Essay plan for Atwood’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ and Orwell’s ‘1984’ for the question ‘Dystopian regimes spend much time and effort on the process of indoctrination’. Includes quotes, critics, context and full topic sentences. Essay from this plan received full marks.
Comparative area 1: Indoctrination techniques and propaganda
Topic sentence: In both Orwell’s 1984 and Atwood’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ citizens are
indoctrinated through the manipulation of historical events, encouraging them to believe that
the actions of the state are both natural and necessary.
THT quotes: “In the days of anarchy it was freedom to, now you are being given freedom
from”
“They only show us victories, never defeats”
“Gilead is within you”
1984 quotes: “who controls the past controls the present, who controls the present controls
the future”
“All history scrapped clean and reinscribed”
“Emmanuel Goldstein, enemy of the people”
“The past was alterable. The past never had been altered. Oceania was at war with
Eastasia. Oceania had always been at war with Eastasia.”
THT critics: Coomi Vevaina “Gilead legitimises its racist and sexist policies as having a
biblical precedent”
Amin Malak: “[Gilead is] a state that in theory claims to be founded on Christian principles
but in reality miserably lacks spirituality and benevolence”
1984 critics: Issac Asimov “Orwell presents three ways of maintaining eternal tyranny: the
immortality of Big Brother, the presence of someone to hate, and rewriting history”
THT context: Atwood’s concerns regarding the rise of Christian fundamentalism in the
United States and the use of notions of ‘family values’ in right wing politics which echoed, in
her view, past actions of the far right.
Use of Christian language in fascist regimes; eg. Nazi propaganda
Atwood’s visit to Afghanistan in 1978 and thoughts on the chador
1984 context: Government censorship witnessed during the Spanish civil war- stating that he
had seen “newspaper reports that did not bear any relation to the facts” and that had
inspired the similar erasure of historical events in 1984 (war between Eastasia and Eurasia)
Topic sentence: In both Orwell’s 1984 and Atwood’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ citizens are
indoctrinated through the use of surveillance, both by fellow citizens and agents of the state
like the Thought Police in 1984 or the Eyes in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’. This constant
surveillance forces citizens to self regulate, otherwise they may be reported to the state,
leading to violent suppression.
THT quotes: “She is my eyes as I am hers”
“Perhaps it was a test, to see what I would do. Perhaps he is an Eye”
“I cannot avoid seeing, now, the small tattoo on my ankle. Four digits and an eye”
“Covertly we regard each other”
1984 quotes: “It was almost normal for people over thirty to be frightened of their own
children”
“No way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment”
“We are the dead”
“Big Brother is watching you”
“The telescreen could be dimmed but never turned off completely”
THT critics: Daniels and Bowen “Every step, every mouthful of food, every move i
observed, reported, circumvented and approved”
1984 critics: Kika “children are essentially used to break up the family unit”
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