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Analysis of characters in handmaids tale
Literary analysis on the handmaid's tale
Dystopian fiction analysis
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Both 1984 by George Orwell and The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood depict dystopian societies in which they demonstrate a society where living conditions are uncomfortable and testing. Dystopian societies show how the desire for a perfect world can turn and go very wrong. Both Orwell and Atwood demonstrate dystopia through the eyes of a main character, demonstrating their handling of their living conditions. 1984 is narrated in third person telling the story of Winston Smith and The Handmaids Tale is told in first person by main character Offred. Both characters are put into similar situations to demonstrate dystopian societies, but each book represents these societies differently. In both books dystopia is most commonly represented by lack …show more content…
of privacy, sexuality, language, punishment and extreme oppression. In both 1984 and The Handmaids Tale surveillance is a major aspect of dystopia that implements control over the characters.
As soon as I began to read The Handmaid’s Tale I noticed similarities to 1984. Both books represent dystopian societies in what could have been the 1980’s which makes the story lines even more interesting. In both societies of Eurasia and the Republic of Gilead, the citizens are told they are being helped and that the way they are living is best for them, but the way they are living is more of a nightmare. For both Winston and Offred there is barely any privacy left, as both retreat to releasing their thoughts secretly in a journal for Winston and through audiotapes for Offred. For both characters, however, it is dangerous to retreat into their own thoughts, they must live in constant fear considering that enemies of the state tend to just disappear (Atwood 19). No matter what, the characters are always being watched, which means their freedom is not as it seems. “There must have been microphones, they’ve heard us all” (Atwood 169). There are government enforced spies which watch citizens and report behavior which goes against the law. In …show more content…
1984, there is the thought police and in The Handmaid’s Tale “the eyes” are the governments form of surveillance. The Thought police spy on the citizens of Eurasia to uncover who is going against the government, the slogan “Big Brother is watching you,” televisions and hidden microphones are everywhere (Orwell 5). The thought police are a group of citizens dedicated to their governmental practices and trained from childhood to go against anyone that is committing thought crime. ‘“You’re a traitor!” yelled the boy. “You’re a thought-criminal! You’re a Eurasian spy! I’ll shoot you, I’ll vaporize you, I’ll send you to the salt mines!”’ (Orwell 23). this excerpt depicts children working for the thought police going against their own parents, which was not uncommon and praised by those truly dedicated to their position. “The eyes” are spies that work for the government of Gilead, they are unidentified members of society which makes their presence unknown. “The Eyes” serve as a secret police force like Orwell’s thought police. Both Groups put immense pressure on members of the state, and the lives or citizens are lived with permanent anxiety and tension (Derry). The aspect of both the thought police and “the eyes” keep the characters on their toes when rebelling as Winston and Offred do not want to get caught. It seems that there is never a place to escape to without feeling watched or fearing capture of rebellion. Both 1984 and The Handmaids Tale contain systems which downgrade sexuality as a means of social control. In 1984, there are anti-sex leagues which prevent people from having sexual pleasures and in The Handmaid’s Tale sex is more so a job, sex is not supposed to be pleasurable, otherwise handmaids will be punished for thinking so. In 1984 sex is a secret act, party members have affairs secretly and proles are provided cheap pornography (Orwell 107) which instills double standards. Though any chance at a real love affair is unthinkable, as any sexual act is thought to be rebellion. “There were even organizations such as the Junior Anti-Sex League which advocated complete celibacy for both sexes. All children were to be begotten by artificial insemination (artsem, it was called in Newspeak) and brought up in public institutions. The party was trying to kill the sex instance, or, if it could not be killed, then to distort it and dirty it” (Orwell 66). Sexuality in both books is controlled and very over-regulated by The Republic of Gilead and Eurasia. Though in The Handmaids Tale, monthly procreation is a monthly necessity to grow the population. Though sexuality is deprived from any feelings of pleasure and handmaids are treated more as sex slaves, just working to get a job done. This is ultimately dehumanizing for characters as they are more so just a piece of the puzzle and nothing more. “Her legs are apart, I lie between them, my head on her stomach, her pubic bone under the base of my skull, her thighs on either side of me. She too is fully clothes. My arms are raised; she holds my hands, each of mine in each of hers. This is supposed to signify that we are one flesh, one being” (Atwood 93-94). Handmaids only purpose is to provide a fertile womb and give birth and when they cannot perform their job they are sent away. Handmaids also do not have any choice or say, they are monitored by women called Aunts who teach them how to perform their “job.” One of the Aunts, Aunt Lydia is often quoted by Offred. She says, “This may not seem ordinary to you now, but after time it will. It will become ordinary,” (Atwood 43) and later, “It’s not easy for me either” (Atwood 55). It seems that the women in The Handmaids Tale are being used for nothing more than their natural recourses (Derry) which portrays not only unpleasable sexual acts but also sexism between the women and their counterparts. The main way that both governmental systems in both 1984 and The Handmaids Tale gain control is by perusing the thought of punishment to citizens.
In The Handmaids Tale, Offred alongside the handmaids are threatened to be sent away if they cannot complete their job or rebel against the republic of Gilead. This instils fear into all people to do what they need to do to maintain “freedom.” Similarly, in1984 Punishment is used often to keep control in Eurasia. When Winston was sent to the ministry of love he was severely beaten to return his thoughts to where they should be, ultimately knocking out any previous bad thoughts he was thinking. “How many times he has been beaten, how long the beating had continued, he could not remember. Sometimes it was fists, sometimes it was truncheons, sometimes it was steel rods, and sometimes it was boots” (Orwell 240). Punishments are made public in both books, such as beatings and executions to ultimately instill fear in community members to portray what could potentially happen if one goes against the government. When citizens were caught rebelling by the thought police or the eyes, they were punished for their actions. No one knew what these punishments would entail until they occurred to oneself. This was one of the tactics that kept control over the people as they feared what would happen to them if they rebelled. ‘“She hanged herself,” she says. “After the salvaging, she saw the van coming for her. It was better”’ (Atwood 285). As seen
in The Handmaids Tale it was thought to be better to inflict harm on oneself and commit suicide then to be succumbed to “the eyes” and take away. For most it was the fear of the unknown, not knowing what would happen to you if you rebelled and punishment and inflicted pain was a reason to stay on the straight and narrow. The use of language in both books is being abused as it is not wanted for a means of communication, but rather control. In 1984, the party created a new language called Newspeak which is based on simplified words to make expression of one’s feelings and thoughts close to impossible. “Don’t you see that the whole aim of newspeak is to narrow the range of thought” (Orwell 52). The thought is that if a citizen cannot express their hatred through words, then they will not be able to. Winston’s job at the ministry of truth is to re-write parts of history to match the party’s ideals as well as to brainwash citizens into not knowing anymore than what they are told. 1984 explores the concept of language’s power. The corruption of language is used to dominate an entire group of people, with the intention of making language so simple that risk of rebellion is minimalized. In The Handmaids Tale books were abolished making it impossible for Offred to read and write. ‘“I’d like you to play a game of scrabble with me?” he says. Now of course it’s something different. Now its forbidden, for us. Now it’s dangerous. Now its indecent’ (Atwood 138). By removing all forms of written work, handmaids could not depict their feelings through written word or get any “impure” ideas form literature. The use of language is important as it allows the people to understand more about what is going on around them and realize what is right and wrong, but by controlling what is said and known this makes having opinions hard.
Both 1984 and The Handmaid’s Tale are dystopian novels, however, these books are a lot more complex than mere portrayals of dystopia, it can be argued that they are explorations of dystopia rather than mere portrayals. In order to explore dystopia, many themes must be considered, such as feminism, love and repression. Nonetheless, it is apparent that human characteristics are the driving point of the two novels, predominantly, the depiction of human resilience. In an imperfect world, it is important to have certain qualities which, if plentiful, can mean success, whereas if lacking, it can mean failure, this characteristic is resilience. The protagonists in each novel, Winston in 1984 and Offred in The Handmaid’s Tale, face situations which leave them both in disarray, and both even consider suicide.
Margaret Atwood’s novel Oryx and Crake describes a world very different from the one we live in today, but not too far from a possible future. The story, told from the viewpoint of Snowman, possibly the only human survivor, recounts the end of days in human history. His description, given to us as flashbacks, tells of a world where technology is power, and those who lack power are doomed to a sub-par existence. This world gone mad is reminiscent of another Atwood novel written in 1986, The Handmaid’s Tale. In this story, the world of today is gone, democracy has been eradicated, and it is the elite few who control the fate of the masses. By comparing these two novels by Atwood, one can see corresponding themes dealing with governmental control, the dangers of technology, the uses of religion, and the treatment of sexuality.
Topic Sentence: Both 1984 and The Handmaid 's Tale are set in similar dystopian societies and totalitarian governments, the characters in both novels undergo similar thoughts. Both Winston and Offred are placed in situations where they have lost their identities and individuality. They are no longer free and there every move is watched upon by the government. They may have occurred by different means as with tele-screens or by constant watch of household members (Marthas).
The purpose of this essay is to analyse and compare the narrative situations proposed by Franz Stanzel in the dystopian novels Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro and The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. For this aim, I am going to focus on the aspects focalization (reflection), relationship reader-narrator, narrative distance, knowledge, and reliability and demonstrate that they affect the interpretation of the novel by readers in a significant way. In the end, I will draw conclusions on how these techniques serve to alienate the narratives from their science fiction setting to set even more disconcerting issues about human’s existence.
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.
Many texts that were published from different authors have introduced topics that can be related in today’s society, but Margaret Atwood’s creation called, “The Handmaid’s Tale”, gives voice to the thoughts and revolves around the narrator Offred, a woman whose rights have been deprived due to political issues. However, the information shared by Offred to the reader to the text is not reliable for the reason that she only touches upon her own perspective. Through the text, Atwood depicted what the United States of America would be in the future based on the actions of humanity during 1980’s. The text is set up in an androcentric and totalitarian country called Gilead, where the government attempts to create a utopian society. Thus, in order to attain this society, the authorities generated their legislation from the teachings of the Holy Bible in an attempt to control humanity. The governing
"The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood is a dystopia about a world where unrealistic things take place. The events in the novel could never actually take place in our reality." This is what most people think and assume, but they're wrong. Look at the world today and in the recent past, and there are not only many situations that have ALMOST become a Gilead, but places that have been and ARE Gileadean societies. We're not in Kansas any more, Dorothy!
The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian novel in which Atwood creates a world which seems absurd and near impossible. Women being kept in slavery only to create babies, cult like religious control over the population, and the deportation of an entire race, these things all seem like fiction. However Atwood's novel is closer to fact than fiction; all the events which take place in the story have a base in the real world as well as a historical precedent. Atwood establishes the world of Gilead on historical events as well as the social and political trends which were taking place during her life time in the 1980's. Atwood shows her audience through political and historical reference that Gilead was and is closer than most people realize.
The Handmaid's Tale has definitely fulfilled Atwood's purpose of creating a strong dystopian society. It seems as though throughout the entire novel, all the things that Gilead has reformed to make a more perfect society has backfired. In effort to make the world better, it has actually gotten worse. The strong use of Gilead's language points directly to the dystopian way of life. Atwood's use of characters and symbolism lets the reader know that the whole setting of the novel is in a strong dystopian society.
Margaret Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale is a dystopian novel that tells the story of a women and her struggles to survive in a totalitarian regime, presented in the first person narrative. The story takes place in a fictitious world called Gilead, where a dictatorship rules the people through oppression, fear and strict religious guidelines. Atwood wrote this dystopian novel as a social commentary in which she argues that all events included in her story are all real events that have occured in history at one point or another. In her Letter to the Reader, Atwood writes, “The thing to remember is that there is nothing new about the society depicted in the Handmaid’s Tale except the time and place. All of the things that I have written about have- as noted in the “Historical Notes” at the end- been done before, more than once.” There is plenty of truth in Atwood’s words and many of us would agree with her idea that “if it happened once then it can happen again,” which she also writes in her Letter to the Reader. Yet, I don’t believe this to be completely true. Humans have made many mistakes in history that have killed or oppressed many people, yet we live in a better world then we ever have, which concludes that we have learned from many of our mistakes. Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale is out date and therefore it’s relevancy is as well. The tale is a huge exaggeration meant to entertain and warn rather than to believe. In addition when held up to my current situation to see relation would be completely overlooking and underestimating the freedoms and liberties that I have today.
Dystopian novels are written to reflect the fears a population has about its government, and they are successful because they capture that fright and display what can happen if it is ignored. George Orwell wrote 1984 with this fear of government in mind and used it to portray his opinion of the current government discretely. Along with fear, dystopian novels have many other elements that make them characteristic of their genre. The dystopian society in Orwell’s novel became an achievement because he utilized a large devastated city, a shattered family system, life in fear, a theme of oppression, and a lone hero. Orwell’s novel begins with a horrid description of the living conditions of his main character, Winston.
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
The novel we have been studying is The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, in this novel the society is an oppressed society and she shows oppression in the culture and everyday life. The way in which Margaret Atwood wrote the novel we can determine the oppression in the characters. We also see the individual oppression and the group oppression from the internal thoughts of the narrator. In this novel I think that Margaret Atwood wanted to show the relation between standardized and personalized oppression.
The novel, The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood focuses on the choices made by the society of Gilead in which the preservation and security of mankind is more highly regarded than freedom or happiness. This society has undergone many physical changes that have led to extreme psychological ramifications. I think that Ms. Atwood believes that the possibility of our society becoming as that of Gilead is very evident in the choices that we make today and from what has occured in the past. Our actions will inevitably catch up to us when we are most vulnerable.
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood is a compelling tale of a dystopian world where men are the superior sex and women are reduced to their ability to bear children, and when that is gone, they are useless. The story is a very critical analysis of patriarchy and how patriarchal values, when taken to the extreme, affect society as a whole. The result is a very detrimental world, where the expectation is that everyone will be happy and content, but the reality is anything but. The world described in The Handmaid’s tale is one that is completely ruled by patriarchal values, which is not unlike our society today. The proposal that the world described in The Handmaid’s Tale could be a vision of the future may seem far-fetched to some readers.