Handmaids Tale and 1984

Language, arguably mankind’s most influential invention, not only forms the foundation for human culture, but is also embedded within every aspect of our cyclical lives. In The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood skillfully portrays the systematic oppression in the Republic of Gilead, as seen through the array of forms that language encompasses. Ultimately, Atwood depicts language as a manipulative tool used by the totalitarian regime to undermine its perceivably dystopian nature by spreading a false sense of organization and order. This is evident with the regime’s employment of naming systems, the misuse of religious texts, and the controlled limitations of language for women.

The novels Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell, and The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, both are social commentaries explored through the lens of a citizen in a dystopian, totalitarian society. While Orwell articulates his anti-socialist political agenda, he also draws conclusions about the nature of humanity and spins a cautionary tale to warn about the dangers of dictatorships. On the other hand, Atwood uses a misogynistic, theocratic ruling party to convey a similar message. However, both authors share the same controlling idea about tyrannical regimes which use information control, loss of autonomy, and extreme punishment, to maintain their power. The novels are each warnings that left unchecked, such governments put the future of

THE OPPRESSION OF WOMEN IN ATWOOD’S THE HANDMAID’S TALE AND THEIR WAYS OF RESISTING THE REGIME

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood is set in a future time period where the United States is under the control of the Gileadean regime. A terrorist attack leads to the collapse of Congress, the suspension of the Constitution, and the establishment of a theocratic totalitarian government. Men and women are given roles within society; they are Commanders, Eyes, Handmaids, and Marthas. In this novel, Atwood explores a prominent social issue, feminism. The suppression and power of women are examined through the setting and characterization of the novel to help understand the meaning of the novel as a whole.

Contained within the novels The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood and Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is a fight for power and control – not of land, or political position – but of language. Language is seen within both of these novels as being central to the telling of one’s own story – without the control of power and language, it is not possible to convey the intricacies, thoughts, feelings and ideas behind these stories. Whether this story is conveyed through a diary, or through cassette tapes, or even scratched into a wall, it is still a singular method through which the protagonists of the novels can gain control over their own personal stories which may live on into the future. Therefore, within this essay I will be

“Newspeak was designed to. . .diminish the range of thought. . .by cutting the choice of words down to a minimum” explains George Orwell, the author of a dystopian fiction novel, 1984 (Orwell 300). Orwell designs a society in which a totalitarian government rules, depriving people of their thoughts. The story gives us a look into the life of the main character, Winston, who seems to face issues with reality control. Today, we will delve into the depths of this novel and explore Orwell’s views on the nature of language. In simple terms, Orwell suggests that language, if used in a certain way, has the ability to influence people and compel them to alter their thoughts. With this statement and supporting evidence, it can be concluded that the effective use of language can give individuals power to modify or reshape opinions that will allow for change in society.

Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell is a dystopian and pessimistic novel. Published in 1949, the novel intends to warn the world at large of the potential dangers of a totalitarian state. To make sure that the citizens are living up to the ideology, the party uses different methods of surveillance or mechanisms of control, like the telescreens, Big Brother, the Spies, the principles of newspeak and torturing its enemies. To subvert the control of the Party, Winston engages in an act of erotic sexual relationship with Julia and starts to write a diary for his heresies towards Big Brother. The novel will discuss these mechanisms along with the possibilities of freedom.

Words and language are the most powerful thing in the world. This is what the authority in the novel called “The Handmaid’s Tale” uses to which it plays a big role of power in the society. The way that the authority put ideas in the mind of the Handmaids and other characters gives the impression of control to the people which correlates to the Ideology of Neil Postman in his text called “The Word Weavers/The World Makers”. To sum up his text, the language and words are meant to be very powerful in terms in using the proper words. As stated by Postman in the book “A world of Ideas”, “language does much more than construct concepts about events and things in the world; it tells us what sorts of concept we ought to construct,” (291). This means

: In the novels, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, and The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, negative impacts of a totalitarian government can cause a corrupt society through the conflict of the authority's censorship over knowledge, with the help of theme to suppress an individual’s lack of identity, and by characters to show the governments control over relationships.Firstly, the use of conflict is portrayed by both authors to illustrate the government’s censorship over knowledge to present their so called “stable society” that they are aiming to achieve. Point 1: To begin with, all handmaids are prohibited from reading, writing and any form of modernization, and this is attempted by the authorities in charge to stabilize of what can and cannot be utilized

1984 remains an important novel as it sounds the alarm against the abusive nature of authoritarian governments but also for its penetrating analysis of the psychology of power and the ways that manipulations of language can be used as mechanisms of control.

Desire is a powerful and dangerous emotion which has the ability to overtake and disregards any rational state of mind, creating disorder and life-threatening consequences, thus making it feared as a form of disorder or misdirected imagination. However, desire cannot exist without a lack of satisfaction, allowing the once forbidden to become desirable. These illicit desires which are in conflict with social laws and norms are often repressed into the unconscious. Emerging in forms which are disguised so that they may be unrecognisable to the conscious mind due to the dangerous, forces and consequences they present. Such desires can be identified in George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) which mirrors post-war social and political issues, portraying the devastation, destruction and control on the outer limits of humanity in a dystopian world. In a world where thought, history and relationships are manipulated and governed, romantic and autonomies desire become a means of rebellion in order to maintain sanity, truth, and an objective reality as a means of resistance against the governing party. Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) is a speculative fiction which explores the need for a sustained political, feminist consciousness and activity among woman by exploring the political and social consequence of their absence. In The Handmaid’s Tale, we see illicit desire through the use of language and literature in a dystopian world which governs class

Nineteen Eighty-Four represents what is classically known as a dystopian novel. By dystopian, the Oxford English Dictionary means an “An imaginary place or condition in which everything is as bad as possible.” The plot of the novel helps

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.

Though the English language has its roots in a male-dominated society where the true meaning of words are now taken for granted. In The Handmaid’s Tale, language facilitates power. In order to effectively rule over class and gender the level of censorship on literature and control of discourses runs high. Atwood uses word choice to expose the shocking structures of the Gilead society and how faulty its foundations are as it was built upon gender inequality. The repercussions of gendered language are evident throughout the novel, implying that the sexist structure of Gilead is a result of oppressive language modern Americans accept and use in every day talk.

A Critical Analysis of “The Handmaid’s Tale.” In this dystopia novel, it reveals a remarkable new world called Gilead. “The Handmaid’s Tale,” by Margaret Atwood, explores all these themes about women who are being subjugated to misogyny to a patriarchal society and had many means by which women tried to gain not only their individualism and their own independence. Her purpose of writing this novel is to warn of the price of an overly zealous religious philosophy, one that places women in such a submissive role in the family. I believe there are also statements about class in there, since the poor woman are being meant to serve the rich families need for a child. As the novel goes along the narrator Offred is going between the past and