Society In '1984 And Margaret Orwell'sThe Handmaids Tale'

Overbearing governments can change every aspect of society but people’s memories and their stories of the past cannot be completely altered to forget what life was like. Society uses these memoires to compare it to the new way of ruling which sometimes is less favorable to the individual. Governments try to change people’s opinions of reality which proves to be impossible. Within the novels, 1984 by George Orwell, The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley the Governments have taken society's freedom away and all that remains are the memories of what life was like before the changes; the main characters are constantly using the past as a way to survive through the difficult times.

Throughout history, men consistently consider women inferior forming the stereotype that women are the weaker sex. Society taught itself that the icon of masculinity is directly related to the weakness of females (Csaszar 40). This idea, however, enraged a countless number of men and women alike forcing them to advocate a new way of thinking. George Orwell managed to reverse the idea of male dominance by introducing the world to Winston Smith, the weak, male, main character whose only  purpose in life is to serve his society. In his futuristic science fiction novel, 1984, Orwell uses the stereotypical female characters as the compelling forces which drive man to act. Despite their portrayed lack of power, the women in the novel are the only characters with any influence over Winston, making them the crucial aspect to the book’s anti-totalitarian purpose. Taking place in the future totalitarian society of Oceania, Orwell begins and ends the novel with fear and control over man. Winston Smith, the main character, is depicted as weak, and passive- aggressive (Orwell). This goes against the usual description of the main character of a novel who would  be strong and the hero of a story. In a typical society that praised masculinity, Orwell was able to  present Winston’s absence of the trait in order to expose it later in the book in a more realistic way according to the novel’s setting. Although he is the main character, Winston is seen as more pitiable instead of admirable. He

1984 is a book written in 1948 by George Orwell about a man named Winston. He fights with mistreatment in Oceania, which is a dystopian society. Dystopia is a futuristic universe where the illusion of a perfect society is tamed by totalitarian control. The women in this novel were depicted as weak and hopeless. They were only seen as useful if they were creating children or just having sex. In this novel there has been illustrations of bad portrayals of women multiple times. This novel is an example of a “ product of the age”. Orwell made this novel just after World War II ended, wanting it to serve as a caution to his readers. The effect this era had on the book is that since it was made 1948, it was a time where women didn’t have any rights so were naturally seen as less than men. Orwell did portray great lovable mothers and strong women, however he still degraded all his female characters. Ultimately illustrating that women aren’t as important as men. Orwell portrays women as if they do not matter to emphasize not the characteristic of Winston but himself.

1984 is a classic piece of British literature that serves as the most prominent example of the dystopia genre. In this nover George Orwell tells the precautionary tale of what might happen if the society goes totalitarian. In this essay I would like to talk about the role of women in the novel.

George Orwell was one of the best writers of his time. He was born in India but studied in England. After seeing all the poverty going on in England during the early 1900s he started socialism

They say it is a “mans world” and that statement is extremely evident in George Orwell's book, 1984. 1984 is about a dystopian, marxist environment. Orwell has created what seems as the most equal and perfect planet, consequently this book is riddled with sexism. Orwell has written the book with a misogynistic viewpoint, he favors how men will have multiple partners, how marriage will have no emotional value, and to point out that there is not a single woman in the government either. George Orwell has a male-centered and patricharial outlook on life which caused 1984 to have a misogynistic view on life.

Winston and Julia continue to meet in the room above the shop, and eventually, the two go together to meet O’Brien at his home. O’Brien turns off his

The true horrors, which compose a fictitious dystopian world, are used as a literary tool by many authors in an attempt to magnify societies issues. Their texts serve as a moralistic warning with aim to

Throughout history there have been societies known to base their political and moral structure based on hate towards a certain group that they find to be unfitting within their preset standards. Various groups whom have based their entire campaign on hate have managed to maintain power and a presence through long periods of time and some are still present today yet they no longer posses the same amount of influence which they once had through their uprising. Although there have been several occasions in which these societies have demonstrated their passionate hate towards societies they tend to not withstand power and stability during a long period of time doing so because they hold no actual tangible power. In the novel 1984, George Orwell depicts a dystopian society where every source of reliability has been altered by the government. Within the society they've constructed a Ministry of Truth, a department specifically dedicated to modify and rewrite the content of all books, newspapers, articles, and documents for its own benefits."changes in political alignment, or mistaken prophecies uttered by Big Brother, have been rewritten a dozen times still stood on the files bearing its original data, and no

"Big Brother is Watching You"(Orwell 5). This simple phrase has become the cornerstone of the conspiracy theorists dialog. George Orwell may have writing a cautionary novel with 1984, but there is little possibility that he could have foreseen how close to reality his novel would truly become.

How far is language a tool of oppression in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ and ‘Nineteen Eighty Four’?

The Female Man is a little confusing in the way it shifts from one world to another, especially in terms of who the narrator is. We have four worlds a world that did not recover from the depression, what we know as our world right now, a utopian future of an all-female planet, and a dystopian future of a war between women and men. We read many books of dystopian futures in our class. However, none like this book.

It’s hard to believe women living in different countries, centuries and even realities can live parallel lives. The authors of The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood, Secret Daughter, Shilpi Somaya Gowda and The Rapture of Canaan, Sheri Reynolds, each work to illustrate how their protagonist’s experience oppression due to their gender. The Handmaid’s Tale, set in a dystopian world, tells the story of Offred, a woman who is caught trying to escape and is forced to become a handmaiden for a couple who is unable to conceive. She is forced to become indistinguishable among crowds and fears losing who she is, but never loses sight of her goal to be reunited with her daughter. Secret Daughter tells the story of Asha, a young Indian girl whose mother, Kavita, gives her away before her father can murder her for being a girl. Adopted by an American couple, she grows up not knowing who she truly is, only to find out the biological family she’s always wanted to meet, doesn’t exactly match the picture she has for them. The Rapture of Canaan, follows Ninah, a young girl growing up in a community governed by the religion her grandfather created that allows for nothing. Ninah finds herself struggling with what she does and doesn’t believe and looks to her friend James for guidance. Falling pregnant, Ninah does all she can to sustain herself while facing the wrath of her family. Although each of these women suffer within an oppressive patriarchal structure, they find ways to assert their identities as fiercely loving mothers.

"To say 'I accept' in an age like our own is to say that you accept concentration-camps, rubber truncheons, Hitler, Stalin, bombs, aeroplanes, tinned food, machine guns, putsches, purges, slogans, Bedaux belts, gas-masks, submarines, spies, provocateurs, press-censorship, secret prisons, aspirins, Hollywood films and political murder" (Bookshelf I).

There are three main social classes represented in 1984 by George Orwell, the Inner Party, the Outer Party and the Proles. While 1984 is a work of fiction, similar social classes do currently and have existed in the world, they just go by different names, the Upper class, the Middle class and the Lower class. The Inner class is resemblant of the Upper class. They both make up 2% or less of the population, but carry most of the wealth and privileges. The Middle and Lower classes is where the book shifts from reality a little. The Outer party has more wealth than the Proles, but are more closely monitored. While the Proles do not have much wealth, they could get away with the a lot more than the Outer party without anyone preserving them as a threat. They make up the majority of the population and have the power in number to fight back, but they do not know or think to use that power.