-
Essay / Criticism of current society in V for Vendetta and The Handmaid's Tale
Many writers have used a narrative form to convey their predictions about the future, they criticize their current society by asking questions based on their values and concerns contextual. The main purpose of these dystopian worlds is to warn the audience of the path the writer thinks they are taking in their current society. Through the use of narrative conventions, a writer can project his or her concerns in relevant and imaginative ways. The audience can then use the platform of familiar characters and settings to identify with this speculated world. This is exactly what happens in “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “V for Vendetta.” In "Handmaid's Tale", the government of Gilead oppresses women, manipulates them politically and religiously, and subjects all women to sexual slavery. "V for Vendetta" also responds to the rise of Christian conservatism in the United Kingdom in the 1980s, with a system embodying typical Christian conservative views. Both texts therefore adopt contextual elements to warn their audience of the future, based on current issues. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the Original EssayFeminism is a major issue in The Handmaid's Tale. When Atwood was asked, she said this should not be viewed from a feminist perspective, but rather based on her own observations. This statement implies that there was inequality between the sexes in the 1980s. In this text, women are presented as property of men. Everything about their property was confiscated, such as their rights, their freedoms, their identity and even their own bodies. Men own women's bodies because they are abused, turned into prostitutes, and depicted as sex objects through pornography. It is clearly evident throughout the story that the Handmaids are subjected to forced sex in order to carry out the Commander's wishes when conceiving the children. On the other hand, women were deceived into believing that what they were doing was frankly normal. Throughout the novel, Atwood demonstrated the use of characterization to show the lack of identity that women are prone to in dystopian society. We might suggest that this is how Atwood feels about her own identity and that she fears that people in the future will be stripped of their identity. The characterization was also effective in V for Vendetta as it helps reinforce the dystopian society. This allows the audience to see the characters' perspective on their society, thereby enhancing the audience's perspectives on the society shown. Characterization also allows the audience to identify with the characters. Because of this, the audience believes that the future presented in the film could possibly be their own future. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Atwood also incorporates historical allusions and parallels when describing the society of Gilead. Offred describes a documentary she watched: "The one I remember... was with a woman who had been the mistress of a man who oversaw one of the camps where Jews were kept..." . This quote is implicitly referred to as the Holocaust, where concentration camps have many similarities to the Red Center. V for Vendetta also alludes to many historical events, among the most important being the Guy Fawkes Gunpowder Plot, which is of.