Similarities Between 1984 And The Handmaid's Tale

The Handmaid’s Tale and 1984 are similar in that they share a “subversion of authority” motif. In both novels, characters continuously rebel against the States that they are subject to, regardless of the consequences of their actions. In The Handmaid’s Tale, Offred subverts the authority of the State by having an affair with Luke before she was married to him. Serena Joy also rebels against the State in The Handmaid’s Tale by purchasing the illegal contraband, cigarettes, and smoking them in front of Offred and the rest of her house. In 1984, Winston Smith subverts the authority of the State by writing in a diary that he bought from off of the black market. He and Julia later rebel against the State by having sex out in the country. All of these characters knew what the consequences to rebelling against their states could entail, but still chose to anyway because they felt that
Winston and Julia affair serves as a personable reminder for the reader to be conscious of how governmental bodies can mold the day-to-day lives of its citizens and prevent them from making the most basic connections out of fear of judgement or persecution. By approaching the text with a political rebel mindset, Orwell sends the reader on a plotted timeline where the reader begins to get the sense that Winston and Julia are not the only ones in the Oceanic society that have repressed their sexual and other desires, as Julia speaks of having sex with “hundreds” of other Party members. This builds the reader’s anticipation that citizens like WInston and Julia will one day unite to revolt against the state for repressing their basic desires for human connection and