The Dystopian concerns in The Road and The Handmaid’s Tale Dystopian novels have a prominent role in American fiction after 1945. When one talks about Dystopian subgenre, it envisions a time not so distant from the present that world is in an unpleasant time which can deal with either government fallen under a totalitarian rule or the environment is in a degradable state. There are two specific novels that fall under this subgenre: The Road and The Handmaid’s Tale. The Road deals with the outcome of the environment in the United States after a nuclear outbreak, and The Handmaid’s Tale deals with the idea of theocracy and the thin line that separates church and state, concerns that can make up a dystopian novel. The Road deals with the United States in the not so far future being damaged to an unrepairable state by unknown nuclear outbreak which is one concern that is focused on in a dystopian novel. A man and boy must find faith in order to continue their journey to the coast, where there might be an escape. Through out the novel there is many passage hinting at a degradable environment. The first chapter the man mentions an unknown creature stating, “It swung its head low over the water to take a …show more content…
It brings to life who the United States could possibly look under Theocratic government where the clergy had control. There are references to religion and how it is present in the Republic of Gilead. One reference is the idea of the Prayvaganza which according to the narrator, Offred the handmaid, she explained, “We’re off to the Prayvaganza, to demonstrate hoe obedient and pious we are” (Atwood 212). The handmaids are clearly forced to into this by the government. A little later Offred sees the Prayvaganza banner, and in smaller font it reads “God Is a National Resource” (Atwood 213). A forced practice in a nation that government forces the idea that the word of God is the
Serena Joy is the most powerful female presence in the hierarchy of Gileadean women; she is the central character in the dystopian novel, signifying the foundation for the Gileadean regime. Atwood uses Serena Joy as a symbol for the present dystopian society, justifying why the society of Gilead arose and how its oppression had infiltrated the lives of unsuspecting people.
Lack of Difference from Women in The Handmaid’s Tale and Women in Modern Day Society
A dystopian text is a manifestation of society 's deepest fears. How is this explored in The Handmaid 's Tale and Gattaca?
A totalitarian regime is a very large piece of what is typically required for a dystopia, and it is certainly present in The Handmaid’s Tale. A totalitarian regime is a political system where the state has complete control and authority over the society. One way that the Republic of Gilead controls its citizens is through surveillance. However, the surveillance is not equal in who is monitored. In the critical essay “Sexual Surveillance And Medical Authority in Two Versions Of The Handmaid’s Tale”, Pamela Cooper states that “The Handmaid’s Tale thus brings together pre-Christian notions of absolute patriarchal authority—the omniscient, avenging God—with postmodernist theories of the objectifying and possessive male
Both the novels '1984' and 'The Handmaids Tale' provide warnings of how each author sees certain problems in society leading to dystopian states. Dystopian genres exist in both novels, but arise for different reasons. Resulting from Atwood's concerns about political groups and aspects of feminism; 'The Handmaids Tale' illustrates how declining birth rates could lead to a state where women are forced into bearing children. In contrast, '1984' depicts a terror state where poverty is rife and tyrannical leaders force citizens to live by their rules. Although both novels share such themes as surveillance, deprivation and loss of identity, they describe two very different dystopian worlds, often by using identical literary techniques but also
As the saying goes, 'history repeats itself.' If one of the goals of Margaret Atwood was to prove this particular point, she certainly succeeded in her novel A Handmaid's Tale. In her Note to the Reader, she writes, " The thing to remember is that there is nothing new about the society depicted in The Handmaiden's Tale except the time and place. All of the things I have written about ...have been done before, more than once..." (316). Atwood seems to choose only the most threatening, frightening, and atrocious events in history to parallel her book by--specifically the enslavement of African Americans in the United States. She traces the development of this institution, but from the
The Gilead regime uses language, particularly Biblical language to solidify its power. Language has a strong influence in moulding how people think, and it is fully abused by the rulers of Gilead, for example, the phrase, ‘’give me children or else I die.’’ (pg. 99 ) gave the republic of Gilead the idea to use handmaids to bear children for barren wives. Bible readings and prayers before the ceremony, Is another example the regime justifies its actions and the role of the handmaid, to disguise what is actually taking place, which is the exploitation and abuse of women.
Margaret Atwood's renowned science fiction novel, The Handmaid's Tale, was written in 1986 during the rise of the opposition to the feminist movement. Atwood, a Native American, was a vigorous supporter of this movement. The battle that existed between both sides of the women's rights issue inspired her to write this work. Because it was not clear just what the end result of the feminist movement would be, the author begins at the outset to prod her reader to consider where the story will end. Her purpose in writing this serious satire is to warn women of what the female gender stands to lose if the feminist movement were to fail. Atwood envisions a society of extreme changes in
Offred is a Handmaid in what used to be the United States, now the theocratic Republic of Gilead. In order to create Gilead's idea of a more perfect society, they have reverted to taking the Book of Genesis at its word. Women no longer have any privileges; they cannot work, have their own bank accounts, or own anything. The also are not allowed to read or even chose who they want to marry. Women are taught that they should be subservient to men and should only be concerned with bearing children. Margaret Atwood writes The Handmaid's Tale (1986) as to create a dystopia. A dystopia is an imaginary place where the condition of life is extremely bad, from deprivation, oppression, or
The central social hierarchy within the novel is the gender hierarchy, placing men in a position of extreme power. This is evident in every aspect of the book, as the entire Gilead society is male dominated. The Commander is at the top of the hierarchy and is involved with designing and establishing the current society taking control of a nation of women, and exploiting their power by controlling what is taught, what they can teach themselves and the words that they can use. Soon all of the women will become brainwashed, simply because it is made nearly impossible to defy the rules
A woman’s power and privileges depend on which societal class she is in. In Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale each group of women are each represented in a different way. The three classes of women from the novel are the Handmaids, the Marthas and the Wives. The ways in which the women are portrayed reflect their societal power and their privileges that they bestow.
THE OPPRESSION OF WOMEN IN ATWOOD’S THE HANDMAID’S TALE AND THEIR WAYS OF RESISTING THE REGIME
Feminism as we know it began in the mid 1960's as the Women's Liberation Movement. Among its chief tenants is the idea of women's empowerment, the idea that women are capable of doing and should be allowed to do anything men can do. Feminists believe that neither sex is naturally superior. They stand behind the idea that women are inherently just as strong and intelligent as the so-called stronger sex. Many writers have taken up the cause of feminism in their work. One of the most well known writers to deal with feminist themes is Margaret Atwood. Her work is clearly influenced by the movement and many literary critics, as well as Atwood herself, have identified her as a feminist writer.
In The Handmaid’s Tale, the author, Margaret Atwood, creates a dystopian society that is under theocratic rule. From this theocracy, each individual’s freedom is, for the most part, taken away. The Handmaid’s Tale creates a dystopia by placing restrictions on the individual’s freedom, using propaganda to control its citizens, and by having citizens of Gilead live in dehumanized ways. Furthermore, the creation of a hierarchal system in Gilead caused its citizens to lose the ability to feel empathy towards one another. In the search to create a perfect society, Gilead caused more harm and problems than expected which created a dystopia rather than a utopia.
In Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood writes about a dystopia society. Atwood used situations that were happening during the time she began writing her novel, for example, women’s rights, politics, and in religious aspects. Atwood’s novel is relevant to contemporary society. There are similarities between Atwood’s novel and our society today, which lends to the possibility that our modern society might be headed to a less intense version of this dystopia society.