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Literary criticism of the handmaid's tale
Analysing the handmaid's tale by margaret atwood
Literary criticism of the handmaid's tale
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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.
In these novels, a dystopian society is represented by having conflicts with the government's censorship of knowledge, early on establishments of the common theme of identity deficiency, and the
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governments complete control over relationships among the people. In both novels it is obvious that knowledge is a threat to the government. For example, in The Handmaid's Tale, all Handmaids are forbidden from reading or writing, this is to control the citizens from knowing too much and prevent them from becoming rebellious. This type of control is so feared of that if just one rule was disobeyed there would be awful penalties. "So that's what's in the forbidden room! Scrabble! I want to laugh, shriek with laughter, fall off my chair. This was once the game of old women, old men, in the summers or in retirement villas to be played when there was nothing good on television.... Now of course it's something different. Now it's forbidden, for us. Now it's indecent. Now it's something he can't do with his Wife. Now it's desirable. Now he's compromised himself. It's as if he offered me drugs" (Atwood 159). In this society, Scrabble is considered "forbidden" because of what it represents -- freedom of expression. Having this impediment toward knowledge creates desire for this game, even if it is against the rules. However, to continue living and being safe it is best that you give your freedom at all costs. In comparison to the Handmaid's Tale society, the leaders of the Brave New World society have given up all knowledge from the past such as art, literature, and science in an attempt to create a stable society. For example, as an outsider, John 'the savage' has not had his past kept secret from him, and therefore cannot comprehend why such important knowledge should be kept secret: "'Art, science - you seem to have paid a fairly high price for your happiness. Anything, else?' 'Well, religion, of course, there used to be something called God. Why don't you tell them?' For the same reason as we don't give them Othello'" (Huxley 210). This government removed all past knowledge from the past to prevent rebellion and possible threats to their own stability. The lack of knowledge to increase stability has made several people in society lose their personal freedoms , one of the many is losing their ability to learn. When each person's knowledge is controlled for there to be stability, it results in a loss of both identity and individualism. In each dystopian society there s lack of identity for instance each handmaid having a different name each time they have a new commander. This change in identity shows how easily your individualism can be taken away. Offred remembers her name ,but brainwashed and confused reminds herself that it is not important, "My name isn't Offred, I have another name, which nobody uses now because it's forbidden. I tell myself it doesn't matter, your name is like your telephone number, useful only to others but what I tell you is wrong, it does matter" (Atwood 97). The name handmaids have show that they are property of the commander and they are not people, just property, this defines them. Likewise, in the Brave New World society, each person is subdivided into a caste system that dictates what job, appearance, and social ranking will be. In a Brave New World each individual has already had a determined fate and social class: "'Alpha children wear grey. They work much harder than we do, because they're so frightfully clever. I'm really awfully glad that I'm Beta, because I don't work hard. And then we are so much better than the Gammas and Deltas. Gammas are stupid. Oh no, I don't want to play with Delta children. And Epsilons are still worse. They're too stupid" (Huxley 24). There is a distinct social hierarchy that separates the society into sections that determine who they are and what they are going to do. As a result this leads to lack of identity and a very oppressive government that conditions everyone role in life before they are even born. Even though both societies have power over the individualities of the people, the way individuality is controlled in each novel is different.
In The Handmaid's Tale, control is created from fear and if this doesn't work then by force. Fear in Atwood's novels is raised by visiting the wall which is a place where you can see all the hanged bodies of traitor, and as result makes people more obedient. After living under the rule of the society, Offred has given up her hopes in order to simply survive: "I will do anything you like I don't want to be a doll hung up on the wall. I want to keep on living in any form." In the Brave New World, control is established through science. For example, the leaders of Gilead in The Handmaid's Tale use intimidation and fear to succumb people living under their rule in order for there to be a stable society. By putting restrictions to peoples individuality clearly shows that by doing this the leaders are depriving people from having their own thoughts and freedom. Another evident characteristic of a dystopian society is shown through the control of relationships. In both The Handmaid's Tale there and a Brave New World there is a lack of significant relationships with actual …show more content…
feelings. In these societies, love and intimacy is not to occur it is simply something they do for a pastime.
The lack of meaningful sex has taken away all the emotion in the society as well as every other emotion that comes with it, such as rebellion. All of this taken away to create a stable society with no emotion. However the evaluation of emotion is different in each novel. For example, in The Handmaid's Tale, monogamy is a value that practiced an praised because of its biblical purposes. On the other hand, in Brave New World promiscuity is dominant because they want a strong community that has a secure society with discomforts. In the Handmaids tale the handmaids and their Commanders are required to have sex only to produce a child however not on her own with the commander to avoid emotion. Offred, the handmaid, clearly doesn't like doing it but there was not a better choice, "I do not say making love, because this is not what he is doing. Copulating too would be inaccurate....nor would rape cover it...There wasn't a lot of choice but there was some, and this is what I chose.... Kissing is forbidden between us. This makes it bearable. One detaches oneself. One describes" (Atwood 110-111). Offred feels no emotion towards the Commander, she has sex purely because she has been given no choice, she refuses to call this act making love and this is because she feels no love. Conversely, in Brave New World, it is taught that promiscuity is the normal way to behave in their
society. The principles taught in the novel, a Brave New World ,were to stay emotionally unattached to everything as a way to be happy; that way if they had no emotion they would feel no hate or need to revolt again their corrupt ideals. Thus, having no feelings or freedom, and basically giving in to this stable society. In both the novels, the dystopian societies will sacrifice not just the freedoms of their citizens but there, knowledge of both the past and the present to preserve their society. With the use of characterization, the dystopia in both societies had complete control over relationships among people and even the components that make them human. Furthermore, both societies proved that having a stable society , requires for you to make complete sacrifices to who you are , to be part of the dystopic society.
Throughout the novels The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier, the authors have a variety of unique forms by using different vocabulary and storytelling to interrupt their own meaning. For example, in The Handmaid's Tale Atwood uses words such as birth mobile meaning a vehicle to transport handmaids to a birthing and encourage their fellow handmaids. Another example, the novel We All Fall Down, Cormier's form lacks censorship, “Did you touch me when you tied me up? Feel my chest? Eleven- year-old boys don't do that, either" (Cormier 178). Atwood and Cormier techniques allows the reader to be drawn completely into different worlds, and in engaging the reader through their own techniques and has given the
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,
The worlds of The Handmaid’s Tale and The Road are complete opposites; One is an anarchical society where there is no societal structure while the other is a very well-structured world with a thoroughly defined hierarchy. Despite this, it could be argued that these two worlds are simultaneously also very similar due to the way they approach the topics of patriarchy, misogyny, and survival. Atwood and McCarthy accomplish this differently, but they achieve it using the same literary techniques and, despite one of the worlds being dystopian while the other is post-apocalyptic, making heavy usage of descriptive writing.
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
Imagine a society in which its citizens have forfeited all personal liberties for government protection and stability; Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, explores a civilization in which this hypothetical has become reality. The inevitable trade-off of citizens’ freedoms for government protection traditionally follows periods of war and terror. The voluntary degradation of the citizens’ rights begins with small, benign steps to full, totalitarian control. Major methods for government control and censorship are political, religious, economic, and moral avenues. Huxley’s Brave New World provides a prophetic glimpse of government censorship and control through technology; the citizens of the World State mimic those of the real world by trading their personal liberties for safety and stability, suggesting that a society similar to Huxley’s could exist outside the realm of dystopian science fiction.
In both novels, the characters suffer from complete suppression and have to survive under totalitarian governments.
Offred is a handmaid, in the novel The Handmaid’s Tale written by Margaret Atwood, who no longer desired to rebel against the government of Gilead after they separated her from her family. When Offred was taken away from her family the Government of Gilead placed her in an institution known as the Red Center where they trained her along with other women unwillingly to be handmaids. The handmaid’s task was to repopulate the society because of the dramatic decrease in population form lack of childbirth. Handmaids are women who are put into the homes of the commanders who were unable to have kids with their own wives. The Handmaids had very little freedom and were not allowed to do simple tasks by themselves or without supervision like taking baths or going to the store. There was an uprising against the government of Gilead and many people who lived in this society including some handmaids looked for a way to escape to get their freedom back which was taken away from them and to reunited with their families which they lost contact with. Offred was one of the handmaids who was against the government of Gilead before she was put in the Red Center, but she joined the uprising after she became a
A new society is created by a group of people who strengthen and maintain their power by any means necessary including torture and death. Margaret Atwood's book, A Handmaid's Tale, can be compared to the morning after a bad fight within an abusive relationship. Being surrounded by rules that must be obeyed because of being afraid of the torture that will be received. There are no other choices because there is control over what is done, who you see and talk to, and has taken you far away from your family. You have no money or way out. The new republic of Gilead takes it laws to an even higher level because these laws are said to be of God and by disobeying them you are disobeying him. People are already likely to do anything for their God especially when they live in fear of punishment or death. The republic of Gilead is created and maintains its power structure through the use of religion, laws that isolate people from communication to one another and their families, and the fear of punishment for disobeying the law.
This book was written in the 1940’s as a warning to society against the danger of allowing a totalitarianism society and even though it is fictional in nature, many of the dangers warned against are still real today. Throughout the world, many live with extreme governmental interference in their daily lives, unable to freely speak their mind without fear of reprisal. Governments use modern technology to invade the privacy of their citizens. There were many aspects to the book that left this reader feeling just a little bit uneasy.
Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, portrays a future society where people are no longer individuals but are controlled by the World State. The World State dominates the people by creating citizens that are content with who they are. Brave New World describes how the science of biology and psychology are manipulated so that the government can develop technologies to change the way humans think and act. The World State designs humans from conception to this society. Once the humans are within the society, the state ensures all people remain happy.
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.
...elements of such a society are slowly creeping in. However, it is not clear which type of government would be more likely to dominate, as only subtle clues have supported either argument. However, as things stand with technological advancement, it would not be unjustified to say that this and the past decade are precipitations of Huxley’s fears. Nevertheless, the more troubling fact is that elements of both the fictional nightmares have come to pass, and it is likely that neither 1984 nor Brave New World alone will prove to be prophetic. Instead, America should be wary of a mix of the two dytopias. Since times inevitably change (and with them, the customs), a healthy sense of dissent is never bad, and will never prove to be, as America will need to understand if it is to have any hope of preventing further descent into a Huxleyan or Orwellian domination of the mind.
In Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale, social turmoil after a staged terrorist attack has led to a totalitarian Christian regime. In this dystopian future, the roles of men and women are much different than in today’s society. In The Handmaid’s Tale, women are unequal because they have no choice about their bodies, their dress, or their relationships.
Dystopian societies are about control and power. Some want to create a perfect society, and therefore must have a strong hold on their citizens to make sure their emotions don't get in the way of a utopian dream Others just want absolute and complete control over the people. However, in order to completely understand the reason for a dystopian society, it is important to first to understand the purpose of government, and understand the mind of the person in control of such a terrifying society. Whether someone can understand why these societies are put into place, they can be identified by its unique characteristics like the ones found in Orwell;s 1984, Huxley’s Brave New World and Shyamalan’s The Village.
In society today for the most part, people are free to speak freely, connect with friends and family and stay in touch with what’s happening in everywhere. It’s not unusual think that everyone enjoys the same rights and privileges but in reality this is not so; in some parts of the world speaking one’s mind could result in death, broadcast agencies are forced to have their reports approved and leaders strategize wars and alliances like seasoned chess players. This might all sound very disheartening but is in fact tame compared to the literacy works and ideas conjured up by English author George Orwell in his novel 1984 which depicts fictional life under the cruel and all seeing “Big Brother” regime of futuristic London. During his lifetime growing up with the examples of a Soviet Union and Nazi Germany and later through his military experiences, Orwell witnessed firsthand how easily people could be manipulated and the truth become twisted. It is for this reason that George Orwell’s novel 1984 is an important work of literature because it discusses timeless themes like democracy, censorship, and politics which have all remained highly debated topics in society today.