George Orwell’s 1984
- O’ Brien: “There will be no curiosity, no enjoyment of the process of life, all competing
pleasures will be destroyed for always. If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot
stamping on a human face forever.” → diversity, debate, opposing joys deleted (Gilead
despotism)
- Newspeak → the destruction of words rather than the addition of words (nuance and
subtlety is destroyed)
- “Imagine if the word free were robbed of all it’s connotations except one, as in the dog is
free of fleas” → freedom will no longer be spiritual, emotional etc
- The thought police → the Gilead regime is dedicated to achieving the control of the
human mind and thinking
- How dictatorship powers are “constantly increasing and constantly growing subtler”
DISTORTION OF RELIGION
Handmaid’s Tale is an attack on the distortion of religion → a travesty of religious belief
And the union of politics and religion → an attack on the union of state and religious belief
The bible is locked away → it is an incendiary device → it can serve the cause of oppression
and the cause of freedom
- It depends on how it is interpreted
- The hymns that are sung aren’t the ones of freedom
- The sections read aren’t those of freedom
- The beatitudes are picked and chosen → some are left out and added in → distortion of
religion → “blessed are the meek, the humble as they shall inherit the earth” (left out)
- Genuine belief (true spirituality) is distorted
Methods of oppression → the oppression is ubiquitous
- Rigid hierarchy → all roles are defined (and symbolised by images and colours)
- Blue → both elevated and powerless
- Striped → not important to have their own distinctive colour
- Red but white → a bloodied nun figure “sister dipped in blood” → purity and
salvation through blood of Christ, but also virginity pierced
- Literal, physical brutality and violence → aunts, the eyes, the wives (eg. beating on the
feet → bastinado)
- Even a hierarchy in the torture and violence (difference between aunt’s and the
eyes and the state sanctioned mob violence)
- Destruction of the powers and subtleties of language, oversimplifying of language →
new language created, not allowed to read → if you destroy nuance in language, you
destroy freedom → can’t rebel if you don’t have the language
- Distortion of religion → elimination of true religious belief
- Sexuality is oppressed, controlled → power of sexual desire is warped, obliterated
- Passion is controlled, homosexuality is “gender treachery”
- Sex is simply for procreation
- Imagination, thought and joy in beauty and life are stamped out → especially because of
the attack on language
- O’ Brien: “There will be no curiosity, no enjoyment of the process of life, all competing
pleasures will be destroyed for always. If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot
stamping on a human face forever.” → diversity, debate, opposing joys deleted (Gilead
despotism)
- Newspeak → the destruction of words rather than the addition of words (nuance and
subtlety is destroyed)
- “Imagine if the word free were robbed of all it’s connotations except one, as in the dog is
free of fleas” → freedom will no longer be spiritual, emotional etc
- The thought police → the Gilead regime is dedicated to achieving the control of the
human mind and thinking
- How dictatorship powers are “constantly increasing and constantly growing subtler”
DISTORTION OF RELIGION
Handmaid’s Tale is an attack on the distortion of religion → a travesty of religious belief
And the union of politics and religion → an attack on the union of state and religious belief
The bible is locked away → it is an incendiary device → it can serve the cause of oppression
and the cause of freedom
- It depends on how it is interpreted
- The hymns that are sung aren’t the ones of freedom
- The sections read aren’t those of freedom
- The beatitudes are picked and chosen → some are left out and added in → distortion of
religion → “blessed are the meek, the humble as they shall inherit the earth” (left out)
- Genuine belief (true spirituality) is distorted
Methods of oppression → the oppression is ubiquitous
- Rigid hierarchy → all roles are defined (and symbolised by images and colours)
- Blue → both elevated and powerless
- Striped → not important to have their own distinctive colour
- Red but white → a bloodied nun figure “sister dipped in blood” → purity and
salvation through blood of Christ, but also virginity pierced
- Literal, physical brutality and violence → aunts, the eyes, the wives (eg. beating on the
feet → bastinado)
- Even a hierarchy in the torture and violence (difference between aunt’s and the
eyes and the state sanctioned mob violence)
- Destruction of the powers and subtleties of language, oversimplifying of language →
new language created, not allowed to read → if you destroy nuance in language, you
destroy freedom → can’t rebel if you don’t have the language
- Distortion of religion → elimination of true religious belief
- Sexuality is oppressed, controlled → power of sexual desire is warped, obliterated
- Passion is controlled, homosexuality is “gender treachery”
- Sex is simply for procreation
- Imagination, thought and joy in beauty and life are stamped out → especially because of
the attack on language
