Comparing V For Vendetta And The Handmaid's Tale

1082 Words3 Pages

Composers represent speculations in narratives, shaping our world and influencing our beliefs. Through this representation, composers explore their ideas through different modes of texts. They achieve this by focusing on current issues of oppression, abuse of power, and freedom in their time. Margaret Atwood's dystopian fiction novel, The Handmaid's Tale, published in 1985, was created to highlight the patriarchal ideals that oppress women. Similarly, the 2005 motion film, 'V for Vendetta' by James McTigue, follows the downfall of the Government as power consumes them and justice is sought after. These two texts link within each other to broaden our understanding of their speculations. Oppression is an integral theme shared by both texts. …show more content…

In the Handmaid's Tale, freedom is represented through the acts of rebellion Offred commits throughout the novel. I hold the glossy counters with their smooth edges, finger the letters. This feeling is voluptuous. This is freedom, an eye blink of it." (pg. 145). The. Offred knows that she is breaking the rules, she is there for one reason, which is to procreate. "This is freedom, an eye blinks." A game so juvenile is her sense of freedom because she has been deprived of simple things such as reading for such a long time. Offred’s defiance lies not only in physical acts, but also in her unwavering mind. During government corruption, she clings to autonomy, preserving her inner strength. Although in V for Vendetta, freedom isn't represented by just one character. As V begins to take down the government, more people begin to stand with him, to fight for freedom. As society rebels against the government V's plans begin to take its course, by spreading the news on the national television, the truth about the government begins to arise. “Words offer the means to meaning and for those who listen to the enunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn’t there? Cruelty and injustice, intolerance and oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance coercing your conformity and enlisting your submission.” The quote states that they once had the freedom to object, but now they must submit to the government's ideals. Pointing out the surveillance systems, showing the precautions the government takes to ensure that nobody is breaching conduct. When the conversation of freedom in the two texts are placed together, the knowledge we can gain about the importance liberty has had on society past and present brings our

Open Document