Dystopian Societies In 'The Handmaid's Tale And'
Compare the dystopian societies, and the methods used to create them, in ‘The Handmaids Tale’ by Margaret Atwood, and ‘1984’ by George Orwell (paying particular attention to the representation of gender).
The futuristic and oppressive themes that define a dystopian society are in ‘1984’ by George Orwell and ‘The Handmaids Tale’ (THT) by Margaret Atwood. These forms of society feature contrasting types of repressive social control and these stories often explore the concept of humans abusing technology or the rights of people. Dystopian societies are often imagined as police states, with unlimited power over the citizens. Although many elements of a dystopian society can be seen in ‘The Handmaids Tale’ and ‘1984’, the authors, the two novels explore the extreme negative effects of social control through their dissimilar opinions of a dystopian society.
Through the choice of the narrator’s gender, the authors explore issues of this, which can be seen as a clear …show more content…
Winston’s memories are less frequent compared to Offred’s, and they are also more direct. Offred’s memories of the past are staggered but she has irregular flash backs of her daughter and her former partner, Luke. She has flash backs of fleeing across the border into Canada, but they were caught and separated from one another, and Offred has seen neither her husband nor her daughter since. However, Winston’s memories are unclear as they were destroyed due to the revolution. The dystopian government and oppressive society created a void in his mind. Perhaps the authors put the impact of the memories into the novels so that the reader gets an impression that memory in a dystopian society reflects freedom. The more Offred and Winston imagine their past, the more they are able to think about the previous amount of freedom which would lead them to
The futuristic and oppressive themes that define a dystopian society are in ‘1984’ by George Orwell and ‘The Handmaids Tale’ (THT) by Margaret Atwood. These forms of society feature contrasting types of repressive social control and these stories often explore the concept of humans abusing technology or the rights of people. Dystopian societies are often imagined as police states, with unlimited power over the citizens. Although many elements of a dystopian society can be seen in ‘The Handmaids Tale’ and ‘1984’, the authors, the two novels explore the extreme negative effects of social control through their dissimilar opinions of a dystopian society.
Through the choice of the narrator’s gender, the authors explore issues of this, which can be seen as a clear …show more content…
Winston’s memories are less frequent compared to Offred’s, and they are also more direct. Offred’s memories of the past are staggered but she has irregular flash backs of her daughter and her former partner, Luke. She has flash backs of fleeing across the border into Canada, but they were caught and separated from one another, and Offred has seen neither her husband nor her daughter since. However, Winston’s memories are unclear as they were destroyed due to the revolution. The dystopian government and oppressive society created a void in his mind. Perhaps the authors put the impact of the memories into the novels so that the reader gets an impression that memory in a dystopian society reflects freedom. The more Offred and Winston imagine their past, the more they are able to think about the previous amount of freedom which would lead them to