Compare and contrast their representation of the different social and cultural forces which contribute to the repressive state.

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James Sedgley 6264

Both authors are concerned with the repression of individuality.

Compare and contrast their representation of the different social and cultural forces which contribute to the repressive state.

“Masses of labourers, organised like soldiers, are daily and hourly enslaved by the machine, by the over-looker and above all by the individual bourgeois manufacturer himself”, Karl Marx in his Manifesto of the Communist Party 1848 here highlights the state portrayed through Charles Dickens’s ‘Hard Times’. Margaret Atwood highlights the similarity with her book saying “it is a study of power, and how it operated and how it deforms or shapes the people who are living within that kind of regime”. Defined as an act that prevents the natural or normal expression, activity or development; repression is undoubtedly a common theme between two similar yet very different novels.  

Louis Althusser, as a 20th.Century Professor of Philosophy considers the implementation of repression through two distinct methods; the ‘Repressive State Apparatuses’ (RSA’s), which are an implementation of force, most strongly envisaged through the law, backed up by the police force and other confrontational  measures of repression. The second method, ‘Ideological State Apparatuses’ (ISA’s), are systems of repression that work on a subtler scale, the effects of which verge on the subconscious, ultimately however securing consent. Althusser’s list of ISA’s includes religion, the family, the political system, media, literature, art, and most of all, education. Such repressive ideologies and structures are evident within both novels in question yet are used to varying degrees.

‘The Handmaids tale’ follows a ‘Dystopian genre’: an imaginary place where people lead dehumanised and fearful lives; Atwood herself says “a speculative fiction…a slight twist on the society we have now”.  Atwood, in the 1980’s aimed to write about “what happens when certain casually held attitudes about women are taken to their logical conclusion” (Atwood), therefore offering a vision; a warning. Atwood’s writing stems from social movements familiar to herself – the treatment of women from the 1960’s liberation movements and civil rights appear dominant in her novel; population control also takes a major theme. Dickens, in 1854 likewise attempted to offer a vision; a vision that challenged the utilitarian philosophy of the time in Industrial Britain. From the 1820’s-1850’s “Benthamism represented of the prominent exemplar of scientific and materialistic reasoning with respect to social and government activity”. Benthamism, named after the work of Jeremy Bentham sought to develop a scientific legislation to effect social progress – it has been directly linked by many critics to the instigation of social reforms in industrial Britain such as the reforms act of 1832. Dickens’ novel is therefore a product of this period; a “novel that uses its characters and stories to expose the massive gulf between rich and poor and to criticize the unfeeling self-interest of the middle-upper classes”. From a Structuralist outlook using binary opposites, Dickens highlights the battle between utilitarianism and individualism, similar to Atwood who, following a binary reading would highlight the difference between totalitarianism and liberty. This dehumanisation and therefore the repression of individuality is shown in both novels through an ISA; the choice of character names represents such a method.

   

“Girl number twenty” is how we are introduced to Sissy Jupe in Chapter 2 of ‘Hard Times’ because “Sissy is not a name”. In this passage we see the structures emplaced within the education system of Dickens’s portrayal of industrial Britain. Children are referred to by numbers rather than name. Dickens is making a grand statement that industrialisation is causing the “Murdering of Innocence”. This Chapter title shows how from the earliest of years children are being repressed by society; not being allowed to call oneself ‘Sissy’ is an act of repression through ideology. The contrast between Sissy’s description and Bitzer’s highlights the way in which education is contributing to the repressive state in ‘Hard Times’. Sissy who has not previously been exposed to education is described as “so dark-eyed and dark-haired, that she seemed to receive a deeper, more lustrous colour from the sun” whereas Bitzer, the caricature aimed at typifying ‘the system’, is described as “so light-eyed and light-haired that the self-same rays appeared to draw out of him what little colour he ever possessed.” Dickens uses this stark contrast to show the extreme effect the system of education and depletion of innocence has on the children of the novel. The assonance of “self-same” contrasts with the words “deep” and “lustrous” to emphasise the power of repression. The ‘s’ sounds represent a lack of fight enforced by coercion in contrast to the defiant words used to describe Sissy.  

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Likewise in “The Handmaid’s Tale” the dehumanising of the individual takes place through names. “Her name is Ofglen…that’s all I know about her”. By giving the name ‘Of-Glen’ it shows how women are seen as possessions, they are controlled and used by the commanders and the system. Individuality is lost as we never discover the true name of Offred, showing how the systems of ISA’s are working; she doesn’t feel the need to highlight her true name as she realises there is no point. This class grouping by names occurs in both novels giving a clear indication of power. These ...

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