Dystopias plausibly extends existing real-world tensions to confront readers and antagonize their complacency. Margaret Atwood’s postmodern speculative novel The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) and Kurt Vonnegut’s absurdist short story ‘Harrison Bergeron’ (1961) are both shaped by the rise of conservative politics and protest movements in the mid twentieth century, as well as ongoing fears about totalitarian regimes. Both texts critique how draconian state oppression leads to a loss of identity and humanity for individuals. As a result, both authors warn readers against complacency in the face of government control and call on readers to be resistant, active citizens in their own societies. Both authors depict alarming authoritarian regimes to warn …show more content…
Atwood was influenced by second wave feminism of the 1960s, where women protested for greater social equality, and she affirms both the progress and stagnation achieved during and after the movement. When Offred finds scratched text by a past Handmaid she narrates, “in tiny writing, quite fresh it seemed.” the symbolism of writing as a form of rebellion is a transgressive act that seeks connection as a way of rebellion and to claim autonomy. Through metafiction, as the previous Offred is scratching a message for the second Offred, the reader is encouraged to join her in a line of women who have been oppressed and to actively antagonize societal fundamentalism to create change. However, the complex relationship between rebellion and complacency is exemplified when Offred states, 'I tell him my real name.I should know better.' The irony of relinquishing her name to the Commander, which symbolizes power and identity, is juxtaposed with immediate regret. While Offred is reclaiming her identity, she ultimately realizes that by admitting her name to him, she inadvertently gives him power over her. This act signifies a complex paradoxical assertion of self and submission. Atwood’s ambiguous ending heightens reader ambiguity and warns against the stagnation of women's rights during the 1980s, which jeopardized the previous societal progress. Offred announces, “I have given myself over into the hands of strangers”. The tone of resignation and acceptance highlights her unwillingness to resist for her autonomy and complete detachment from herself which starkly contrasts with her earlier moments of rebellion and defiance. The readers horror in response to her combined desire for rebellion, which is altered by unavoidable
In The Handmaid’s Tale, Offred’s account and detailed descriptions of a mélange of settings within the Commander’s house and the different events that occur there highlight her struggle between succumbing to Gilead’s forceful system and upholding her identity. Throughout her recollection, Offred uses symbolism and yonic imagery throughout the Commander’s abode to highlight the subtle, yet oppressive standards— an addition to the harsh rules and brutal punishments already publicly displayed in Gileadean society. Furthermore, she utilizes rhetorical devices, such as diction and sexual imagery, to identify her relationship between her own power and Serena Joy’s.
The two texts Harrison Bergeron, written by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. and The Handmaid’s Tale by Reed Morano explore the idea of individuality loss due to complete government control through similar and varied techniques. Both texts enable the audience to obtain an understanding that a society where there is no ability to express one’s own self, is ultimately dangerous in both execution and outcome. Throughout the two texts the authors explore individuality suppression through government control by utilising varied techniques such as motifs, similes as well the ideas of handicaps which are a result of the need for constant surveillance. The dystopian texts of futuristic, imagined universes display the illusion of perfect societies that are being created,
Atwood, in The Handmaid’s Tale, uses the voice of Offred to explore the juxtaposition between life before The Society of Gilead came into power and the life during the society’s power. Through flashback Offred frequently retells stories from her old life, the reader is able to see the discrimination that the women now face and the unfairness of this. Offred seems to live half in The Society of Gilead, and half in the past. Only in memory does she have any sort of freedom. The reader empathises with Offred and the injustice of her situation. Although Offred can remember the old ways she is happy that she has been given a chance in The Society of Gilead, ‘Humanity is so adaptable, my mother would say. Truly amazing, what people can get used to, as long as there are a few compensations.’ This encourages the reader to empathise with Offred’s lack of freedom. The reader can see that Offred is unhappy, but they can also see that she believes she could be worse off and that she is happy that she has a place within the society. Similarly, in The Color Purple, Spielberg uses the narration by Celie to influence the viewer to identify the cause of women. The narration by Celie establishes the views that the society has, and how those views can be damaging to the women of the society. It also shows how control can affect a person. ‘She said she write, she
Although Offred is the heroine of this story, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, the hero’s journey can be found in many characters in the story as well. This story is breaking into shambles between the past and the present, however, through the story, readers can still see the signs of the hero’s journey that Joseph Campbell has studied. Offred, being a handmaid, has been thrown into a world where women are powerless and stripped away of their rights to read and write. Atwood illustrates a dystopian world where equality is a part of history, not in the present day Gilead. However, Offred is one of the main characters who ceased to live in a degrading world and find means to escape. Thus, Offred begins on her Hero’s Journey, which occurs
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.
Offred, among other women depicted in this novel, tries to overcome this dominion. In her own way, she attempts to do this by ensuring the Commander’s expectations of her behavior which could result in her freedom. Thus, there is a present power struggle between the Commander and Offred throughout The Handmaid’s
Atwood is often thought of as a feminist writer, but through this novel her writing is not completely feminist nor patriarchal, but something in the middle. Atwood is also someone who described herself as a “strict agnostic” in an interview with Bill Moyer. In this future society Offred introduces the fact that people in Gilead are divided into separate groups, which have different jobs in society, Offred’s being a Housemaid. A housemaid is a concubine that is assigned to live with a Commander of the Faith and his Wife.
In Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, Offred recounts the story of her life and that of others in Gilead, but she does not do so alone. The symbolic meanings found in the dress code of the women, the names/titles of characters, the absence of the mirror, and the smell and hunger imagery aid her in telling of the repugnant conditions in the Republic of Gilead. The symbols speak with a voice of their own and in decibels louder than Offred can ever dare to use. They convey the social structure of Gileadean society and carry the theme of the individual's loss of identity.
The ability to create life is an amazing thing but being forced to have children for strangers is not so amazing. Offred is a handmaid, handmaid's have children for government officials, such as Commander Waterford. Offred used to be married to Luke and together they had a daughter but then everything changed; Offred was separated from her family and assigned to a family as their handmaid. The society which Offred is forced to live in shaped her in many ways. In The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood uses cultural and geographical surroundings to shape Offred's psychological and moral traits as she tries to survive the society that she is forced to live, in hopes that she can rebel and make change.
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.
While The Handmaid's Tale conveys the oppression of women, it also reveals the significant role women have in society. Atwood gets the point across that just as they can be oppressed by men, women can equally oppress themselves. Through Offred's eyes, comparisons between today's society and the possible consequences of one's attitudes are examined. The Handmaid's Tale slowly uncovers the many facets of women and the vital role they have as members of society.
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.
The end of the book is not the usual ending as compared to most novels; Atwood decides it to end the whole story with some Historical notes which give information on the Gileadean regime and era. The ending of the book can be categorized as postmodern by its ambiguity, but this ambiguity also holds a strong approach into understanding the theme of the book. The ending allows the reader to question and know “what is the real essence and theme of the book?” Atwood’s use of Historical notes at the end forces that the reader understands the relation between history and stories and how both of them correlate to larger understanding of the themes in the story and in time. Questions arise within in a reader of “why they feel the way they do?” or the perspective given in the book, one can only judge from that perspective and the purpose of unusual ending in Handmaids tale allows the reader to re-examine and question judgements that are made in the story and life. Atwood’s ending puts question to the moral and philosophical issues that were also in the theme of the book, a vivid example of a postmodern text. The whole structure and form of the novel from beginning to end also reveals its themes in the relation between Offred and the reader. The first person point-of-view throughout
Throughout The Handmaid’s Tale, the author Margaret Atwood gives the reader an understanding of what life would be like in a theocratic society that controls women’s lives. The narrator, Offred, gives the reader her perspective on the many injustices she faces as a handmaid. Offred is a woman who lived before this society was established and when she undergoes the transition to her new status she has a hard time coping with the new laws she must follow. There are many laws in this government that degrade women and give men the authority to own their household. All women are placed in each household for a reason and if they do not follow their duties they are sent away or killed.
As The Handmaid’s Tale is considered an allegory of the social injustice women face against traditional expectations of their role in society, the symbolism of the Handmaids and other women as a whole for repressed feminine liberty and sexuality allows Atwood to connect her work to the theme between gender and expectations in her society. As Handmaids in the Republic of Gilead, females are stripped of their previous identity and are defined as a tool of reproduction for the men who is assigned them. At its core, these females are forced against their will to be mere tools, experiencing unwanted sex at least once a month, which Gilead names “The Ceremony”, hiding its true nature as a form of rape. Offred