The Handmaid's Tale And Animal Farm Literary Analysis

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Dystopian literature explores the dangers of unjust political and social hegemonies which is demonstrated and exemplified through moral and societal decay. They are usually intended to arouse fear of potential totalitarian societies and alert readers of the precarious state of democracy and liberty. Books such as The Handmaid’s Tale and The Animal Farm written by Margaret Atwood and George Orwell respectively, display corrupted societies precipitated by the imposition of totalitarian social orders and agents of oppression hoping to exploit the subservience of the sheeplike masses. The dystopian societies set within in the novels are a manifestation of the authors’ observations of certain ideologies that threaten to catalyze into societal chaos and usurp democratic order. Such ideologies maintain a relevant presence even today, such as fundamental interpretations of religion and widespread government surveillance of citizens, ideologies which the authors embolden us to resist against. In The Handmaid’s Tale and Animal Farm, we see the dangers of totalitarian governments through the cruelties wrought upon on its subjects. The corrupt societies in the dystopian novels are able to remain in power through the acquiescence of its citizens and the imposing of hierarchical power structures which debilitate and force citizens to conform to its rigid strictures. The theme of the political subjugation of the weaker members of society are seen in both The Handmaid’s Tale and The Animal
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