Dystopia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Dystopia - Essay Example The themes often show dehumanization, dictatorial institutions, disaster with the environment and other issues that are associated with bad luck and calamities (Atwood). The same themes are found by reading 1984 by George Orwell (Orwell). This political novel is written with the purpose of warning readers about dangers associated with totalitarian leadership. Where we see authorities using their power to control and manipulate the lives of the people they rule. One of the major areas is in language use for exclusion and mind control, psychological manipulation, control of information and history. In his book for example, Orwell elaborates to the readers on the dangers that are associated with totalitarian leadership. The same issues are found in the Handmaids tale. The Handmaid’s Tale is set in the future times, in a theocracy that has overthrown the government of the United States of America. In the novel there are many themes discussed, some of the major ones is the issue of women who are forced to be submissive to the male dominated governance. The major themes that are explored in this novel includes; the use of women body as political instruments, the cause of urge and use of language to manipulate people. Physical control In his novel, 1984, Orwell talks about how the totalitarian party controls the bodies of its people. The party is very strict and observes any form of disloyalty to the extent that even a simple facial twitch can lead to a person being arrested on the spot. For the reason we find that, a person’s nervous system is actually his worst enemy. The same issues are found in the Handmaids tale, where people and especially women are monitored everywhere (Orwell). c) Use of language to manipulate people In exploring this theme, Gilead, innovates a new language that corrupts the main form of communication and can only serve the society it desires and the elite people in this world. In addition, women are the major losers here because Gilead prohibits any woman to hold jobs and those who are found working are usually put to punishment. For women, they are nothing more than wives and handmaids. They are stripped off their familiar names and called Marthas. Those women who are found with deformed babies are not taken to be human and for this reason Gilead refer to them as unwomen. For men, Gilead ensures that each man works hard to hold strengths of the military system alive. All men are judged by their military might. This form of ill treatment is not only reflected in gender relations but also on racial grounds. (Atwood). Gilead rule is very lethal that even one can be persecuted for not greeting another person in the required manner. This in Gilead’s world is a show of disloyalty. Through this theme, the reader is able to foresee the dangers that the world and our governments would face it were led by a totalitarian society. This can also be found in Foucaults, â€Å"Panopticism† from Discipline & Punishment’ (Foucault) where he talks about eighteenth century torture. In his book he analyzes on the issues of totalitarian rule and penalties given to the people who went against the ruling government. Totalitarian rule shaped the way people behaved and how the governments run. Penalties became so harsh that it became a way of life. In Europe and America, penalties would exist in the following ways: economic purnishment, projects reforms, revision of law and crime, moral and