Use Of Organizations In The Year Of The Flood By Margaret Atwood

The Misuse of Knowledge

To what extent do organizations in The Year of the Flood use knowledge as a tool to indoctrinate people by taking advantage of their circumstances?

Knowledge is a powerful tool that can be used to shape and manipulate individuals' beliefs and opinions. It can be used to inform and educate, but it can also be used to indoctrinate and control. In The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood, the author explores the extent to which possessing knowledge can be used as a tool to indoctrinate individuals into organizations. Atwood portrays two organizations, the God's Gardeners and the CorpSeCorps, that use knowledge to persuade and control their members. Through the use of religious texts, and scientific theories, and taking

The leader of the Gardeners, Adam One, uses The "Green Bible" a compilation of passages from various religious texts that support environmentalism and the belief in the natural order and gives sermons that often reject philosophies of modern society and research of the scientific community. In a sermon about how humans created in God’s image are similar to the primate, Adam One condemns the scientific community by raising the question “Where were the scientific fools when God laid the foundations of the Earth by interposing his own Spirit between one blob of matter another, thus giving rise to forms?” (Atwood, 52), and portraying those who share the beliefs of the scientific community as those who must repent in the eyes of God as he asks the Gardeners to “forgive them in our hearts, for it is not our task today to reprimand, but to contemplate our own earthly state in all humility.” (Atwood, 52), therefore convincing the Gardeners that the scientific community has sinned and must not be trusted at any cost. Adam One persuades the members to reject modern science and instead pursue a naturalistic lifestyle that would give them fulfillment in the eyes of God. Adam One uses these sermons to fill the mind of their members

One of the most effective techniques he employs is the use of love bombing, a cult recruitment technique where potential members are showered with attention, affection, and flattery. This is evident when Adam One says to Toby, "Join us, my dear - we are your friends, we have a place for you" (Atwood 41). Adam One is using a technique known as love-bombing to make Toby feel welcomed and valued as at the moment she is in a vulnerable state, and by showing needed affection and endearment Adam One is effectively taking advantage of Toby’s desperate situation by creating no better option than to follow him, and then later become his follower. Additionally, Adam One uses the technique of isolation to make Toby feel dependent on the Gardeners. This is evident when Toby confides in Adam One and he assures her, "you are safe with us" (Atwood 48). By isolating Toby from her previous life and convincing her that she is safe with the Gardeners, Adam One is able to control her more easily. These techniques are similar to those used by cult leaders, who use love bombing and isolation to manipulate and control their