Themes In The Handmaid's Tale

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Dystopian Literature in general contains a dystopian society that “is usually characterized by an authoritarian or totalitarian form of government, or some other kind of oppressive social control.” (http://www.urbandictionary.com) The text The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood and the text Brave New World by Aldous Huxley both deal with societies being under control of totalitarian governments. Although the novels are narrated through different perspectives, they share similar dystopian codes and conventions. The conventions that are explored in the novels are control, censorship, and the use of religion as a repressing force on the societies. The authors express their use of cautionary tales throughout the novels to warn the readers about the future regarding societies where the rights and freedoms of the citizens may possibly be taken away. These novels are written to prevent these type of societies from being created. The authors refer to repetition, paradox, diction, analogy, imagery, and rhetorical question to have readers understand the message of the novels. Repetition is used to emphasize the ideas of the authors. Paradox is used to contradict ideas but still contain an element of truth. Analogy is used to compare …show more content…
Explain:
In the novel The Handmaid’s Tale, Atwood uses philosophical control to restrict the handmaids’ minds and bodies. While in Brave New World, Huxley uses technological control to govern the human beings’ lives from the moment they are decanted, in other words, born.
Intro to example 1:
In the beginning of the book, Offred says…
Examples from text 1:
“There is more than one kind of freedom… Freedom to and freedom from. In the days of anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are being given freedom from. Don’t underrate it.” (Atwood,

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