilead.

Read More
1251 Words | 6 Pages

The Handmaid 's Tale is one of Margaret Atwood most famous novels written during the spring of 1984, when the Berlin wall was still standing. Atwood creates a dystopia, which mostly consists of gender gap and oppression. The Handmaid 's Tale effectively portrays the United States as the modern-day totalitarian society of Gilead, which was illustrated as perfect by using the book of Genesis. Although the authors ideas are inherently and completely fictional, several concepts throughout his book have common links to the past and present society which the author herself calls a speculative fiction. The author uses a totalitarian system which includes aspects of Soviet system, to describe, deprivation, repression and terror with the use of

Read More
807 Words | 4 Pages

How would you feel if you were controlled by a society? In the novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, Gilead is a dystopian society where people are told what to do and what not to do. Margaret Atwood demonstrates that restricted expression leads to rebellious actions by showing the rules being broken by the Commanders and Offred’s relationship as it’s developing. Although, society tells them they are restricted to certain actions, they disregard these rules and do what they desire.

Read More
988 Words | 4 Pages

In the 1980s, United States was experiencing the rise of conservatism. Under the presidency of Ronald Reagan, conservative religious groups were gaining popularity. In response to the social and political landscape, Canadian author Margaret Atwood published a fictional novel The Handmaid’s Tale in 1986; a genre of dystopian novels. The storyline projects an imaginary futuristic world where society lives under oppression and illusion of a utopian society maintained through totalitarian control. Dystopian novels often focus on current social government trends and show an exaggeration of what happens if the trends are taken too far.

Read More

More about The Handmaid's Tale And 1984

Open Document