The Emergence of Dystopian Literature and an Exploration of its Real-Life Parallels Entailing Feminism, Politics, and Society.

A Revised Investigative Study

The Handmaid's Tale

Largely considered the father of dystopian literature (Stoner, 2017), Yevgeny Zamyatin perpetually altered the course of dystopia with the birth of his novel We, in which the authoritarian ‘One State’ imposes an enforced existence of mass censorship and oppression, in lieu of autonomy and creativity. With bureaucratic reproduction systems and glass living quarters made to impede privacy, so too ascends the death of individuality. The first component of this essay will attempt to summarise the history behind the birth of dystopian literature and its evolution throughout the years, exploring one of the primary cases in which the novel’s parallels are closely intertwined with reality, and in doing so, set the scene for a focus on the following topic of feminism within dystopian literature, and its echoes with real life counterparts such as The Salem Witch Trials and women’s reproductive freedoms. Following this will be a discussion of politics and society, including topics of communism in relation to Orwell’s Animal Farm, religion, and race in relation to dystopian literature. Written from 1920-1921, We was crafted as the Soviet Union suffered amid a Civil War, as well as the Povolzhye famine, in which a minority of Soviets resorted to cannibalism to survive. Though a published manuscript did not circulate the Soviet Union until 1988, it did surface in the US in 1924, described as: ‘…the literary ancestor of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World (1932) and George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949).’ (J.E. Luebering). Zamyatin, who had himself been a Bolshevik prior to the 1917 Russian Revolution, understood the threat posed by totalitarianism on both literature and freedom of speech, claiming: ‘I am afraid that the only future possible to Russian literature is its past.’ (1921; ‘I Am Afraid’). We is credited as not only the birth of totalitarian dystopia (Stoner, 2017), but is also acknowledged as one of the primary critical commentaries of the future of the USSR (Wegner, 1993), born of a collective fear of the rise of totalitarianism following the First World War. Evidently, the brutality of Zamyatin’s homeland during this period is echoed throughout the novel, encapsulating the authoritarian viciousness of the state and echoing, as Philip Stoner observes, that: ‘Dystopian literature has long been a vessel for political commentary dating back to the 19th century.’ (Merge, Vol. 1, 2017, pp. 1). Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of dystopian literature, as touched upon by Margaret Atwood, is its sinister potential to unfold. When discussing The Handmaid’s Tale, Atwood confessed:

‘If I was to create an imaginary garden, I wanted the toads in it to be real. One of my rules was that I would not put any events into the book that had not already happened in what James Joyce called the “nightmare” of history, nor any technology not already available. No imaginary gizmos, no imaginary laws, no imaginary atrocities. God is in the details, they say. So is the Devil.’ (Atwood, 2017, p.2).

Atwood’s loyalty to embracing the truth in her literature ensures that her readers are engaged in the tangible threat of these possibilities, and in doing so, makes her craft an all-consuming experience. The Handmaid’s Tale in particular orbits matters of feminism, politics, and society, entangling her audience in the capabilities of humanity when faced with the opportunity and appetite for power.

Serving as cardinal inspiration for Atwood's The Handmaid’s Tale, the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 exemplified one of the most historically renowned acts of violence against women to date. Bloodthirsty and suspicious, this period of acute paranoia aroused the persecution of innocent women and children, with the youngest of the accused, Dorothy Good, being only four years of age when tried and imprisoned for witchcraft (Guha, 2021). Despite the hysteria lasting no longer than a year, the repercussions of the Salem Witch Trials are fundamentally embedded in the narrative of the US, due to, as Cassandra Gill entails, their provision of: ‘… a cautionary tale about the dangers of persecution, intolerance, and bigotry.’ (Gill, 2016). Though there is speculation as to whether the two were related, Atwood has confirmed that her 1985 novel The Handmaid’s Tale, not only took inspiration from the trials, but is additionally an ode to her late 17th century inspiration, Mary Webster, the victim of superstition-based beatings and an unsuccessful hanging, whose traumatic account paved the way for the trials to come (Wernick, 2017). ‘The Handmaid’s Tale…’ Atwood explains, ‘…is dedicated to Mary Webster because she is an example of a female person wrongly accused, but she is slightly a symbol of hope because they didn't actually manage to kill her. She made it through.’ (Wernick, 2017). With regard to modern-day parallels, Marshall argues that the term ‘‘Witch hunt’ – is a refrain used to deride everything from impeachment inquiries and sexual assault investigations to allegations of corruption.’ (Marshall, 2019), coming to light specifically in 2020 as Donald Trump ‘…tweeted the phrase “witch-hunt” approximately once every three days on average during his presidency…’ (Frankel, 2020). Evidently, Salem’s misconceived appetite for justice illuminates an uncanny resemblance to that of A Handmaid’s Tale, and indeed the majority of dystopian literature, with shared characteristics of: ‘Religious fanaticism, power-hungry individuals, local disputes, misogyny, anxiety, political turmoil, psychological distress, and mass hysteria…’ (Gill, 2016). Both the trials and dystopian literature entail the ingredients of an often unjust and vicious narrative, hysteria, and cruelty, with the justification of superstition.

As the 1692 trials unfurled, Williams describes this as a time wherein: ‘…the perception of women as the descendants of “Eve” meant they were easy pickings for a mass moral persecution…’ (Williams, 2021). Considering this perspective, it is important to assess through a feminist lens how this parallels dystopian literature. In relation to The Handmaid’s Tale, the concept of purity and virtue is of utmost importance for the handmaids to maintain. Due to this reason, alongside preventing the ‘temptation’ of the men of Gilead, a uniform of white winged bonnets and red cloaks is enforced. Offred, the novel’s protagonist, exemplifies this, stating: ‘Everything except the wings around my face is red: the colour of blood, which defines us.’ (Atwood, 1985, p.8). ‘In general,’ Atwood says, ‘… the costumes and colours were intended to reflect the hierarchy the women live in — symbolism of dress that is not without historical precedent.’ (Flock, 2017). Atwood goes on to state: ‘For a very long time, before people were literate, there were rules about who could wear what, by looking at a person you could see whether they were an aristocrat or what function in society they fulfilled.’ (Flock, 2017). Additionally, Atwood has revealed that the red tone of the cloaks takes inspiration from ‘German prisoners of war held in Canada [in WWII] …’, who ‘…were given red outfits because they show up so well against the snow.’ to prevent escape, as several of the novel’s characters attempt (Flock, 2017). ‘On the other hand, red is the cross and red is blood.’ Atwood says. ‘The cross, because the Handmaids’ lives are circumscribed by a Puritan-esque theocracy, and blood, for the childbirth the women are forced to endure for the male ruling class.’ (Flock, 2017). Through this example, it is clear to observe the ways in which Atwood’s research into details such as character clothing and historical contexts reflects seamlessly with predominantly female-oriented sufferings. Attributes such as: ‘…the Wives wearing the blue of purity from the Virgin Mary.’ to ‘… the Handmaids wearing red, from the blood of parturition, but also from Mary Magdalene.’ (Weber, 2017), allude to clear biblical inspirations, reinforcing the religious connotations present throughout the entirety of The Handmaid’s Tale. This deliberate technique of incorporated symbolism is touched upon by Rodrigues, claiming, from a theoretical perspective, that a Marxist and Feminist examination of The Handmaid’s Tale ‘…captures the nuances embedded in the language of the novel, magnifying them to point out the power of women regardless of suppression who will work to control their own lives…’ meanwhile ‘…patriarchy lives in the illusion that they are the capitalist in charge.’ due to their vital positions as reproducers in an otherwise sterile environment. (Rodrigues, 2023).

As previously mentioned, Margaret Atwood is a prime example of effective real-life parallels in dystopian literature due to her sole inclusion of true events as inspirations. The notion of endurance in The Handmaid’s Tale is no exception from this. One intricate example being the protagonist’s very name, ‘Offred’. Derived from her Commander Fred’s name, this strategy fortifies the argument of women as secondary societal thoughts to men, solidifying the belief that their usefulness lies solely in their fertility, while strengthening the attack on each handmaid's individuality and sense of self. Offred considers this, affirming: ‘I have another name, which nobody uses now because it’s forbidden. I tell myself it doesn’t matter, your name is like your telephone number, useful only to others; but what I tell myself is wrong, it does matter.’ (Atwood, 1985, p.83). Gallagher writes, ‘Beyond the name Offred indicating that she is a slave "of Fred", she has no identity beyond bearing him a child…’ (Gallagher, 2017). The effect of this, as Gallagher continues, is: ‘…stripping them completely of their own identities so that even their names prove they only exist to serve men.’ (Gallagher, 2017). This tactic of eroding the handmaid’s humanity through name alterations is a familiar and highly effective tactic used throughout history to depreciate a person’s self-value. As the Transatlantic Slave Trade took place from the 16th to 19th century, it was almost entirely ensured that slaves would not be permitted to maintain their birth given names (Quinn, 2018). The same can be seen in other dystopian literature works such as Zamyatin’s We, in which; ‘The male characters, such as the narrator, R.13 and S-4711 are represented by odd numbers,’ says Scarbrough, ‘…while the female characters—such as the narrator's love interests, I-330 and O-90…’ are depicted by even numbers (Scarbrough, 2023). In this case, Zamyatin’s dystopian and totalitarian regime does not even grant its citizens the justice of a name, instead depreciating their value down to a mere number.

When confronted with the habitual question, ‘Is The Handmaid’s Tale a ‘feminist’ novel?’, Atwood remarked: ‘If you mean an ideological tract in which all women are angels or so victimised they are incapable of moral choice, no.’ (Glosswitch, 2017). One of the extraordinary aspects of this particular novel, and indeed its author, is that it embraces and encapsulates the reality of women. Quirks, defects and viciousness alike, it is this technique that allows for such authenticity to remain unprecedented, and to what many believe the novel owes its success. (Armstrong, 2018). Atwood continues the feminism query… ‘If you mean a novel in which women are human beings — with all the variety of character and behaviour that implies…then yes. In that sense, many books are “feminist.”’ (Glosswitch, 2017). Whilst Atwood frequently refrains from offering straightforward examples, this statement was unmistakable:

‘…Women are not an afterthought of nature; they are not secondary players in human destiny, and every society has always known that. Without women capable of giving birth, human populations would die out. That is why the mass rape and murder of women, girls and children has long been a feature of genocidal wars, and of other campaigns meant to subdue and exploit a population. Kill their babies and replace their babies with yours, as cats do; make women have babies they can’t afford to raise, or babies you will then remove from them for your own purposes, steal babies — it’s been a widespread, age-old motif. The control of women and babies has been a feature of every repressive regime on the planet.’ (Atwood, 2017).

While times have fortunately evolved, largely due to the trials indicating immense flaws in the United States’ justice system, weaponised allegations toward women remain a prominent international issue, particularly in relation to reproductive rights. Walker illustrates, ‘While the legal system has changed since the days of Puritan rule, one thing remains the same: Vulnerable women pay the price for circumstances that are often beyond their control.’ (Hassett-Walker, 2018).

In 2022, the US faced the legislative overturn of Roe V Wade, inciting a wave of disbelief and panic throughout masses of the population (Trachman, 2022). Majority republican and conservative states such as Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas, and Alabama (where there are presently around 1.1 million women of reproductive age in Alabama alone) are currently ruled by a law illegalising and prosecuting those involved with banned abortions (Sherman, 2023). While some of these states may claim to consider abortions that fall under medical emergencies, this is, disappointingly, subjective. Such claims vary from state to state and are by no means a guarantee of help, as touched upon by Andrew Witherspoon, stating, ‘Many abortion providers have said that many exceptions for medical emergencies are unworkable in practice, because the language is too vague or doesn't recognise the complexity of medicine.’ (Witherspoon, 2023). In particular, women of colour suffered the fallout as a vulnerable group, with one analysis showing that, ‘…increased births were disproportionately among women in their 20s and Black and Hispanic women, which researchers said could be because these groups tend to be poorer, making it harder to travel.’ (Sanger-Katz and Miller, 2023). As the verdict of Roe V Wade loomed over American women’s heads and wombs, Bonnie Greer, playwright and novelist, pleaded, ‘What I mourn the most is that we women, under the law, are not equal to men. We’re in the wind. Again.’ (Greer, 2022). Internationally, the plight is ongoing, from female mutilation in potentially up to ‘…50 countries, including in Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and Eastern Europe.’ (Batha, 2020), to fatal abortion cases in Ireland (Daniels, 2022). In one instance in El Salvador, one of the most severe countries affected by abortion bans, 33-year-old Manuela ‘…who went to the hospital to seek treatment after a miscarriage, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for homicide. She died in jail in 2010.’ (Levinson-King, 2021).

The discussion and fight for women’s reproductive freedoms is longstanding, and not only largely present in reality, but is vastly prominent in feminist dystopian literature (Kennedy, 2023). Not only is there The Handmaid’s Tale, in which women are cattle hosts to a theocratic regime, so too is women’s reproduction addressed by a great many other dystopian literatures. Leni Zumas’ Red Cloaks imagines, though there is no need to presently, that abortion is outlawed throughout the US, deeming the discarding of fertilised embryos as forbidden, as well as in-vitro fertilisation. Zumas later remarked, ‘One of the things about looking at the world through a feminist lens is that we are already in a dystopia.’ (Alter, 2018). Alternatively, Christina Dalcher’s Vox finds its women in a gutting, overnight metamorphosis in which ‘…this pure and sterile world, women’s reproductive rights are the first to go.’, and women are limited by an electric shock bracelet to speak a maximum of 100 words per day (Flattery, 2018). Chillingly, The Handmaid’s Tale has in 2022 been ‘…banned in its novel form and graphic novel form in Texas and Oregon.’ (Reilly, 2022). The symbolic red cloaked uniform, however, can still often be seen at women’s protest marches, most notably to combat anti-abortion cries in US states, as well as Argentina, Ireland and Tel Aviv (Beaumont, 2018). Undoubtedly, the modern-day parallels of infringement on women’s reproductive autonomy are emulated within feminist dystopian literature and serve as both an outlet and a warning of what the future’s uncertainty may hold.

As the Trump administration’s advancement in the US 2016 election surged on, so too did a reappearing spike in popularity for The Handmaid’s Tale (1985), and in more recent years, the same occurrence unfolded as the legislation of Roe V Wade was overturned, illegalising abortion in certain, predominantly Republican, American states (Cadden, 2022). Evidently, there is a direct correlation, and perhaps more importantly, an established and collective understanding of the parallels between dystopia and reality - and the concrete possibility that these narratives are not always as inconceivable as they seem. From Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World (1931) to Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 (1953), the involvement of politics has long been established throughout dystopian literature. George Orwell, most notably the author of Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) and Animal Farm (1945), has used socio-political and societal inspirations repeatedly throughout his work, with the persuasive effect of harnessing the harsh truth of realities and evolving them into utter, albeit terrifying, immersion for his audience. Orwell, having coined his own adjective: Orwellian, has wielded the deceitful and easily corrupted nature of politics into hypnotic pieces of literature as Bowker affirms, claiming, ‘Orwellianism isn't just about big government; it's about authoritarianism coupled with lies.’ (Bowker, 2023). This compelling summary encapsulates the tone of both Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm, each of which sees its characters undergo the atrocities of totalitarianism, political repression and mass censorship. Though Animal Farm is perhaps more palatable for a younger audience, its sophisticated undertones of Communism and the 1917 Russian Revolution remain transparently evident in this work of dystopian satire. ‘One of Orwell's goals in writing Animal Farm,’ Daniel Moran writes ‘…was to portray the Russian (or Bolshevik) Revolution of 1917 as one that resulted in a government more oppressive, totalitarian, and deadly than the one it overthrew.’ (Moran, 2023). Through this statement, Moran captures Orwell’s intended satirical portrayal of the absurdism and hypocrisy of events, illuminating how key figures of the Bolshevik revolution were mirrored by the novels characters, for example Mr Jones as Tsar Nicholas II, Napoleon as Joseph Stalin, Snowball as Leon Trotsky, Squealer as Molotov, Old Major as Karl Marx, Boxer as the Russian proletariat and Mollie as the Russian bourgeois. Representative of Russia’s working classes, the other animals, excluding the authoritarian pigs, are, as Somers describes, ‘…initially passionate about revolution, but eventually manipulated into supporting a regime that was just as incompetent.’ (Somers, 2019). It is precisely this clever adaptation of characterisation through which Orwell portrays an entire corrupt political system with the simplistic symbolism of farm animals. This therefore provides and establishes a more comprehensible example of the Bolshevik revolution, with the result of its absurdities being even more visible, for example, the distinguished phrase, ‘All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.’ (Orwell, 1945, p.112), which, as Tearle acknowledges:

‘…is the crystallisation of such an attitude, and the totalitarian nature of this approach is neatly embodied by the fact that this one slogan replaces the seven slogans derived from Old Major’s original idealistic vision for an equal society – a vision that has, by the end of the novella, been so thoroughly corrupted. (Tearle, 2021).

As seen timelessly in existent oppressive regimes, ‘The farm gets bigger and richer, but the luxuries the animals had been promised never materialised: they are told that the real pleasure is derived from hard work and frugal living.’ (Tearle, 2021), comparable to the German inscription ‘Arbeit macht frei’ or ‘Work will set you free’ which appears on the entrance gates of several German concentration camps (Miller, 2009). Conveyed allegorically, Orwell’s Animal Farm raises crucial discussions surrounding the often-corrupt political environment and is undisputedly one of the most renowned works of dystopian literature to real-life events.

Orwell, highly regarded as one of the most distinguished dystopian writers of all time (Wrobel, 2022), dissected the societal direction of his surrounding culture with the release of his 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Not only is this piece described as having ‘…an undeniable influence on subsequent dystopian works’ (Weir, 2023). It is additionally recognised for communicating, ‘… the point that he believed people would never be able to exist normally if the government was constantly observing them.’ (Vescio, 2021). With the repercussions of World War II, so too approached, as Hickey observes, ‘…the rise of atomic warfare and the development of western totalitarian states, events which inspired a host of new fears and literary responses.’ (Hickey, 2019). As the novel was conceived, it came alongside the establishment of the Cold War, with this being just one of Orwell’s many literary influences. The Cold War’s connotations of tension, power and secrecy all alluded to and impacted direct literary parallels within Nineteen Eighty-Four, in which protagonist Winston Smith fantasises of a life beyond the constraints and subjection of Oceania, where ‘The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.’ (Orwell, 1984, p.178). Drawing from first-hand experiences, Orwell crafted the essence of Oceania with the complete political subservience and surveillance that he had observed in his own life. Taking inspiration from the Soviet Union, Orwell incorporated ‘2 + 2 = 5’, a pre-existent slogan in the Soviet Union and ‘…a promise to complete the industrialising Five-Year Plan in four years…’ as a means to ‘… satirise the slogan here to demonstrate the authoritarian tendency to suspend reality.’ (SparkNotes Editors, 2005). Madison Weir further argues this, writing, ‘The novel introduced terms like “big brother”, “room 101”, “thought police,” “newspeak”, “unperson”, and “groupthink,” which are still widely used today.’ (Weir, 2023). Additionally, Weir states that the novel’s themes of ‘…ubiquitous surveillance and invasion of privacy were a major topic of discussion in 2013 when it was found that the National Security Agency (NSA) had been secretly storing and monitoring global internet traffic.’ As a result of this, Nineteen Eighty Four’s sales increased almost as much as 7 times in the fallout (Weir, 2023). Similarly, Hassan touches upon this, noting that ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four became an Amazon bestseller following the election of Trump.’ (Hassan, 2019), comparable to The Handmaid’s Tale’s surge in popularity, as previously mentioned. This therefore strengthens the immense effects of real-life political parallels on the very concept of the novel itself, with Orwell arguing, ‘…totalitarianism and hypocrisy are endemic to the human condition. Without education and true empowerment of the lower classes, Orwell argues, society will always default to tyranny.’ (Sommers, 2019).

‘Unlike its cousin, utopian literature, which imagines a perfect society, dystopian literature depicts a future where society has taken a turn for the worse.’ (Team, 2023). The cruciality of the societal lens when exploring dystopian literature is one of absolute centrality, orbiting matters of religion, race, oppression, and societal decay. Commonly touched upon as a societal theme is the value of freedom, explored by novels such as Huxley’s Brave New World, Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange and Melamed’s cautionary tale Gather The Daughters. Bleak and dictatorial for the majority of its inhabitants, dystopian societies are often depicted as ones in which ‘…personal freedoms are curtailed or non-existent.’ which, as Daisie Team implores: ‘…serves as a stark reminder of the importance of individual liberties and the lengths we should go to preserve them.’ (2023). Regarded primarily as a social institution, religion has familiarly found its footing within dystopian literature, an evident example of this being the theocratic and fundamentalist Christian inspirations present in The Handmaid’s Tale. Desperate to reinstitute higher birth rates to Gilead, the entire reliance of this autocracy rests upon the enforcement of extremist Christian beliefs, altering bible passages and beliefs to mould their own ideals, as Offred recognises, retaliating, ‘Blessed be the meek. Blessed are the silent. I knew they made that up, I knew it was wrong, and they left things out too, but there was no way of checking.’ (Atwood, 1985, p.89). ‘In Gilead…’ Halibu writes, ‘…scripture is primarily used to repress women. In addition to allowing beatings, Gileadeans deny anaesthetics to women in labour…’, with the justification of ‘…citing Genesis 3:16, which states “I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children.”’ (Halibu, 2007). As Parker successfully illustrates, ‘Atwood’s use of religious themes highlights the dangers of extremist ideologies and the potential for religion to be perverted to serve oppressive agendas.’ (Parker, 2023). As well as this, scriptural language is additionally incorporated into the Handmaid’s speech. Habitual phrases such as ‘Blessed be the fruit,’ and ‘May the lord open.’ (Atwood, 1985, p.19), are substituted so that even greetings of ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’ are eventually unfamiliarised and punished. Undoubtedly, the incorporation of corruption within Gilead’s religion is evident throughout the extensiveness of the novel, one in which the entire societal dystopian premise rests upon the undertones of manipulation, injustice and villainy within religion, exploring the cruel ways in which it can be mistakenly tailored for depravity.

In Nineteen Eighty-Four, though Christianity is claimed to be extinct, ‘…there are a lot of [churches] left, really… [but] they’ve been put to other uses,’ (Orwell, 1949, p.98). The absence of a ‘God’ is not absolute, and is instead replaced by a concept, or more specifically, a manufactured saviour. Big Brother, the all-seeing symbol of supremacy, obtains, as Halibu considers, ‘…distinct Jesus overtones. Later in the novel, Orwell specifically mentions that Big Brother is worshipped, and is also described as ‘The embodiment of the Party’ (214), making the Party divine as well.’ (Halibu, 2007). It is therefore clear to observe, as Halibu further states, that ‘The Party is a religion unto itself, ’ having created its own establishment of hierarchy, furthermore solidified by the statement:

‘1984’s Oceania is a place where Christianity has been discarded, but where a new and even more totalitarian religion has taken its place. Buttressed by religious ceremonies, a priestly class, a god-figure, and a Satan-figure, this religion vilifies the Christianity that preceded it and relentlessly persecutes any heterodoxy among Oceania’s citizens.’ (Halibu, 2007).

The discussion of race within dystopian literature, specifically in The Handmaid’s Tale, is widely acknowledged to be an unrealistic portrayal of the treatment of minorities in a totalitarian scenario. Though the topic differs depending on novel and television adaptation, the novel interpretation imagines that, as McDonald touches upon; ‘In the book, black people are banished and sent “back” to Africa, while Jews are sent to Israel.’, an entirely contrasting plot to the TV production, which includes minorities in roles such as Handmaid’s themselves, as well as the protagonist’s husband Luke, with little to no mention of the relevancy of their race within the theocratic society. McDonald continues; ‘The few black people who remain are postmenopausal women, known as Marthas…Everyone in the world of the Commanders, Wives and Handmaids is white and Protestant.’ (McDonald, 2017). Whilst the novel arguably depicts a more realistic scenario of the likely brutal subjugation of minorities, the television series has been scrutinised for its lack of this inclusion, prompting the question of: ‘Gilead being post-racial because the human race is facing extinction, and that prompted Americans to get over several hundred years’ worth of racist education and social conditioning?’ (McDonald, 2017). However, Villanova and Texas A&M universities have implied the inconceivability of this, with studies showing that; ‘Glenn E. Bracey II and Wendy Leo Moore found that white evangelical Protestant churches subjected black parishioners to “race tests” and engaged in far less tolerance concerning minority individuals (McDonald, 2017). In Ashlee Mitchell’s A Colourblind Narrative, the basis of this is described as: ‘In The Handmaid’s Tale, the erasure of race and the slave-like narrative of Gilead illuminates Americans’ dark past with discrimination and ignoring the plight of minorities.’ (Mitchell, 2022). Highly expositional of America’s failings on race, this statement engages with Atwood’s narrative of white ignorance within the novel, and instead of praising it, inspects the absence of race discussion within, emphasising, ‘One cannot bring up gender discrimination without also addressing racial bias.’ (Mitchell, 2022).

Technology and surveillance’s presence in dystopian literature is vastly acknowledged as one of the driving factors behind the success of these totalitarianisms (Kaleta, 2020), and as such has earned its place as a prominent dystopian importance within a multitude of novels. Mass surveillance, a popular societal topic in recent decades, has found its footing within dystopian literature and, as Kaleta observes, ‘…analyses the hegemonic ideologies imposed by totalitarian regimes as an attempt to create docile, conformed bodies that further allow the regime to sustain and maintain its power over society.’ (Kaleta, 2020). An exemplary depiction of this is Orwell’s classic Nineteen Eighty-Four, in which the existence of utter censorship and surveillance has evoked the absence of free thinking, alluding to Oceana’s confinement of individuality, and rendering its civilians vacant of free speech. Instead, this is replaced by ‘newspeak’, solely intended to discourage any range of free thought or will. A key exemplification of this is the party slogan:

‘WAR IS PEACE

FREEDOM IS SLAVERY

IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH’ (Orwell, 1984, p.6).

Kaleta considers this in resemblance to real-life parallels, formulating, ‘Orwell’s ability to predict things before they happen, such as the pervasiveness of television and technology and the distortion of language, is contributing to the haunting reality of the novel as a cautionary dystopian tale.’ (Kaleta 2020). In the current climate of artificial intelligence, rapidly evolving technology and social media surveillance, it is difficult not to presume Orwell’s capabilities in anticipating the future, as supported by Groening’s account; ‘…techniques and technologies described in the novel are very much present in today’s world.’ (Groening, 2019). Secretly uncertain of Big Brother’s credibility, Winston speculates, as Kaleta reiterates, ‘…it can be argued that the states utilise the never-ending warfare as a way to maintain and continue their surveillance and control of the citizens and thereby uphold their sense of power (Kaleta, 2020). Oceana, in correspondence to real-life societal parallels, can be closely likened to the current condition of North Korea, primarily for its shared similarities in government surveillance and the harsh punishments that follow if its rules are disobeyed. Officially known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, citizens are subject to active spying through the use of mass surveillance programmes, with the government being said to ‘…curtail the information that North Koreans have about their country and the outside world by censoring online media and filtering internet sites that don’t comply with the authorities’ propaganda.’ (Fang, 2018). Correspondingly, Nineteen Eighty-Four’s propaganda administration adopts the slogan ‘Big Brother Is Watching You.’(Nineteen Eighty-Four, 1949, p.3), and akin to North Korea, threatens torture in return for nonconformity (Seo, 2023).

Therefore, to summarise, through the inspection of novels such as The Handmaid’s Tale, We, and Nineteen Eighty-Four, the distinct real-life parallels of dystopian literature entailing feminism, politics, and society range abundantly in discussion. Undoubtedly, the significance of dystopian literature as an illustrative tool to examine the world is crucial in exemplifying the potentially dangerous and overlooked aspects of our societies. Imperatively identifying and emphasising global disparities while the world turns blind. Serving as a vessel for authenticity, dystopian works such as The Handmaid’s Tale take the theoretical approach, exploring societal decay and oppression in the name of God, though not without the heavy influence of corruption and deceit. This authenticity, however, has been broadly disputed, with Atwood’s indulgence of the plight of white women claimed as reflecting ‘…America’s all too real history of racism and sexism. By taking people of colour out of the equation and borrowing their methods of survival from past times of slavery, Atwood addresses the erasure and belittlement of people of colour.’ (Mitchell, 2022). Through the exploration of subtopics such as reproductivity, surveillance and Soviet history, it is clear to observe the essentiality of drawing knowledge from real-life parallels in order to successfully produce dystopian literature, with Atwood and Orwell maintaining a special cruciality to this aspect of writing. Conclusively, many of the obstacles surrounding oppression, cruelty and institutional control are found to be present in the vast majority of dystopian literature, with sales growing increasingly popular among audiences when their relevant topics are unearthed in the sphere of feminism, politics or society once more. Thus, addressing the absolute vitality of dystopian literature in portraying global and societal issues to the masses, allowing for the digestion of both the gravity and ludicracy of their current situation, or, if neglected, a future that may yet unfold.

Bibliography:

Final Draft Investigative Study.pdf