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What Are The Similarities Between 1984 And The Handmaid's Tale

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In most dystopian literature, there is a form of a dominant government that exerts complete control over every aspect of its citizens' lives through strict rules that limit people’s thoughts and beliefs, surveillance, censorship, and propaganda. The dystopian novels 1984 by George Orwell and The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood, display this type of oppression and the dangers of totalitarianism. Rebellion against the government is a powerful way for citizens to create a better life for themselves and others and is a common theme in dystopian texts because it illustrates the power dynamic of society and the human desire for autonomy. Both novels highlight how individuals seek freedom and individuality both as an individual and as a group …show more content…

One type of rebellion against this is small acts of individual resistance, such as buying or stealing things, writing in a journal, or even using beauty products. In 1984, Winston owned a journal and wrote down his thoughts and feelings, which defies the Party's strict control over all forms of communication and thought. “His pen had slid voluptuously over the smooth paper, printing in large neat capitals DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER” (Orwell 18). This quote is significant because it represents Winston Smith's growing rebellion against the oppressive government and the importance of individual resistance to retain humanity. The use of the word "voluptuously" suggests that Winston derives pleasure from this act of rebellion and the "smooth paper" and "large neat capitals" also serve as a metaphor for the care and effort Winston puts into his journal, showing how important he finds expressing himself. Another example of individual resistance from 1984 is when Winston purchases a glass paperweight from Mr. Charrington’s store. By buying the paperweight, Winston is defying the Party's strict control over material goods and expressing his own desires and individuality. "In the corner, on the gateleg table, the glass paperweight which he had bought on his last visit gleamed softly out of the half-darkness” (Orwell 136). The paperweight serves as a reminder of a time before the Party's rule, when art and beauty were valued, and when people had the freedom to own and appreciate such objects. The connotation of it glowing “softly out of the half-darkness" can be seen as a metaphor for Winston's own inner light, his individuality, and humanity, which the Party seeks to demolish. The diary and the paperweight describe the idea that any “queer thing, even a compromising thing, for a party member to have in his possession. Anything old, and for that matter anything

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Grace Edwards 4/4/23 Period 2 English 10 H 1984 Final The strength it takes to follow society is minimal, but the strength to create change is unbearable. In George Orwell’s 1984, Oceania is harshly watched and controlled by, what they call “the party” or “big brother,” a profoundly communist government that allows for no individuality or even freedom is thought/speech. Due to this controlling society, my advertisement allows Winston to promote awareness of the party’s power and control over everyone in society.

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Throughout the story, Winston commits various “thoughtcrimes”, which are punishable by death, against “Big Brother” in order to escape its tyranny. We see the things he commits these crimes with, specifically with his diary and Julia, to be what he cherishes most. At the start of the book, Winston’s first “thoughtcrime” was writing in his diary. In this society, expressing thought is against the law and

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For example, “He discovered that while he sat helplessly musing he had also been writing, as though by automatic action… DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER” (Orwell 18). Winston feels that there is something fundamentally wrong and is not satisfied with his government. It shows that Winston starts to think that the government is controlling everything and becoming totalitarian. No matter how hard the people tried to make a utopian society, it was never successful.

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Orwell uses an omniscient third person narration and simile, causing imagery to be powerful: ‘They needed only to rise up and shake themselves like a horse shaking off flies.’ The author uses visual simile through the use of ‘like a horse’ to explain the movement of several individuals which could imply that they are nervous. Third person is conveyed through the use of ‘they’, implying that there is a group of individuals in a particular area involved in the situation. Orwell uses the symbolism of the glass paperweight to convey the lost identity of Winston, symbolically when Winston is arrested the paperweight shatters implying his failure with reconnecting with the past, the truth and the purpose to his identity. Bradbury conveys third person throughout his text but limits it to Guy Montag as the audience is in his thoughts.

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Winston’s realization of the Party’s morally wrong actions gets him to start rebelling against him. The first instance of a rebellion is when he purchases a diary from a store, which is prohibited. He secretly writes down any anti-Party suspicions, knowing that he is going to get captured for it. In the first act of 1984, Winston continues to write in his diary.

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Alexander Hamilton was one of the American founding fathers, he became one of the many faces the United States has. He played an essential part when founding the Constitution and the country, becoming the 1st United States Secretary of the Treasury (September 11, 1789 – January 31, 1795), and Senior Officer of the Army (December 14, 1799 – June 15, 1800). He also was the delegate to the Congress of the Confederation from New York (November 3, 1788 – March 2, 1789, and November 3, 1782 – June 21, 1783). Hamilton accomplished numerous achievements since he was given the chance, he was able to become one of the best immigrants the United States he had. However, he could not have done this without adapting to the culture.

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‘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.

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It stands to reason that in 1984, George Orwell employs both the glass paperweight and Winston’s diary to develop Winston’s desire for the past and his personal rebellion against the Party. The glass paperweight, as a remnant of the past, reflects Winston’s attempt to reconnect with the past and his hope to rebel the government. When Winston first sees the paperweight in Mr.Charrington’s shop, he is fascinated because “The thing was doubly attractive because of its apparent uselessness, though he could guess that it must once have been intended as paperweight”(Orwell 95). According to the Party, there is no such thing as beautiful as the paperweight in the current society, which is because the beauty and uselessness of the paperweight go against

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The reader can see, however, that Winston, despite his “loyalty” to The Party, is still committing acts of rebellion. Orwell depicts Winston arriving at home and instantly pulls out a notebook and beginning to write. The act of having a notebook alone is considered a crime. The term “thought-crime” is commonly used in this society. The Party does not allow individualized thoughts, therefore, confirming, the idea that Winston’s use of a journal is his first act of documented rebellion.

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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

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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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Winston is defiant and rebels against Big Brother and the Party through various illegal actions. After purchasing an empty diary, he continuously wrote “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER” when the telescreens were out of view (Orwell 21). This simple thought is considered to be a severe crime where Winston lives because it is direct disapproval towards the Party. Winston feels as if Big Brother is controlling every aspect of his life, so this rebellious action allows for him to vent his frustration.

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Throughout the book the slogans of “war is peace, freedom is slavery, [and] ignorance is strength” is a forced acceptance by all citizens (Orwell 16). These particular slogans, that exemplify doublethink, are plastered everywhere. The illogicalness of doublethink completely surrounds the citizens, constantly exposing them to it. The second characteristic of monopoly over mass media is quite evident in Winston 's life. Government employees run the internet, newspapers, and radio/tv announcements.

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This moment of weakness for Winston demonstrates his ego because he is satisfying his urge to rebel against the government in an efficient and appropriate way, as described by Marie Doorey in a reference about psychoanalysis (Doorey). Winston waited until he had acquired the diary to begin conspiring his thoughts against Big Brother. Winston mistakenly thought he was writing in secret, when in fact he was not. He was always being watched by Big Brother. Moreover, Winston attempts expressing his individuality by writing his thoughts and feelings in the diary.

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