Similarities Between The Handmaid's Tale And 1984

Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and George Orwell’s 1984 both establish the idea that dystopian societies are corrupt, as evident from the injustice shown throughout both texts. Both authors explore this idea by demonstrating repressive societies that have marginalized sexuality as a means of social control, established the control of language through the development of vocabulary guidelines, featuring hypocrisy through sexual means and double standards, conveying restriction of personal freedom, and both are satirical as a warning to society of the dangers of total control. The development of dystopia is most prominently shown through characterisation of the protagonists, as shown through narration from the perspectives of Offred and …show more content…
The dystopia, or ‘perfect’ totalitarian state, that is created in 1984 allowed Orwell to express the negative possibilities of communism, which reflects his views of the communism at the time of publishing. Similarly, Atwood demonstrates totalitarianism through the application of a government, and therefore a society, which is in the control of a fanatical religious group. The leaders of this society are elite military men, and the Guardians of the Faith and The Eyes further enforce this. The Eyes are symbolic of the ‘Eye of God’, as the theocratic regime of Gilead demonstrates that there is no difference between the needs of the state and the will of God. The restriction of access to knowledge is heavily used by the totalitarian regime, as to promote ignorance within the society to allow the elites to interpret ideas and such other devices as they …show more content…
The official language of Oceania, Newspeak, is a concept used by Orwell to support the public acceptance of governmental control as demonstrated throughout the text. The development of the new language by the Party allows for limitations to be placed on the words of the English language, and for the Party to remove the ability for citizens to think anti-Party thoughts. This acts as a form of mind control, as it takes away the independence of society. The initiation of an official vocabulary of Gilead allows Atwood to make a clear separation of people on the account of their societal status and gender. While men are defined by their military rankings, women are defined by their roles, such as Wives, Marthas, or Handmaids. Feminists and deformed children are referred to as ‘Unwomen’ and ‘Unbabies’, which notes their derogatory treatment. Individuals of certain origin or religion, such as Blacks and Jews, are referred to by biblical titles, which allows for easier persecution due to their societal separation. Personalised greetings are expressed to adhere to the new system’s views, and specially created terms are used to define Gilead rituals, such as ‘Prayvaganzas’, ‘Salvagings’, and