Essay - Societal Fears

Notable emphasis can be drawn from Orwell and Atwood's portrayals of totalitarian governments and how they exercise population control within oppressive regimes, reflecting the fears - and often the realities - of the world the authors lived in. The choice to write dystopian fiction allowed both authors to engage with 20th Century issues ranging from mass surveillance to global nuclear war to the oppression of women, sexuality, individuality and expression, and the general subjugation of society. Both authors took inspiration from the social and literary context of the 20th Century. The effects of these influences on the texts' development can be seen clearly throughout each novel in the form of language, visual iconography, symbolism, and their underlying key themes.

Orwell's novel opens with the protagonist, Winston Smith, entering a Ministry building where he works. Immediately Orwell presents the reader with the image of a "coloured poster, too large for indoor display"1 depicting "simply an enormous face"2 with strong, masculine features; the imposing face of Big Brother deliberately mirroring that of Joseph Stalin, alluding to the repressive Soviet regime. This image perfectly encapsulates Orwell's depiction of The Party, immediately presenting it as a grand, imposing force watching and ruling over everything under its control. Its overbearingly exaggerated image conveys to the reader the inescapable dominance that Orwell's totalitarian regime has on the people of Oceania. The poster, "too large for indoor display", is rammed into the Ministry interior, acting as a metaphor for the intrusive nature of totalitarian governments which overextend into the personal lives of their society.

1 George Orwell, 1984, (Penguin Books 1954) p3 All further references to this text are from this edition and are given in the footnotes
2 George Orwell, 1984 p3.

Conversely, Atwood's dystopia is more introspective, allowing Atwood to explore oppression through the unique focal perspective of a character whose freedom of movement, sight, and speech have all been encroached upon. While Orwell presents his government as a single all-powerful individual who 'watches' through the characterization of Big Brother, Atwood's government uses covert spies known as The Eyes in order to monitor the public. Atwood's choice of name here implies their omniscience, partially through biblical allusion to 'The Eyes of God', and partly through the menacing suggestion that the watchful eyes in question could belong to anyone and everyone, aided by Atwood's choice to forego giving them any striking visual iconography - unlike Orwell's depiction of Big Brother. This ties into the idea that the Handmaids are cut off from the rest of their surroundings by their uniforms; effectively restricted from seeing, while constantly under surveillance by those who see everything. Atwood uses The Eyes to criticise the woman's role in society from a feminist perspective.

The Handmaids are forced to wear bright red uniforms, with caps that restrict their vision, while under constant supervision by The Eyes. This suggests that the woman's role in Gileadean society, aside from being used as breeding objects, is to be looked at, but not to see in turn. In doing this, Atwood criticizes the misogynist Western society of her time, having been heavily inspired by the Sexual Freedom Movement and the Women's Movement of the 1960's and 70's. She has since stated that hat her depiction of Gilead is based on 17th century Puritanism which she describes as having "always lain beneath the modern-day America we thought we knew."3
Hereby, Atwood reflects her own personal fears of an extreme backlash against the progressive movements of her time, creating a hauntingly plausible depiction of an oppressive puritanical totalitarian state.

3 "Margaret Atwood on What 'The Handmaid's Tale' Means in the Age of ...." 10 Mar. 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/10/books/review/margaret-atwood-handmaids-tale-age-of-trump.ht ml. Accessed 2 Mar. 2018.

Both authors also incorporate ideas of private spaces within the confines of the oppressive societies their novels depict, emphasizing the lack of personal privacy under a totalitarian government. As mentioned above, Orwell presents Big Brother as imposing and invasive, the prime example being the poster of Big Brother in the first paragraph of the novel. In presenting the government as forcing itself into the private lives of the people at every turn, littering the novel and the state of Oceania with their mantra of "BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU"4 , Orwell suggests that there are no private spaces outside of the supervision of the state. Winston's own bedroom has a Telescreen which monitors his every move, down to the slightest twitch of his face. The Telescreen, described as an "oblong metal plaque like a dulled mirror" is imposed unto Winston's personal life, the cold, industrial imagery of its description offering no sympathy towards him. The presence of the Telescreen renders Winston's flat just as public a space as the streets of Oceania or his Ministry workplace building, emphasising the extent of Big Brother's reach.

Conversely, Offred's room in The Handmaid's Tale is her own private space, though she refuses to call it her own, making a point of interrupting her own train of thought to say " - not my room, I refuse to say my."5 Atwood's use of anacoluthon and repetition emphasises Offred's fight to retain her personal integrity, refusing to fully submit to the role she is forced into, mirroring Winston and his resolve to stay true to himself and to Julia during the final chapters of 1984, where he is tortured by O'Brien. Unlike Winston, however, Offred has the freedom to express herself through her own thoughts from within the privacy of her own room, and as revealed by the epilogue, by recording her story on cassette tapes.

4 George Orwell, 1984 p3
5 Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale, (Vintage 1996) p18 All further references to this text are from this edition and are given in the footnotes.

In this way Offred becomes an author of sorts, just as Winston does by writing in his journal for the first time, both characters enabled to do so by their rare moments of privacy. Just as both protagonists' privacy allows them the freedom to narrate, Winston's privacy in the room above Mr Charrington's shop enables him to transgress against Big Brother by regularly sleeping with Julia there, under the impression that they are alone. In the room Winston admires a picture of St. Clements Church. The church contrasts with the dull ministry interiors where the only worship is to Big Brother and The Party, evoking peaceful worship as opposed to the frenzied Two Minutes Hate. The picture reminds Winston of a song ending with "Here comes the chopper to chop off your head!"6
The final line of the song is definitively darker than the rest, foreshadowing the reveal of the Telescreen hidden behind the painting, and Winston's arrest by the Thought Police. This subverts the previous notion that a private space outside of The Party's oversight can exist, reinforcing the fact that "BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU"7 and that The Party has absolute control over the state of Oceania.

In a similar vein, even the privacy of Offred's room contains evidence of her oppression: "They've removed anything you could tie a rope to."8 Offred is free to be left unsupervised in her room, though small details such as the door not being able to lock, or the lack of any means to commit suicide act as reminders of her captivity, and both challenges and supports the suggestion of her space as prison-like. Both authors subvert the idea of private spaces, highlighting the invasive and controlling nature of their totalitarian governments, clearly inspired by real world concerns for overly powerful government regimes and social attitudes during wartime espionage.

6 George Orwell, 1984 p102
7 George Orwell, 1984 p3
8 Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale p17

Additionally, both Orwell and Atwood emphasize government oppression through the narrative voice of their novels and the point of view from which the story is told. Orwell's use of the third person narrative creates the feeling of the reader watching from the sidelines, observing Winston's every action just as Big Brother does. The novel opens as Winston walks into the building where he lives, shortly after having illegally purchased an empty journal to write in.

The reveal that Big Brother had been constantly watching him from the start reinforces the notion that the reader's perspective equals that of Big Brother, observing Winston over the course of the events of the novel, with the act of purchasing the book having been the catalyst for the events of 1984 and Winston's surveillance. In line with this, the novel ends with a brainwashed Winston watching the "enormous face"9 of Big Brother, ending on the line "He loved Big Brother."10

At this point there would be no need for Big Brother to continue monitoring Winston, and so, along with Winston's supervision, the novel ends. However, it has also been argued that the action of writing in the journal is what renders Winston an author, thereby creating the story of 1984 on the day in which he first writes in the book, just as Offred's narration is what creates the text of The Handmaid's Tale, as evidenced by its epilogue.

9 George Orwell, 1984 p311
10 George Orwell, 1984 p311

Atwood's choice to use a first person perspective provides insight into Offred's character, as the novel is more focused on her personal story, as the title would suggest, and her life as a Handmaid. It is through Offred's experience that Atwood explores the themes of oppression and totalitarian puritanism, unlike Orwell who explores the themes more directly, examining Big Brother's regime from a socio-political perspective. Offred, like Winston, is not allowed to write, though she acts an an author within Atwood's novel just as Winston does in Orwell's. The narrative of The Handmaid's Tale is presented as a stream of consciousness where Offred jumps between the past and the present, relishing the ability to reminisce on fond memories. While still physically trapped in her situation in the present, Offred's room acts as a liminal space from which she is able to 'escape' to the past, allowing her mind to wander as she recounts and narrates her old life in order to keep a hold on her sanity.

Offred's frequent direct addressing of the reader in her narration implies that she is consciously aware of her narration and role as an 'author', which in turn implies that she has the ability to hide and change details of her story. She admits to this after telling a romanticised version of her first sexual encounter with Nick: "I made that up. It didn't happen that way."11 Here, Offred draws parallels with Winston's job of rewriting the past for official records, as she falsifies the past in her mind as a means to give herself some illusion of control, while also using her amended retellings as a way to cope psychologically with her situation, as shown by her confession of having added in thunder "to cover up the sounds, which I am ashamed of making."12 and by her confession of "I must believe [that this is a story I'm telling] ... If it's a story I'm telling, then I have control over the ending."13

This unreliability and emotional vulnerability lends the entire novela sense of ambiguity, especially with regards to the novel's ending which leaves the reader unsure of Offred's fate, as well as the alliances and the truths of the people and the world around her. Offred's acknowledgement of the fact that her version of the story may be falsified, while remaining entirely true as it is both the only record of events and her personal truth which keeps her sanity, reflects Orwell's concept of "Doublethink", described in 1984 as the ability to simultaneously hold and believe without reservation "two opinions which cancelled out, knowing them to be contradictory"14.

Additionally, Offred rewriting her own past in her narration echoes Winston's job of editing official historic documents to suit Big Brother's needs, again rendering both Offred and Winston as 'authors' in their own sense, in addition to providing the focal point for Atwood and Orwell's novels.

11 Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale p273
12 Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale p275
13 Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale p49
14 George Orwell, 1984 p37

Similarly, the themes of language and expression seem to mirror the theme of sexuality. Sexuality is given power due to its prohibition, just as language is given power . This central theme reveals how the hierarchical power structures repressed even the most basic carnal instincts. In 1984, The Party seeks to separate sexuality from sex, just as the government in The Handmaid's Tale does, restricting sex for the sole purpose of procreation.

In The Handmaid's Tale, the Handmaids are needed for their fertility, but are forbidden from reading, writing, and, for the most part, speaking. Atwood makes a point to emphasise the fact that Offred's sexuality and fertility give her power, while her social status as a woman and a Handmaid places her in a position of powerlessness. When the Commander calls Offred to his study to play Scrabble and read magazines, he is not only demonstrating his power, but sharing it with her. By allowing her to write he is tempting her with the power he has, while reminding her of her inferior status.

"The pen between my fingers is sensuous, alive almost, I can feel its power, the power of the words it contains. Pen Is Envy, Aunt Lydia would say, quoting another Center motto, warning us away from such objects. And they were right, it is envy. Just holding it is envy. I envy the Commander his pen. It's one more thing I would like to steal."15

15 Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale p196

Here, Atwood links sexuality and language, describing the phallic pen as "sensuous" between her fingers. "The power of the words it contains" suggests that the power of language lies within the medium of expression, which Offred's status as a woman and as a fertile Handmaid forbids her. This relates to male supremacy, as Offred quotes Aunt Lydia: "Pen Is Envy" - a clear innuendo and play on the words 'penis envy', alluding to Freud's theory of psychosexual development in children, and implying once again that the power of expression lies with the men in patriarchal Gileadean society. Atwood uses the final line, "It's one more thing I would like to steal" to show Offred's desire to rebel, as stealing would give her a sense of control over her life; "It would make me feel that I have power"16 , metaphorically stealing the power which the Commander holds over her, even though realistically she would have no more actual power - her lack of power is inherently a result of the societal role of a Handmaid which she is forced into because of her femininity, sexuality, and fertility.

However, her sexuality does allow her some power, as she uses the Commander to reach out of her confined role of Handmaid, and as she sneaks off to make love to Nick, transgressing against the government as an act of rebellion, empowering herself in doing so. Furthermore, both authors make use of vivid imagery and the colour red to emphasise sexuality. Just as Atwood links sexuality with expression and power, Orwell creates a link between sex and violence within the first chapter of the novel, just before the Two Minutes Hate begins. The Party's attempts to separate sexuality from sex keeps the population in a frustrated state which can be channeled into aggression and war-fever. This is shown when Winston sees Julia, as he notes the "scarlet sash"17 around her waist, "wound [...] just tightly enough to bring out the shapeliness of her hips."18

16 Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale p90
17 George Orwell, 1984 p11
18 George Orwell, 1984 p12

Though the sash is the emblem of the Anti-Sex League, Orwell's choice of the colour red symbolises sexuality and fertility, just as it does in The Handmaid's Tale. Just as the Handmaids are desexualised and used solely for reproduction, the same red sash that denotes Julia's fertility and sexuality also deems her as sexually unattainable. The use of the colour red in 1984 also denotes violence and aggression, while simultaneously alluding to real-world communism, the Nazi Regime, and the Soviet Union, further solidifying the links between the aforementioned regimes and that of The Party. The Party's attempts to remove sexuality from sex reflect the lack of sexuality and motivation following the low standard of life found in many countries under the control of the totalitarian or communist regimes that so inspired Orwell. The link between sexuality and violence is further emphasised during the Two Minutes Hate as Winston's thoughts shift towards perverse fantasies of raping and murdering Julia, specifically because of her unattainable sexuality.

Winston's dislike of women, "especially the young and pretty ones"19 and the sexuality they hold - and withhold - is expressed, followed by Winston's rage building over the course of the Two Minutes Hate. He "succeed[s] in transferring his hate"20 towards Julia, and is overcome with "vivid, beautiful hallucinations"21 such as tying her to a stake, naked, and "shoot[ing] her full of arrows like Saint Sebastian"22 or "ravish[ing] her and cut[ting] her throat at the moment of climax"23, inferring a direct correlation between coital release and impulsive violence, as if cutting her throat would provide Winston with equal, or even more, satisfaction. Orwell's allusion to the Biblical Saint Sebastian symbolises the Two Minutes Hate as having replaced traditional religious worship, proving that the only loyalty that exists is to Big Brother. This is similar to the theocratic Gileadean regime in The Handmaid's Tale which takes a puritanical religious approach to the restriction of sexuality, heavily inspired by Atwood's concerns or speculations for a severe backlash against the Sexual Freedom Movement and the Women's Movement of the 1960's and 70's.

19 George Orwell, 1984 p12
20 George Orwell, 1984 p17
21 George Orwell, 1984 p17
22 George Orwell, 1984 p17
23 George Orwell, 1984 p17

Returning to The Handmaid's Tale, in restricting sex, the Gileadean regime only escalates the desire for sex, as evidenced by the existence of underground sex clubs and prostitution rings. Offred herself expresses her lust: "I hunger to commit the act of touch."24 Atwood uses the verb "hunger" to portray sexual desire as something inherently primal in nature, that can therefore not be suppressed by external laws. By banning sexual intercourse outside of 'The Ceremony', the regime gives sexuality power. Offred knows this, contemplating that "some deal could be made"25 with the guards; "we still had our bodies."26 Later, she is allowed to have sex with Nick in order to bear a child, as the Commander seems to be sterile. This subverts the Biblical notion that infertility is at the fault of the woman, and also serves to empower Offred, as she directly acts out against the laws of the regime, though somewhat ironically, with the consent of the Commander's wife. In the same way that Winston and Julia's secret rendezvous are a "blow struck against the Party [...] a political act"27 , every subsequent time Offred sneaks away to have sex with Nick is a direct act of rebellion against the regime.

Orwell goes even further to emphasize how the liberation and enjoyment of Winston and Julia's sexuality undermines the state, using the motif of the varicose ulcer in Winston's ankle to represent Winston's oppression and the corruption and subjugation of the society of Oceania. The ulcer acts as a constant nagging reminder of Big Brother intruding into Winston's everyday life, always watching; it begins "itching unbearably"28 as he sits down to write in his diary for the first time, reminding him of his transgressions. It is only after Winston sexually liberates himself from Big Brother's oppression that the ulcer begins to subside:

"the process of life had ceased to be intolerable, he had no longer any impulse to make faces at the telescreen or shout curses at the top of his voice."29

24 Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale p21
25 Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale p14
26 Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale p14
27 George Orwell, 1984 p133
28 George Orwell, 1984 p10
29 George Orwell, 1984 p157

Through his sexual relief, Winston completely undermines The Party's attempts to turn him into one of their aggressive, war-crazed supporters, highlighting the power of Julia's sexuality. This further represents how real-world oppressive totalitarian governments are able to easily break the will of the people when there is no joy to be found in something as basic as sex, draining public morale and motivation. Viewing both novels as allegorical cautionary tales supports the notion that they were written with the intent of capturing the fears and concerns of the societies around the authors at the time of writing. Atwood's frequent use of biblical allusion in The Handmaid's Tale, and her statement that she "didn't put anything into the book that has not happened sometime, somewhere"30 would serve to suggest that the novel is allegorical in nature. Similarly, Orwell made statements that

"every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism," and that "Animal Farm [1945] was the first book in which I tried, with full consciousness of what I was doing, to fuse political purpose and artistic purpose into one whole"31

This, along with his inspiration by similar dystopian novels such as Zamyatin's We and Huxley's Brave New World would serve to suggest that 1984 was intended to be viewed as an allegorical cautionary tale against totalitarianism, just as Orwell's prior novel, Animal Farm, was an allegory for Communism and the Russian Revolution. The nature of allegorical dystopian fiction implies that the text reflects some aspect of the writer's society, and as such, both 1984 and The Handmaid's Tale, through the use of various literary techniques, reflect the fears, concerns, and controversies of Orwell's and Atwood's societies.

31 "George Orwell: Why I Write - Orwell.ru." https://orwell.ru/library/essays/wiw/english/e_wiw. Accessed 2 Mar. 2018.