Censorship In Brave New World And The Handmaid's Tale

Throughout both novels the author’s use of conflict to show control of knowledge from the past society to the present day makes it apparent that a dystopic society exists. In The Handmaids Tale it is forbidden for the handmaids to read or write in order for the leaders to control the understanding their citizens can develop and there are consequences if the rules are disobeyed.

To begin with, money defines the power of a person. For instance, the commanders own huge houses that narrator explains as, “Late Victorian … a family house, built for large rich family” (9). They represent a rich powerful society, who rules that place. Commander’s wife gets a special treatment for being a wife of a powerful person. To be specific, narrator Offred includes, “You don’t see the commander’s wives on the sidewalks. Only in cars” (24). Therefore, commander’s wives have more power than other women. On the other hand, handmaids represent a poor powerless society. To illustrate, Offred shares her experience through flashback as she states, “We slept in what once had been the gymnasium” (3). Handmaids do not even have a house, and lives a poor life. To differentiate their status in society, handmaids are labeled and forced to wear only red clothes with red veil on face. To emphasize, Offred includes, “the color of blood, which defines us” (8). This color is given to them because they are a low class and they are used as a machine to make babies. Atwood the writer of this story named the handmaid as Offred, because she is powerless. In “Margaret Atwood on What ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’s Means in the Age of Trump”, Margaret Atwood defines that Offred means, “victim offered for sacrifice” (2017). In other words, commanders are rich and in power, but handmaid are powerless and a sacrificing object- to be offered to of commanders. Therefore, they are using their power to rule over people for self-benefit.

It isn't just handmaids, or even only women that have forfeited their personal identity; men have lost theirs as well. Their loss of individualism is symbolized by their generic titles. There are three classes of men in Gilead: the 'Commanders,' the Doctors, and the 'Eyes.' Like the color-coded uniforms of the women, the generic titles of the men announce their function. The Commanders are supposed to fertilize the handmaids; the Doctors examine the handmaids monthly to check for possible problems with their reproductive organs; the Eyes are the spy network of Gilead and are responsible for enforcing discipline. Also like the women's color coded-uniforms, the men's generic titles deprive them of their individuality and reduce them to mere task objects.

Throughout the course of world history on Earth, humans have always worked harder and harder in order to improve society and make it more perfect, although it still hasn’t been done quite yet, because it is merely impossible to achieve perfection in a world with close to seven billion people. There is a very distinct difference between a utopia, which can also be known as perfection, and a dystopia, which can also be known as a tragedy; and the outcomes normally generate from the people in charge or the authority that sets up the foundation, the rules, and the regulations for a society. In the Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, The Republic of Gilead is created by a powerful authority group called the Eyes after a huge government take over and the assassination of the US president. It’s very strict rules and goals are set up to protect women, to increase childbirth, and to keep all violence, men, and powerful social media under control. The novel is set in a first person point of view and the narrator, Offred, tells her story to us readers about her experiences as a handmaid and how her life was completely turned upside down. Throughout the course of the novel Offred reveals many sides of herself; although her thoughts do not remain consistent, her personality and opinion tends to change revealing, that she is hesitant and strong because she learns to make the best of what she has and silently overcome the system of the Republic of Gilead.

It is necessary for the government to impose a certain amount of power and control on its citizens for a society to function properly. However, overuse and misuse of power and control in a society eliminates the freedom of the residents, forbidding them to live an ordinary life. In the dystopic futuristic novel, The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood demonstrates the idea of power and control through the oppressive society Gilead. The government establishes power and control with the Wall, the Salvagings, and military control. As well, the government’s unique use of the Aunts and “Red Centres” demonstrates the unfair oppression and indoctrination of the women and potential Handmaids within the society. This type of control can be compared to

Hanseldee and Greteldum, chapter 7 of How To Read Literate Like A Professor articulates that you should always watch where you borrow ideas, or references from because they could become less relevant over time, thus making the book obsolete. It expresses the idea that “Kiddie Lit” is always reliable and so is taking from human history itself and that when you borrow you don't use the whole story, just the details or patterns.

In the novel The Handmaid’s Tale, conforming to strict ideals and regulations limits freedom, ultimately resulting in the loss of identity and dehumanization of an individual.

The Narrator Offred is a Handmaid in Gilead, a totalitarian and theocratic state. Due to very low reproduction rates, Handmaids are assigned to different elite couples to bear children for them , because they have trouble conceiving. Offred is assigned to the Commander and his wife Serena Joy, she was once a gospel singer and advocate. The name Offred was assigned to the narrator, all handmaid names begin with “of” followed by the Commander’s name. Each month during ovulation Offred must have sex with the Commander while his wife sits behind her holding her hands. Offred has no freedom and is completely restriced, she has to wear a uniform, she is only allow to leave the house to go shopping or to go to prescribed events, she is not allowed to shut the doors to her room completely and her every move is watched.

The Handmaid’s Tale depicts exquisitely how lonely everyone is in the confines of their classifications. Offred is desperate to connect, but understands that a smile from the housekeeper who is called Martha would be too dangerous. When she arrives in her new house she seeks warmth from the new Wife, and is instead met with hostility ‘’Don’t call me Ma’am … You’re not a Martha.’’ (Atwood, Margaret. 17) The Commander’s Driver touches his shoe to hers, even though Offred is not sure if it is on purpose, she feels her ‘’shoe soften, blood flows into it, it grows warm, it becomes skin.’’ (Atwood, Margaret. 92) Even though all of these connections are illegal, and Offred is supposed to keep her eyes downcast, and her Handmaid’s uniform’s head wings blocks her line of sight ‘’they are to keep us from seeing, but also from being seen.’’ (Atwood, Margaret. 9)

Rebellion of an individual occurs when there is a difference of opinion. This conventional trait among society allows diverse ideas to be suggested and added upon for a better future and eventually an all around Utopia. Rebellious attitude is depicted throughout George Orwell’s novel 1984 and Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale in a subtle, yet powerful way. The faint, disobedient remarks made by their characters suggest their hope in the future generations opposed to the present one. When a rebellious mindset comes in contact with an oppressed society with strict rules and regulations, the outcome suggests a better future through the realization of mistakes and unity for a common goal.

The Handmaid’s Tale is the story of a young woman living in a futuristic society in which women have no rights. Her only purpose on earth is to reproduce. Women are forbidden from having jobs, wearing provocative clothing, voting, or even reading. This insightful novel by Margaret Atwood supports feminism by giving a clear and terrifying example of what life has been, and could be like without the rights that we've become accustomed to. At first this novel seems nothing more then a fantasy, just a bad dream.

In a society where there is no right or wrong, different views clash and leaders falsely support their claims, there is never going to be a point where anyone can think and act on what they believe. This dystopia seems extremely unlikely to achieve due to where our world is currently heading, but in the context and time period it was created, had these views not changed, a different prospect of gender roles and some actions taken in the novel could have been prominent in our current society. The controversy caused by the aforementioned recurring themes and concepts play a large role in the familiarity that is conveyed. Although ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’s’ dystopian future is based on the inferiority of women in the 1950s, it manages to encompass the flaws and benefits of a feminist world view, the challenge between politics and religion, the materialization of women is beneficial to society at a level where 21st century audiences are able to relate in their everyday lives and

Gilead’s society is oppressive and unjust to the point that the oppression causes delusion for the women. Gilead, through extensive efforts, tries to simmer their civilians by claiming that the incessant restrictions are for their own good. No restrictions are more stringent than those bestowed on the women, and more specifically, the handmaids. Although, Gilead claims to be built on a principal set of values, its principles are ignored and challenged to ensure everything runs smoothly in the eyes of Gilead’s patriarchy. In Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, the Republic of Gilead, a corrupt government adamant on supporting a better way of life for females, undermines their very own beliefs. "There is more than one kind of freedom...Freedom to and freedom from. In the days of anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are being given freedom from. Don 't underrate it" (24). Gilead presumes that they offer females with freedom from both sexual harassment and the indiscretion of men, but instead Gilead only supports the harassment and indiscretion.

Factions such as Islamic groups, Chinese communists, and German Nazis were the masters of oppressive regimes and abuse of power. These inimical regimes stemmed from human avarice, the greed of controlling others. Through this authority, rulers believed that they could control their own influence by limiting the actions that were inflicted upon them. These three regimes implemented stifling dress codes, severe restrictions on literature, and perfidy and removal of close ones. Surprisingly, The Handmaid’s Tale also includes these aspects in controlling their population- the book, seemingly science fiction, but actually speculative fiction, warns the public on the problems that have already occurred and may occur in a time ahead. Margaret Atwood portrays a new regime (in the near future) where the United States is overthrown and replaced by a totalitarian theocracy; people are separated from their identities by the government. By employing the use of different devices such as static and dynamic characters, nonlinear narrative structure, and symbolism of attire, Atwood proves that an individual’s identity is removed in order to create an authoritarian society.

Offred’s commander's name is Fred so her name becomes Offred. Another example of this is Warren and Ofwarren. The loss of their name is a form of marginalization and silencing because names are considered to be a large part of your personal identity, if you are forced to forget your name you are essentially losing a part of your identity. In addition to the women being forced to forget their names the fact that they are forced to change their names to the names of their commander shows the disregard for women in Gilead and in a Handmaid's case that they are not seen as a human rather they are seen as procreative vessels. By doing this the women is being “tied down” to their commander without any say in what they want.