A dystopia is a depiction of an imperfect world, in which there is no freedom, equality or peace. It is a literary device that is either used to criticize our own society, through satire and exaggeration, or to warn us about the future, so we can make the right choices in order to avoid the creation of a dystopian reality. George Orwell’s 1984 and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale are both dystopian literary works, thus, their narratives share some similarities that are common characteristics of this genre.
In terms of oppressive government, Ingsoc is 1984’s authoritarian socialist political party, while The Handmaid’s Tale finds tyranny in the theocratic Republic of Gilead. Both governments have stripped their people of their individual rights, and keep a strict rule of total vigilance. Big Brother gives a face to surveillance in 1984, representing the omnipresence of the government with the slogan “Big Brother is watching you”. Instead of a face, The Handmaid’s Tale uses the image of a winged eye, which represents the government’s spies known as The Eyes, who could be anyone.
All this vigilance serves the purpose of forbidding individual freedoms, such as the right to write, read, love and have your own opinions, all of which Winston and June, the main characters in each story, do by breaking the rules, for they are rebellious by nature. In both stories, people who disobey the government’s rules are sent to force labor camps, tortured or killed.
Violence is also present in these narratives. In 1984 there is something called the Two Minutes Hate, in which people gather to shout and express hatred to a video of their enemies, and in The Handmaid’s Tale, the handmaids are allowed to stone traitors to death. These are acts of violence designed as a way for the oppressed to release their anger toward something other than the government, thus, staying submissive. Another way with which people are controlled is through propaganda, which also happens in both narratives. Gilead and Ingsoc manipulate language in order to erase forbidden concepts, but the Ingsoc goes as far as manipulating history, by erasing or creating entire events.
These societies are based on inequality, so they are divided by hierarchies, in which people who hold the power are on top. The main difference between the stories is that the women are the ones who are most oppressed in The Handmaid’s Tale, and who have no rights at all, while in 1984 it is the proletariat in general who is oppressed. The society of Gilead is mostly sexist, as opposed to 1984’s elitist structure, for their whole government is based on subjugating women for their supposed biological role of giving birth, thus, the women are politically and sexually violated.
While 1984 has the capacity to make most people afraid, at least the ones who are not rich, The Handmaid’s Tale is mostly scary for women. Though there is the fact that women are as much human beings as men, so Atwood’s work should be an alert to everyone, no matter what gender, such as Orwell’s should be, no matter what social class.
