Compare and contrast the ways these authors present the oppressive society of their dystopias and the effect these techniques have on the reader.

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Atwood: ‘The Handmaids Tale’

Orwell: ‘1984’

Compare and contrast the ways these authors present the oppressive society of their dystopias and the effect these techniques have on the reader.

Both novels stimulate the reader’s anxieties and fears as they explore the dystopic worlds of ‘Airstrip One’ and ‘Gilead’.  All of the aspects and issues that are portrayed in the societies are conveyed using a number of techniques such as the manipulation of the familiar and comfortable with the alien and unnerving that Airstrip One and Gilead come to represent.  The basic literary techniques and depth of detail are paralleled in both of these pieces of prose and go someway in highlighting the similarity in style yet the backgrounds and eras of the authors set the texts apart and the means (characters, motifs, symbols and experience) they use to deliver the chilling messages behind the novels.

‘1984’ is a political novel written with a purpose of warning readers about the dangers of totalitarian states and in one part says that if you want to see a picture of the future ‘ imagine a boot stamping on a human face forever’. It is a horrific view of the destruction of totalitarianism. Some of what Orwell prophesised came true in Russia, to some degree.  In Stalinist Russia, documents were destroyed as in the ‘Ministry of Truth’ and there was a ‘beautification’ of a leader, like there is with Big Brother.  The title suggest that he thought that in thirty-five years time if left unopposed totalitarian governments could reign like this.  He drew on the experience of Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin’s governments and makes many references to these periods and states throughout like the exercise instructor being fit and healthy and having four children, which in Nazi Germany was awarded with one thousand Marks and a Gold Medal which due to the vast propaganda campaigns were highly prized especially during a period of economic hardship.    

Atwood similarly says that passivity can allow these worlds to become reality and that everything in her novel has either happened or was happening at the time that it was published in 1985.  At the time the Taliban were gaining power and Afghan women were expected to stay at home and it was at this time that there was a resurgence in fundamental Christian activity.

The narrative structure and voice of a novel affects the acceptance and experience of the reader.  Both novels and the styles lend themselves to a similar acceptance and effect on the reader.   Michael Sherborne notes that ‘1984’ is divided into three parts: a beginning, middle and an end.  The clear structure is an attempt to impose some order on a chaotic situation.’  ‘1984’ is narrated by an un-credited third person.  However the close link and exploration of the protagonist’s thoughts forces many to believe that the narrator is Winston.  By never naming Winston as the narrator Orwell has left enough ‘space’ as to accept a third person, neutral narrator as to make the narrative more reliable and to further highlight the oppressive society where you are unable to tell your own story.  

It is also hinted that Winston can’t be the narrator as at one point vapourization is discussed and it is noted as a fact that ‘Mrs Parsons would be vapourized. Syme would be vapourized and Winston would be vapourized.’ The conviction of this means that it can’t be Winston and lends itself to many to suggest that O Brian may be the narrator because as he later discloses he has followed Winston for seven years. The depth and detail the narrator is privy to again serves to highlight another point in Orwell’s society, that not even thoughts are private and that others are conscious of them and monitoring them.

As a character Winston may be perceived as hopeless and uninspiring, with his ‘varicose veins’ but in this society it would be unrealistic for him to be inspiring, positive and enviable.  He is a run down product of this oppressive society.  The use of the present continuous tense means that the reader experiences things as Winston does and this makes us uncomfortable as voyeurs only again to emphasis Orwell’s point that there is no privacy and that in that society you can never escape the ‘gaze’; the male gaze of Big Brother that exerts power over you and restricts you.  The book is disturbing as Winston’s consciousness is beyond his control, attacked not only by the outside pressures of propaganda and regulation but also internally through nightmares and memories, over which O’Brien finally proves to be master.

‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ is narrated in the first person, in present tense. The present tense gives the narrative a sense of immediacy and allows the reader to share her experiences.  As Offred tells her story, she often slips into flashbacks.  She goes over the beginning of the new regime, her time with Luke and her daughter and times with her mother.  In ‘1984’ Winston tries to ‘squeeze some childhood memories’ and often tries to form clear memories of his mother and sister and what the country used to be like.  While they are quite vivid in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ the flashbacks in ‘1984’ are often incomplete.  In both novels the use of them highlights the characters longing to make a connection with their past and to have some control.  For Winston, memories are dangerous to the party and they seek ultimate control.  

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‘Who controls the past controls the future.

Who controls the present controls the past’.

Winston’s memories are a rebellion and take some power from the party.  

As a character, Offred, the protagonist and narrator she is intelligent and perceptive and possesses faults, which make her human, like Winston.  However she isn’t as dreary or hopeless in presentation and her dark sense of humour or ‘graveyard wit’ make her descriptions more bearable and highlight her intelligence and awareness making her a more reliable and trusted narrator.  She is aware of her role and that of the handmaid’s in ...

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