Identity In The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
'The Remains of The Day' and 'The Handmaid's Tale' are two novels from
opposing ends of the fictional literature spectrum. On one side we
have "THT" a novel set within a dystopian future using relationships
between characters to emphasise the strictness of the regime currently
being operated in Gilead most fitting would the relationship between
The Commander and Offred. In a totally different end of the
metaphorical literature spectrum we have "TROTD" which sets its main
characters within Darlington Manor in the month of July 1956 where the
novels protagonist, Stevens, the first person narrator looks back in
retrospect towards the events of the early 1920's where him and his
fellow under-staff observe their employer gradually lean towards
Nazism and becoming a national traitor in the crucial build up to
World War II. The relationships explore within this novel are also
used to enforce the hierarchy within Darlington hall. Both novels are
shown to explore various themes including that of, Age, Personal
interaction, Dignity (or a lack of dignity), regret loss and above all
else personal identity and its effect on the individual characters
identity.
In "THT" Offred's society is set within a dystopian future whereas in
"TROTD" Stevens is set within a nostalgic backdrop of rural England.
This contrast of setting is ideal when comparing the main characters
from the two novels. On one side we have Offred caught within a futur...
... middle of paper ...
...ecent hard hitting
portrayals of a totalitarian society.
Points discussed: 1) Society's effect on different relationships
2) First defining relationships
3) Info structure of characters in novels
4) Main characters personal traits and faults
5) Setting in novels and its effect on characters relationships
6) Writers intentions and style/language etc.
References
References Leavitt, JW, Brought to Bed: Childbearing in America,
1750-1950. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1986.
Moore, Pamela, Atwood, Margaret: The Handmaid's Tale. Boston, MS:
Houghton Mifflin, 1986.
Wertz RW, Wertz DC, Lying-In: A History of Childbirth in America. New
York, NY: Free Press, 1977.
http://www.livejournal.com/users/ninebelow/5745.html for its useful
interview with Margaret Atwood (2004-05-10 11:46:00)
The protagonists of Never Let Me Go and The Handmaid’s Tale come to believe that the self is all that can be known to exist, as they have lost their freedom and rights. In discussing issues of identity, it is important to consider what characters lose, such as names and value in society, and how they try and protect their sense of self, by holding memories dear and valuing their soul above their functional body. This is most poignant in the lives of Kathy H. and Offred. Atwood herself is known to have described The Handmaid’s Tale as ‘speculative fiction’, and there is nothing in the novel that could not happen in the present day. Equally, Ishiguro sets his novel in modern Britain. This means that the loss of identity in both novels holds true today, as with the increase of identity cards and proof of identification, it becomes increasingly important to be obsessed with who we are.
Margaret Atwood is famous for many things. She is a poet, novelist, story writer, essayist, and an environmental activist. Her books are usually bestsellers and have received high praises in the United States, Europe, and her native country, Canada. She has also received many Literary awards, like the Booker Prize, the Arthur C. Clarke Award, and the two Governor General’s Awards (“Margaret Atwood” Poetry). Through her books, she has written about what she sees in society towards women. She discusses how gender equality was corrupted in the past, but still is far from being reached, and women’s roles in society (“Spotty-handed”). Atwood also takes events in her life; like the Great Depression, Communism, and World War II; and applies it to her works. Margaret Atwood's works, including her novel The Handmaid's Tale, reflects women’s fight in equality, how society determines
Callaway, Alanna A., "Woman disunited ; Margaret Atwood's The handmaid's tale as a critique of feminism" (2008). Master's theses. Paper 3505. http://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_theses/3505
In "The Handmaid's Tale", Margaret Atwood tells a saddening story about a not-to-distant future where toxic chemicals and abuses of the human body have resulted in many men and women alike becoming sterile. The main character, Offred, gives a first person encounter about her subservient life as a handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, a republic formed after a bloody coup against the United States government. She and her fellow handmaids are fertile women that the leaders of Gilead, the Commanders, enslave to ensure their power and the population of the Republic. While the laws governing women and others who are not in control of Gilead seem oppressive, outlandish and ridiculous, they are merely a caricature of past and present laws and traditions of Western civilization. "The Handmaid's Tale" is an accurate and feasible description of what society could be like if a strict and oppressive religious organization gained dominant power over the political system in the United States.
In The Handmaid’s Tale, much use is made of imagery; to enable the reader to create a more detailed mental picture of the novel’s action and also to intensify the emotive language used. In particular, Atwood uses many images involving flowers and plants.
The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian novel in which Atwood creates a world which seems absurd and near impossible. Women being kept in slavery only to create babies, cult like religious control over the population, and the deportation of an entire race, these things all seem like fiction. However Atwood's novel is closer to fact than fiction; all the events which take place in the story have a base in the real world as well as a historical precedent. Atwood establishes the world of Gilead on historical events as well as the social and political trends which were taking place during her life time in the 1980's. Atwood shows her audience through political and historical reference that Gilead was and is closer than most people realize.
Often in life, people take their freedoms, a gift that allows them to express their individuality, for granted. However, in the dystopian societies of The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, people are reminded of just how easily their freedoms and humanity can be stripped away. Attwood and Ishiguro urge people to never lose sight of the core values that define who they are. The compelling novels chronicle the life journey of two protagonists as they fight to define their own existence and worth in life. Offred, the central character in The Handmaid’s Tale is exploited as a baby making machine, while Kathy, the leading role in Never Let Me Go, is degraded as a lifeless android in a sea of clones. From Atwood and Ishiguro’s provocative coming-of-age novels emerge two beautiful and inspiring heroines. Whether it is through their remembrance of the past, their loss of innocence, their capability to hope, or their ability to establish relationships, Offred and Kathy prove that they are every bit as human as the rest of society. Ultimately, despite the many differences in their distinct masterpieces, Atwood and Ishiguro share the same intent in their haunting portrayal of the protagonists’ dehumanizabtion—to shed light on the true essence of what it is to be human.
In Margaret Atwood’s, The Handmaid’s Tale, women are subjected to unthinkable oppression. Practically every aspect of their life is controlled, and they are taught to believe that their only purpose is to bear children for their commander. These “handmaids” are not allowed to read, write or speak freely. Any type of expression would be dangerous to the order of the Gilead’s strict society. They are conditioned to believe that they are safer in this new society. Women are supposedly no longer exploited or disrespected (pornography, rape, etc.) as they once were. Romantic relationships are strongly prohibited because involving emotion would defeat the handmaid’s sole purpose of reproducing. Of course not all women who were taken into Gilead believed right what was happening to their way of life. Through the process of storytelling, remembering, and rebellion, Offred and other handmaids cease to completely submit to Gilead’s repressive culture.
The novel, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood connects to the novel, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne through many similar, recurring themes. Both novels are described as works of dystopian fiction and they both manifest traits of Sin and Redemption with Good and Evil. One of the central themes that relate to both texts is Identity. Within both of the novels, both women protagonists struggle to successfully assert their identity, and they struggle to create genuine relationships with others. In The Handmaid's Tale, women have been banned from talking to one another because it's dangerous to express emotions. They are not allowed to read, write or create personal relationships with one another. All these things have been banned
Margaret Atwood's renowned science fiction novel, The Handmaid's Tale, was written in 1986 during the rise of the opposition to the feminist movement. Atwood, a Native American, was a vigorous supporter of this movement. The battle that existed between both sides of the women's rights issue inspired her to write this work. Because it was not clear just what the end result of the feminist movement would be, the author begins at the outset to prod her reader to consider where the story will end. Her purpose in writing this serious satire is to warn women of what the female gender stands to lose if the feminist movement were to fail. Atwood envisions a society of extreme changes in governmental, social, and mental oppression to make her point.
Identity is what makes a person unique. It is what distinguishes a person from the other seven billion people that inhabit the earth alongside them. Without an identity, one is another person in a sea of unfamiliar faces with nothing to make them special. The reader experiences this very phenomenon in Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, as the women have their identities stripped from them in the dystopian, war-stricken society and are forced to be just seen and not heard. Using the protagonist as her tool, Atwood presents the idea that the loss of an identity results in the loss of a person, and a person will do anything to fill the void that needs to be filled.
Many texts that were published from different authors have introduced topics that can be related in today’s society, but Margaret Atwood’s creation called, “The Handmaid’s Tale”, gives voice to the thoughts and revolves around the narrator Offred, a woman whose rights have been deprived due to political issues. However, the information shared by Offred to the reader to the text is not reliable for the reason that she only touches upon her own perspective. Through the text, Atwood depicted what the United States of America would be in the future based on the actions of humanity during 1980’s. The text is set up in an androcentric and totalitarian country called Gilead, where the government attempts to create a utopian society. Thus, in order to attain this society, the authorities generated their legislation from the teachings of the Holy Bible in an attempt to control humanity. The governing
Wisker, Gina. Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale: A Reader's Guide. London; New York : Continuum, c2010. Web. 02 Apr. 2014.
The Handmaid's Tale presents an extreme example of sexism and misogyny by featuring the complete objectification of women in the society of Gilead. Yet by also highlighting the mistreatment of women in the cultures that precede and follow the Gileadean era, Margaret Atwood is suggesting that sexism and misogyny are deeply embedded in any society and that serious and deliberate attention must be given to these forms of discrimination in order to eliminate them.
Identity, Complicity, and Resistance in The Handmaid's Tale, PETER G. STILLMAN and S. ANNE JOHNSON, Utopian Studies, Vol. 5, No. 2 (1994), pp. 70-86