Friday, May 3, 2013
Rebellion in 1984 vs. Rebellion in Handmaid's Tale
While reading 1984, I have found many similarities between said novel and Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood. In both novels, the main protagonists have thoughts of rebellion which grow and grow like a seed into a beautiful tree! Winston is definitely unsatisfied with his society as Offred was with her society, and helps spread the thoughts of rebellion to his associates. For instance, both he and Julia have thoughts of rebellion, but Julia likes to rebel in more subtle ways. Also, in both novels, the main protagonists have dreams and visions from the past, before their society was so corrupted. While Offred dreams of a time when the Republic of Gilead was not in power and she could spend time with her beloved friend, Moira, Winston dreams of a time when Great Britain was not a part of Oceania, an autocracy maybe even more oppressive than Gilead.
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While I am unfamiliar with George Orwell's 1984, I was surprised, Kevin, by your statement regarding Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, concerning Offred's thoughts of rebellion growing like a seed into a beautiful tree. While I certainly can't discount the loveliness of the language you've chosen, I would personally argue that Offred's thoughts of rebellion are strongest at the beginning of the novel. To me, it seems that Offred becomes increasingly more yielding to the oppressive government of Gilead.
ReplyDeleteI would like to say that I enjoyed the final section of your post, regarding dreams. The Hunger Games' protagonist, Katniss, has similar dreams of a previous time, seemingly a constant in dystopian novels. In Katniss' case, however, she does not dream of a time before the oppressive government she's ruled by, but of a time when her beloved father was alive.
I would agree with Kevin in that Offred appears to be more rebellious towards the end of The Handmaid's Tale, at least in terms of her actions; while her philosophy and ideas about oppression don't become much more rebellious throughout the book, she starts to act on them more (for example sneaking out to see Nick) which I would definitely think of as being more rebellious.
ReplyDeleteAs to rebellion itself, I don't know much about 1984 but based on what's been said it sounds like a much more subtle form of rebellion than the kind in A Clockwork Orange. In A Clockwork Orange teens are very violent and rule the streets at night, doing everything from robbing houses to beating up pretty much anyone that happens to be there. Given that 1984 has an oppressive government while A Clockwork Orange doesn't have any kind of government, it seems interesting that under both situations people will still rebel.
Your comments about dreams also remind me of The Road, in that the man rejects dreams of the past because they are pointless and signal one's "giving up," the approach of death, and don't offer hope for a changed future. Dreams are certainly a tool for an author to ground the reader in the text, giving us a sense of context (as characters look to a past perhaps more familiar to us) and relevance (as characters recall personal memories to which we may relate).
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