Similarities Between 1984 And The Handmaid's Tale

The theme of how power leads to control is evident in both 1984 by George Orwell and The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. The novel 1984 is set in a dystopian country where Ingsoc, the political ideology of Oceania, is controlled by the Inner Party elite, which dictates the people. Telescreens occupy every building in Airstrip One, as well as hidden cameras and microphones in order to capture anyone who may endanger or go against the Party’s regime. Winston, the main character, is depicted as struggling to follow the rules that the Inner Party has set forth. Similarly, The Handmaid’s Tale is a dystopian novel of the military dictatorship, which quickly swept through the United States. Gilead, a group of conservative religious extremists

who took power, tried to return everything back to traditional values. The effect of this leaves Offred, the main character in the novel, to be a handmaid, a fertile woman whose main function is to bear children for the Wives, whom of which are from the highest social level and infertile. Winston and Offred’s situations contain many similarities, even though they are initially quite different. In both novels, language is utilized as a means for power, resulting in a limit of ideas being formulated and expressed by the people. Both contain a totalitarian society, which holds complete authority over society, seeking to control all aspects of their public and private lives. In each novel lies a ruling party that denies the people of their freedom and individuality, thus causing everyone to practically be robots. Finally, both novels contain a government that uses fear to dominate the people, allowing them to continue on obeying them. In the exemplary 1984 by George Orwell and the captivating Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, both novels consist of a setting where language is used as a tool for authority, comprise of a totalitarian society, include some form of reigning government that denies humans of their freedom as well as individuality, and uses fear to repress the people, to illustrate the theme of how power leads to control.
In 1984 by George Orwell and The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, both novels contain a setting where language is applied as an instrument for authority. In 1984, Orwell’s main message is that language is the most important thing to humans because it allows them to express themselves and gives them the ability to form their own thoughts. In the novel, the Party is constantly trying to improve Newspeak, the name of the language in the novel. If there were no words to describe something, there would be no way of acting it out, which is exactly what the Party is trying to do; remove all words which can evoke the people into rebelling. In the novel, Orwell describes the purpose of Newspeak as something, “not only to provide a medium of expression for the world-view and mental habits proper to the devotees of Ingsoc, but to make all other modes of thought impossible” (Orwell 312). This way, no one is able to conceptualize anything that may defy the Party. “Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it. Every concept that can ever be needed will be expressed by exactly one word” (Orwell 55). By curtailing these negative words, the Party hopes on narrowing the range of thought until it is completely removed. In doing so, thoughtcrime will be impossible. There cannot be any disorderly behavior if there is no word to describe it. “The problem is the same of all three super-states. It is absolutely necessary to their structure that there should be no contact with foreigners… he is forbidden the knowledge of foreign languages” (Orwell 204). The Party does not want its people to communicate with others from different countries, otherwise they will realize that there are not as many differences between them as they were lead to believe, and would revolt against Ingsoc. Through the Party’s power over language, they are able to transform the way people think, or do not think, thus resulting in control for the party. Comparably, the government’s power of language allows for society in The Handmaid’s Tale to be controlled as well.
In The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, the author uses language as a means if maintaining a patriarchal authority. In order to support the needs of higher societal classes, Gilead creates an official vocabulary that completely disregards the previous advancements for women. A system of titles is created where women are categorized into individual duties and men are defined by their military ranks. With limited rights, women are suppressed into only obeying their roles as Handmaids, Marthas, or Wives. They are denied the right to read, which Offred speaks of when she states, “You can see the place, under the lily where the lettering was painted out, when they decided that even the names of shops were too much temptation for us” (Atwood 28). Gilead believes that, by removing their right to read, they are refraining them from using their minds. Women are not supposed to use their minds, as the only purpose of those whom are fertile is to reproduce. They are reduced to fertility, and those who are not fertile are exiled to ‘the colonies’, which are areas of deadly pollution. When Offred is given a pen while she is with the Commander she states that she, “can feel its power, the power of the words it contains. Pen Is Envy, Aunt Lydia would say, quoting another Centre motto, warning us away from such objects. And they were right, it is envy. Just holding it is envy. I envy the Commander his pen” (Atwood 215). This shows the inferiority complex, which women feel towards men. Offred envy’s the Commander because he is offered much more freedom, while she is denied of numerous rights from her past life. This proves that language is used as a tool for control as it is a powerful means to subdue women to obey Gilead. Power over language allows for control over society, as it is the main way in which they live by. Therefore, language is used as a tool for authority in both 1984 by George Orwell and The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood as it keeps society from reaching their true potential, or the truth. In addition to language being used as a means for control, in both novels it is apparent that the people face a totalitarian society.
In 1984 by George Orwell and The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, both novels include a totalitarian state, which causes power leading to control. Both include centralized governments that do not tolerate parties of differing opinions and that exercise dictatorial control over the freedom, will, or thought of others. In 1984, Orwell depicted the Party as having control over every aspect of society, to the extent that if someone were to have a disapproving thought against the Party, thoughtcrime, they would be punished. They had so much control over Winston that he stated, “In the end, the Party would announce that two and two made five, and you would have to believe it” (Orwell 83). To have the ability to alter someone’s thoughts so heavily proved that they had a vast control over humankind of Airstrip One. “The idea set up by the Party was something huge, terrible and glimmering- a world of steel… three hundred million people all with the same face” (Orwell 77). The Party initially wanted to create a nation full of robots with everyone thinking the same and acting the same; a totalitarian state. The truth of the Party was that it “seeks power entirely for its own sake. [They] are not interested in the good of others” (Orwell 275). Throughout the Party’s totalitarian state, they gain the power to control the people by the heavy dictatorial reign. Along with 1984, a totalitarian government is seen through The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood.
In Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale, the result it what is to come if religious fundamentalists were to run a government; a complete dictatorship. The novel depicts doctors who implemented abortions, which were legal, hung at the Wall. Gilead is completely different from the old lifestyle that Offred once lived not very long ago, which is why Aunt Lydia tells her that ordinary “is what your are used to. This may not seem ordinary to you now, but after a time it will. It will become ordinary” (Atwood 33). Offred is assumed to completely change her life to learn how to come with a totalitarian government heavily burdening her. When people from other countries with different lifestyles came to see the way they were living, Offred stated, “… I know that she too cannot take her eyes off these women. We are fascinated, but also repelled. They seem undressed, it has taken so little time to change our minds about things like this” (Atwood 32). Even though Offred was previously dressing just the same as the women in front of her, it was difficult for her to cope seeing that when, as of recently, she had to convert her whole beliefs based off of the dictatorship she was so affected and transformed by. Offred is so affected by Gilead that she said “It’s also a story I’m telling, in my head, as I go along. Tell, rather than write, because I have nothing to write with and writing is in any case forbidden” (Atwood 44). Her surroundings had changed so drastically by the totalitarian government that was placed upon her, that she was now denied access to writing at all. A totalitarian government, which had all controls over the people, quickly gained all of the power, leading to the control of the people as their thoughts, freedom, and will were all fully taken control of by Gilead. The Handmaid’s Tale showed a world of national governments, which had dictatorial control over all aspects pertaining to its people. Alongside a totalitarian society, freedom and individuality were denied by the governments in both 1984 by George Orwell and The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood.
In 1984, George Orwell depicts Winston as having very little freedom and individuality as a result of the Party and its heavy control over the people. The government has full control over the people’s freedom and individuality as, “ the two aims of the Party are to conquer the whole surface of the earth and to extinguish once and for all the possibility of independent thought” (Orwell 201). The people are unable to be their own individuals and have freedom if they are kept from thinking their own thoughts. With individual thought, the people would know that “freedom is the freedom to say two plus two makes four” (Orwell 84), however, the Party would not allow that. “The terrible thing that the Party had done was to persuade you that mere impulses, mere feelings, were of no account, while at the same time robbing you of all power over the material you felt or did not feel, what you did or refrained from doing made literally no difference” (Orwell 172). The party had the power to control them, to discard of them individuality, and to contort their freedom into following the Party. In the end, the Party would never allow a person to have freedom, as Winston is seen carving “2+2=5” (Orwell 303) into a table once he had been dealt with by the Party. The Party completely denies the humans of freedom to have their own individuality. In the same sense, the people in The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood have very little form of freedom and individuality as well.
Margaret Atwood portrays Offred, in The Handmaid’s Tale, as confined and controlled, along with all the other Handmaids, Wives, or Marthas. All forms of individuality were erased from women; they were each assigned colors based of their roles, which essentially removed any concept of their individual identity. Offred describes herself as, “a distorted shadow, a parody of something, some fairytale figure in a red cloak” (Atwood 9). Offred realizes that she is a front of her former self, completely isolated from who she was before. Offred has no freedom to dress as she pleases; she must wear her assigned gender role and color of dress as a Handmaid. When she saw the women dressed in racy clothing she expressed how she “used to dress like that (Atwood 32). To Offred, that was freedom. The women’s sense of self is removed when their names are changed. When Ofglen was replaced by another Ofglen, Offred remarked that “Of course she is, the new one, and Ofglen, wherever she is, is no longer Ofglen” (Atwood 326). Their identities seem to be replaceable, which completely degrade them, making it seem as if they do not even have an identity. In The Handmaid’s Tale, through the loss of fear and individuality of the people, the government is able to gain power over the people, as they are looked upon as disposable, thus causing Gilead to have power over the people. Through this power, they gain full control over society, allowing them to strip them of their freedom and individuality. In both novels 1984 by George Orwell and The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, this loss of individuality and freedom allows the ruling governments to access full control through their power over the people. Comparably, the governments in 1984 by George Orwell and The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood use fear to control the society.
In 1984, George Orwell depicts fear as something that limits the society to even think certain thoughts without the fear of being vaporized.

“The Thought Police would get him just the same… You might dodge successfully for a while, even for years, but sooner or later they were bound to get you” (Orwell 21). There is a constant surveillance by the Party through the telescreens left people in fear of being caught, thus causing them to not want to disobey at all. The constant fear that Big Brother is watching you is what kept society in their place; “It was one of those pictures which are so contrived that the eyes follow you about what you. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU” (Orwell 3). The fear that is instilled in the people is what allows the rules to be followed; no one is willing to accept the consequences, or the citizens may be afraid they of what they might entail. When Winston was speaking to O’Brien, he told him that, “The old civilizations claimed that they were founded on love or justice. Ours is founded upon hatred. In our world there will be no emotions except fear, rage, triumph and self-abasement” (Orwell 279). Through this, O’Brien is trying to tell Winston that the day will come where everyone is controlled through fear. This fear being drilled in the people will result in power over them, thus allowing the Party to control them. Along with 1984, The Handmaid’s Tale uses fear as a means to control the

population.
In the Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, Gilead uses fear in order to control the people. When Offred is speaking of the Angels, she states that, “around the football field which was enclosed now by a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire. The Angels stood outside it with their backs to us. They were objects of fear to us” (Atwood 4). The Angels are placed there in order to scare the women, so they will not be tempted to try and escape. They have no means of escaping, the Angels are constantly surrounding them with guns; these will instill the fear in them to have them stay. The women are conditioned to believe what they are told and to report the people who do not act accordingly. This is why the Handmaid’s walk in pair. The Wall is another tactic used to instill fear in the women. “Beside the main gateway there are six more bodies hanging, by the necks, their hands tied in front of them, their heads in white bags tied sideways onto their shoulders… We’re supposed to look: this is what they are there fore, hanging on the Wall” (Atwood 36). They are supposed to look at the Wall and see what has occurred to those who went against Gilead, to know that the people hung on the wall are their reality if they step out of line. In The Handmaid’s Tale, the government uses fear to repress the people into obeying. From this, the fear will lead to power, which will lead to control of the people.
The theme of how power leads to control is apparent in both novels, 1984 by George Orwell and The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. Both novels contain a setting where language is used as a tool for authority by the government that represses the people. Both include a totalitarian society, which dictate every aspect of the society’s lives. Each comprise of a government, which denies humans of freedom and individuality, thus keeping them from ever being their true selves. Finally, the governments each use fear to repress the people to keep them from disobeying. The theme of how power leads to control is both evident in George Orwell’s novel 1984, and Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale.