Early into the book, I already see parallels to the other dystopias we’ve read in this class. The fear of a seemingly innocuous person being an “Eye” reminds me of the thoughtpolice in 1984. Forms of brainwashing also are an undercurrent within the first few chapters of the book, though apparently not quite as potent as in 1984 or Brave New World as our protagonist still remembers (at least a few things) quite well from the “before times”. In fact, unlike BNW and 1984, it seems as though the events of The Handmaid’s Tale happened relatively quickly and certainly within the lifetime of Offred, as she can remember things happening normally only some matter of years ago.
In terms of contrast, I also think it’s also interesting how the religious aspects fit into each of these books. Where The Handmaid’s Tale appears to be based on actual religious text (the Bible), Brave New World’s society was also based on religion, it was just a religion formed at the same time of the society, not before. We don’t know a whole lot about the specific gender roles this far into the book, but we do know a little bit about gender dynamics. And while 1984 and BNW seemed to stumble into sexism and imbalanced gender dynamics (BNW slightly more purposefully so, in my opinion), The Handmaid’s Tale has so far tackled the concept of misogyny with purpose and intent. Atwood has even started to compare second wave feminism to the harshly misogynistic society created in the book in the “modern” day.
Your discussion about "before times" is interesting and something I hadn't thought about. It actually bothers me a little that all of these books do this. Nostalgia for "before times" seems very problematic -- after all, the "before times" are, by definition, what led us to being here. The idea that something catastrophic suddenly changes everything seems too simplistic.
ReplyDeleteI do find it interesting how the book seems to be based in a religion, which seems somewhat similar to Christianity at this point. However, although I've never read the bible, it does seem to have twisted somethings to change the position of women, and the society seems to place great importance on children.
ReplyDeleteInteresting view of the ideology in 1984 being like a religion! I definitely see the parallels between "Eyes" and the thoughtpolice. Both novels have an interesting use of flashbacks, although with this, The Handmaid's Tale definitely covers misogyny in a more profound manner. Overall, I do see a lot of similarities between all three novels--just with particular differences in how the idea of being a dystopia is "expressed."
ReplyDelete