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The Use Of Motifs In The Handmaid's Tale

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This gives the reader a greater understanding of one way in which the Party controls the citizens of Oceania, through the abolishment and manipulation of history. Perhaps the most significant literary device found in the novel is the use of motif. As the mathematical equation 2 + 2 = 5 is repeated throughout the novel it becomes a motif linked to the theme of psychological independence. ‘In the end the Party would announce that two and two made five, and you would have to believe it.’ Winston considers the Party’s exploitation of its fearful inhabitants as a means to supress the intellectual notion of objective reality. ‘For after all, how do we know that two and two make four?(…)Or that the past is unchangeable? If both the past and the external world exist only in the mind, and if the mind itself is controllable – what then?’ This same concept is repeated throughout the novel and is once again used at …show more content…

Religious references are a recurring motif throughout the novel. As Gilead is a theocracy—a government in which there is no separation between state and religion - the Gileadean vocabulary repeatedly incorporates religious terminology and biblical references. This provides a ubiquitous reminder that the founders of Gilead act on the authority of the Bible. This then causes a manipulation of Christian values in order to fit the goals of the regime. For example the use of Handmaids is justified by a reference to the Old Testament where Abraham impregnates his domestic servant with his wife’s permission since she is unable to reproduce. The ultimate irony of Atwood’s fiction world is that Gilead is a theocracy where not one person is devout and where notions such as faith have no meaning. A supposedly profoundly Christian society turns every citizen into a sinner as in order to exist within the system each character becomes a liar and a

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Literary Analysis: Flannery O Connor

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Theme Of Conformity In The Handmaid's Tale

856 Words | 4 Pages

One of the factors used by the characters in the two novels for their survival is conformity. An example of conformity that plays an important role in the two novels is clothing. In The Handmaid’s Tale, the classifications of each individual are conformed by different clothing. The Handmaids wear red dresses, Marthas wear green, Wives wear blue, Ecowives wear stripes dresses of the three colours, and Commanders and the Angels wear black clothing. According to Offred from The Handmaid's Tale, “The wings too are prescribed issue; they are to keep us from seeing, but also from being seen” (Atwood 9).

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Hypocrisy In A Good Man Is Hard To Find

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Use Of Figurative Language In The Handmaid's Tale

1108 Words | 5 Pages

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Symbolism In The Handmaid's Tale

1410 Words | 6 Pages

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2035 Words | 9 Pages

Works of literature often portray ideas relating to Marxist theory, this is why in a dystopian society, class distinctions dominate the social climate, using Marxist ideologies as a tool to define the lives of the narrator and those around her. In Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, ideologies from Marxist theory dominate the society in which Offred, the narrator, lives in, evidenced by the strict class systems and limited interaction between them. In writing the novel, Atwood makes a point to create a world that could exist using technology and ideas already accessible in today’s society, meaning the events that take place in The Handmaid’s Tale could happen in present day. Offred lives in a reality where class distinctions dominate society, and women, especially fertile women. These women are displaced downwards, although there are those women who attempt to resist the grip of society.

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1837 Words | 8 Pages

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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.

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1472 Words | 6 Pages

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