Language In The Handmaid's Tale
Plastic Language. Plastic Mind. Language is an extension of the human mind for it is through language that we are able to communicate the thoughts and questions that rattle in the mind. Unfortunately, this means that communication is feeble and rather malleable. It can be changed through convention, prescriptivism, or just simple totalitarianism. It is totalitarianism that is the most toxic towards language, as showcased through the regimes in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. These two novels, albeit differ in plot, are united through the control and abuse of language. The modified language expresses the views of the regime and enforces them upon the populace, which in turn, influences the …show more content…
During the reformation that took place in the early years of the Chinese communist regime, there were was a simplification of the Chinese writing system, but before I explain what they did to the language, I need to provide historical context. During the 1960s, the Communist Party of China sought to obliterate ancient Chinese culture via the Cultural Revolution. This revolution targeted the so-called Four Olds: Old Customs, Old Culture, Old Habits, and Old Ideas. Classical Chinese literature was burned, Chinese architecture was obliterated, Chinese paintings were torn apart: anything resembling to ancient Chinese culture that was nurtured for centuries was simply destroyed. In an effort to further disconnect modern-day China from its roots, the Chinese Communist Party promoted the simplification of Chinese characters, which take root from Literary Chinese, Chinese that was written during the Han Dynasty. Although the Chinese Communist Party promoted the simplification under the guise of improving literacy rates, some of the changes that were done didn’t make sense. For example, the traditional character for love is 愛2, but the simplified character, 爱, removes 心, which means heart. So there’s love without heart (China Uncensored). This simplification of Chinese characters truly shows that language is entirely plastic. It can be changed at a whim and be done with popular support. With all of the fictional and non-fictional evidence, there is a compelling argument to
Legalist Changes In The Qin Dynasty
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Book Review Of God's Chinese Son By Jonathan Spence
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Compare And Contrast Qin And Han Dynasties
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Shang Dynasty Essay
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In What Ways Did The Han Dynasty Improve Government And Daily Life In China
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Use Of Figurative Language In The Handmaid's Tale
1108 Words | 5 PagesIn the novel The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, the protagonist, Offred, expresses her wish that her “story [is] different,” that it is “happier,” or at least “more active, less hesitant, less distracted” than it is ultimately portrayed (267). However, as her story is told, these characteristics are evident in the way she talks and acts, especially around those with authority. Hesitant to express her true thoughts and feelings, and distracted by memories from her previous life, Offred attempts to piece together her role in the society that has taken her freedom. The result is a compilation of moments, of memories, both from her present, her past, and even speculation about her future.
Dehumanization In The Handmaid's Tale
783 Words | 4 Pages“No woman can call herself free who does not control her own body”. When Margaret Sanger spoke these words, she was expressing her belief on a woman’s right to have an abortion. This quote, however, speaks to the fact that women are oppressed on more than just abortions. In the novel, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, Atwood portrays the dehumanization of sexuality through both the characters and events within the novel, therefore proving that women will always be considered less than men will. Margaret Atwood was born in Ottawa, Ontario in 1939.
1984 Victory Gin Analysis
973 Words | 4 PagesLiving through the first half of the twentieth century, George Orwell watched the rise of totalitarian regimes in Germany, Italy, Spain, and the Soviet Union. Fighting in Spain, he witnessed the brutalities of the fascists and Stalinists first hand. His experiences awakened him to the evils of a totalitarian government. In his novel 1984, Orwell paints a dark and pessimistic vision of the future where society is completely controlled by a totalitarian government. He uses symbolism and the character’s developments to show the nature of total power in a government and the extremes it will go through to retain that power by repressing individual freedom and the truth.
Conflict In The Handmaids Tale
1436 Words | 6 PagesConflict can be described as the struggle between two opposing forces, whether the forces being person vs person, person vs self or person vs society. Good examples of conflict can be found in almost any book. Margaret Atwood’s novel, the Handmaid’s Tale is a source of all three types of conflicts. The Handmaid’s Tale is about a society where females are given specific duties and are restricted from reading, writing, talking to others and looking at themselves in mirrors. The protagonist, Offred whom is also the narrator in the novel faces conflicts with herself, with other people, and the society that she lives in.
1984 And The Handmaid's Tale Essay
1239 Words | 5 PagesIn ‘1984’ and ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, the destruction of the individual is due to a combination of the destruction of independence, language and totalitarian monopolistic control. Complete collectivism, despite separate political beliefs, is presented throughout dictatorial societal jurisdiction as being the predominant way to maintain eternal power. The regimes seek to control individuals and therefore engage in continuing reconnaissance or surveillance of the populace. The mind is the most individual source of power to any person and totalitarianism aims to create complete orthodoxy by controlling and manipulating the mind. Both Orwell in ‘Nineteen Eighty Four’ and Atwood in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ are examples of how dystopian literature presents
Rebellion In The Handmaids Tale
978 Words | 4 PagesRebellion; the action or process of resisting authority, control, or convention. The Handmaid’s Tale written by Margaret Atwood is a novel. The novel takes place in Gilead a dystopian society. Everyone in Gilead has an important role to play within the society, however, it seems as if none of the characters seem content with their role, due to the restrictions they face. In the novel, the lack of freedom leads to rebellion as shown by the characterization, interior dialogue, flashbacks, and foreshadowing.
A Comparison Of 1984 'And The Handmaid's Tale'
1002 Words | 5 PagesThe society of both novel, “1984” and “The Handmaid’s Tale” shares familiar methods in order to maintain higher power to control lower class citizens. Their absolute goal to gain complete dominance is through removing or destroying a piece of humanity in order for disobedience or rebellion to be impossible. Gilead and Ingsoc constantly condition citizens by monitoring and invading their privacy. Both regimes employed similarly styles of monitoring, such as spies organisations or simply through the surveillance camera.
How Does Orwell Use Language In 1984
421 Words | 2 PagesBy limiting the vocabulary, Newspeak is essentially “unintelligible” and hence controls the people’s understanding of the real world. Orwell emphasises that language is of utmost importance as it structures and limits the ideas individuals are capable of formulating and expressing. In 1984, language is used as a ‘mind control tool’. The party slogan, “war is peace, freedom is
Chinese Calligraphy Research Paper
971 Words | 4 PagesIf anything, it would be a bad thing to change the ancient Chinese writing because if you were to change the writing than all of that ancient history written in the Ancient Calligraphy would be lost. Calligraphy has been a form of writing for many different cultures throughout the world, but Chinese calligraphy is unmatchable. From a very early period in their history, Chinese calligraphy was not seen as a form of just decorative art, instead, it was viewed as the supreme visual art form. The very first Chinese writings are the inscriptions on the “Oracle-bones.” There are a number of factors that lead to calligraphy gaining this position of power, such as the materials used in calligraphy and the nature of writing Chinese Calligraphy.”
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