A Comparison of "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood and "Anthem" by Ayn Rand

their vocabulary. An example of this is found when the main character,

Equality-1329, re-invents the electric light. He shows his invention to the

scientist and although this invention could improve the quality of life of the

people it is deemed "evil" because he worked on his project alone. The society in this book is also strict and authoritarian to the point of dictating what your job will be, to whom you will have children with.

In 'The Handmaid's Tale', the story takes place sometime in the near future after an environmental catastrophe that makes it impossible for most

women to have children. Already there is an obvious difference about the setting and time of the stories. To solve this problem some radicals set off a nuclear bomb in Washington during a full session of congress and then declare marshal law. They then systematically took all rights away from women and forced the ones that could have children into camps where they would be contracted out to powerful ranking officials to have their children. These women are referred too as "handmaids."

Next, I would like to discuss the main characters, in 'The Handmaid's

Tale' and in 'Anthem'. In both books the main characters are basically nameless people, in 'The Handmaid's Tale' we never learn the name of the main character, because she always refers to herself as "I" and the other characters in the book refer to her with a generic title for her position as a handmaid. In 'Anthem' the main character does not have the word I in his vocabulary so he either refers to himself as Equality-1329, or as "we."

As far as physical appearance goes, in 'Anthem' the main character is a

man who seems to be in good heath since he has a job as a street sweeper and he is able to perform his duties well. Later in the book he finds a mirror, and he describes himself as 'beautiful.' He also seems to be of good intelligence

because he describes his experience in school as easy and boring, and he said

that he understood more that the teachers did. Similarly in 'Handmaid's Tale' the main character is a woman of who seems to be mildly attractive since she acquires the interest of several men in the story. She also seems to be fairly intelligent because she said that she had taken several college courses. Although both characters are both apparently in good health and both are intelligent, they have very different personalities and personal goals.

In 'Anthem' the main character is pro-active, he sees that there are

problems with the society that he lives in and he tries to change it. He

discovers a secret place where he can go and do scientific research and he re-

invents the electric light. He shows his invention at a convention of

scientists, and when his ideas are rejected he is strong enough to realize that

it is he, the individual that is right, and not society, he then runs away into

the wilderness in hopes of starting his own new society. The main character in 'The Handmaid's Tale' is less of a pro-active person she knows that her society is flawed, and she tells the reader that she does not like her life yet she does nothing about it. The high ranking general that she is "handmaid" for takes her into a position of confidence, and rather than use her position to affect positive change she squanders it on cheap pleasures such as asking for a magazine to read, and playing bored games.

In ending I would like to say that although both characters live in

similar controlling societies, I like the one in Anthem the best because he was

pro-active and he did something about his surroundings rather than just accept

what was and go on. I am not sure which book I enjoyed the most though, perhaps The Handmaid's tale as it has a more interesting storyline and easier to relate to.

By Rebecca Cheetham