Dystopian novels such as Orwell’s totalitarian ‘1984’, and Atwood’s theocratic ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, explore how governmental bodies often misuse the power that they have in order to exert their own complete control of their society.Both novels enforce this through the use of surveillance, the inclusion of public acts of hatred and. This is done so regimes can ensure that they have complete control over their society, ensuring none may feel the need to start rebelling against them, some going to the extent of murder to ensure this, all whilst completely misusing the power they have. Both Orwells totalitarian ‘1984’ and Atwoods theocratic ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, feature their regimes using their overwhelming power over their citizens in order …show more content…
‘1984’ sees the use of a daily Two Minutes Hate that Party members take part in whilst ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ sees events where the Handmaid’s have a moment to freely express their hatred. In ‘1984’, members can be seen starting to pull chairs into the middle of the room in preparation for the start of the Two Minutes Hate, a daily ritual that happens, all ‘’in which Goldten was not the principal figure’’. Goldstein is a character who is the leader of the Brotherhood, however, it isn't clear if he is a real or potentially made up character. By the Party including this ‘’object of hatred’’ they are able to direct the anger of the members onto something that is worth hating, he is the one that opposed the Party, he is the one that did dirty, not us, hate him not us. This purposeful tactic is one which is seen many times throughout dystopian novels as it means that members feel like they have this freedom to act how they want, and in ‘1984’ they express ‘’uncontrollable exclamations of rage’’. The rage that the members are able to show here means that they free up the space needed to love Big Brother, members may feel a sense of gratitude towards him for allowing them that space and time to let out that pent up anger - the pent up anger that is caused by the Party’s control but this act of hatred prevents them from seeing it …show more content…
In ‘1984’ this is completed through the indoctrination of children, whilst in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, the Handmaids’ are first trained - they are first indoctrinated into the ideology. ‘1984’ features a section where the Parsons’ children are introduced, they are seen as wearing the uniform of the Spies and are partially upset they could not attend the hanging of opposition. Winston reveals how children often become trained by the Party. In order to become a new generation of trustworthy members, these ‘’Ungovernable little savages’’ become raised to ‘’adore[d] the Party’’. The Party works to remove the identities that children could have initially had, the remove the chance they have of potentially rebelling and instead reinforce their own ideology into them - love Big Brother - and encourage the denouncements of anyone who does not comply, as Winston recalls a child who denounced a family member and has hailed as being a hero for it. Further on in the novel, we learn of Mr Parson’s imprisonment for the Thought Crimes he has committed - speaking out against Big Brother whilst he is asleep - he reveals how he was denounced by his own young daughter, he even alludes to that fact it ‘’shows I brought her up in the right spirit’’. This shows how the indoctrination of
George Orwell’s novel, 1984, is a dystopian literary text that illuminates the tenets of totalitarian and authoritarian governance in most areas where the leaders seek total loyalty and near hero worship. It was published in 1949, but has since remained relevant because its details promoted authoritarian political constructs and the political leadership concepts that evolved in the globe over time. Set at Oceania province in Airstrip One, formerly known as Great Britain, the book displays an omnipresent government that institutes constant state surveillance on the people that it suspects to be a threat to its regime and agitators of rebellion. It infringes on human rights
The novel 1984, by George Orwell, made me paranoid. It made me suspicious of our government's power and intentions. I became aware of the potential manipulation which the government could impose upon us. I came to see that the people I believe to be wholly dedicated to the well-being of society, the people I rely so heavily on to provide protection and security have the power to betray us at any given time. I realised that in my naivety I had gravely overlooked the powerful grip government has over society, and what it can do with that power.
Having studied George Orwell's 'Nineteen Eighty-Four', I intend to discuss the type of Government envisaged by Orwell and to what extent his totalitarian Party, 'Ingsoc', satirises past regimes. I will also discuss Orwell's motive in writing such a piece and how his writing style helps it become clear.The main theme of Nineteen Eighty-Four concerns the restrictions imposed on individual freedom by a totalitarian regime. Orwell shows how such a system can impose its will on the people through manipulation of the press, the elimination of democracy, constant supervision (courtesy of the Telescreens) and more. Orwell also shows how the state has more subtle methods for imposing its authority, such as the manipulation of language and control of the media.
The process of creating communism within a country requires the use of fear tactics in order to homogenize the mentality of the people in order for a successful rule. Within the ruling class of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was Joseph Stalin, a strict dictator who believed in the rules of communism, successfully accomplished the main feat: instilling fear within the society. To help enforce this effect, he created a Secret Police to silence the rebellious groups of “Kulaks” as well as several projects to help build his nation. Although Stalin understood that the requirements of communism have similar beliefs to those of the successful governments of Gilead and Oceania, he still had come to his downfall. In Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and George Orwell’s 1984, the administrations utilize strategies such as mind manipulation to establish a successful foundation, whose outcome differs from other communist rulers that have caused their own demise. Holding similar characteristics, the governments of the Soviet Union, Gilead of The Handmaid’s Tale and Oceania of 1984, all help ensure that their rule is enforced through the creation of a special workforce, placement of citizens into strictly organized groups, and forcing all the people to work for the administration. The men of Gilead created a workforce called the Eye, and had their women categorized according to what their purposes were.
While government as an institution can be used for benevolent purposes, George Orwell’s novel 1984 contends that when taken to an excess in the form of totalitarianism, government becomes dangerously self-serving.
More than 70% of women experience some form of mental or physical abuse from the men in their life. Pride and Prejudice, written by Jane Austen, and The Handmaid’s Tale, written by Margaret Atwood, showcase two corrupted societies. Behind the layer of typical male dominance, there is a layer of pure apprehension. This makes the female protagonists, Elizabeth and Offred, feel as though they have no way out. Both protagonists in the novels are aware of the state of their society however, they must decided whether they should keep to themselves and follow the social norm; or if they should follow their hearts and rebel against the normalization of the gender binary. Both novels succeed in bringing attention to the still relevant flaw in society
In the 1930s and 40s, Adolf Hitler used the Jewish people as a scapegoat on which to blame Germany’s problems. This fear of what the Jewish people had apparently created granted the German people free reign to discriminate and detest. This hatred allowed the Nazi Regime to subsist and thrive. The same is true for The Party in 1984. The Party takes away the opportunity to expand one’s mind and freely use one’s body to one’s own pleasure, essentially taking away the humanity from human beings. In George Orwell’s 1984, The Party uses racism, sexism, and anti-semitism as a way to control the masses and quell rebellion.
In George Orwell’s dystopian novel, the government blocks almost all forms of self-expression in order to assert its authority over the people. Those within the society who show signs of defiance against the set rules, even those who act unwillingly, are seen as a threat to the success of the regime are wiped from existence. In Orwell’s 1984, the government uses different forms of propaganda and brainwashing to achieve complete control of society for their own personal benefit.
Thesis Statement: Both 1984 by George Orwell and The Handmaid 's Tale by Margaret Atwood are similar as they are placed in dystopian societies with governments that have complete control over their citizens, however, the roles of the narrator in both novels contrast each other. In 1984, the point of view is Limited Omniscient while the point of view in The Handmaid 's Tale is first person.
These examples display the inevitable fact that all over the world subtle but significant events are taking place that appear to signify a shifting toward a totalitarian government, much like the one present in 1984. This is extremely disturbing because most people will agree that the life lived by the characters in 1984, is not one of any value. Though they are “protected” from several of the problems that many of the free world citizens and officials face, they have no control over their thoughts or actions. This leads to unbearable uniformity. It is chilling to know that though George Orwell’s book was written as fiction, portions of it are becoming factual.
The government in Huxley's Brave New World and Atwood's Handmaid's Tale, both use different methods of obtaining control over individuals, but are both similar in the fact that humans are looked at as instruments. Human's bodies, in both novels, are looked at as objects and not directly as living things with feelings. In both societies the individuals have very little and are controlled strictly by the government. In Handmaid's Tale and Brave New World, through issues of employment, class systems, and the control of reproduction, Atwood and Huxley forewarn that in an all-powerful society, it is destined to become corrupt.
Both worlds of The Handmaid's Tale and 1984 are governed by a party or group which strictly monitor most aspects of the lives of its civilians. This imposing form of government is generally described as totalitarian and is heavily present throughout both novels. The "Dystopian" genre is named so due to its opposition to the rather more common idea of "utopia", a world of impracticable perfection in which a common goal of peace is pivotal.
The scientific study of civil war is always improving and always expanding and one major aspect to consider when studying civil wars is the relationship between civil wars and geography. Three key articles to the findings of relationships between civil wars and geography are “The Geography of Civil War" (2002) by Halvard Buhaug and Scott Gates, “Local Determinants of African Civil Wars" (2006) by Halvard Buhaug and Jan Ketil Rød, and “Geography as Motivation and Opportunity" (2009) by Nils B. Weidmann. First, in “The Geography of Civil War” Gates and Buhang research how strategic aspirations of the rebel groups in civil wars and factors of geography affect the location of the conflict in relation to the capital of the country and the overall size of the conflict area. Gates and Buhang believe this is an important area of study because they claim that “when it comes to exploring determinants of the location of conflicts, little or no systematic effort has been made”(419.) Gates and Buhang find that the size of the conflict (scope) is shaped by location to a border, natural resources, and conflict duration. Meanwhile they find that the distance to the capital of the fighting is influenced by the scope, size of country, whether the rebel group is trying to secede and if the rebel group has a certain identity, for example ethnic or religious. Secondly, in their article about the local determinants of African civil wars Halvard Buhaug and Jan Ketil Rød (2006) claim that the disaggregated research design (letting grids within a state be the unit of analysis) is the better design to look at the independent variables that cause civil wars. Buhaug and Rød (2006) claim that studying civil war onset at the country level overlo...
In the two dystopic novels, The Handmaid's Tale by Margret Atwood and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, they lack essentials freedoms that are necessary for a functioning society to exist. In these novels, each individual in the society has been deprived of their freedoms by their government Their particular government has made sure to control every aspect that makes us human such as our individuality, knowledge, and the relationships we from with others. Both of these governments share a common goal, which is to create stability in a weak society.
A common feature in the dystopian genre is a unique protagonist, who holds views which are not necessarily in concordance with society’s regime. Both Fahrenheit 451 and The Handmaid’s Tale display protagonists’ trapped in a situation undesirable to them, yet are powerless to do anything about it. This is due to the oppression which is essential in any dystopian society. However, unlike most people in these societies, Guy Montag and Offred actually realise they live as part of an unjust regime. The two characters are nonconformists to the extent that they both dare to be different in the totalitarian regime that surrounds them, as commented by Devon Ryan, “the protagonist does not always have outstanding powers or talents, ” yet they have to