society can be seen as a malevolent force, bringing about the dehumanisation of the individual
‘Society can be seen as a malevolent force, bringing about the dehumanisation of the individual’
To what extent is this idea shown in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ and ‘We’ by comparing the writers presentation of the pressures society brings to bear on the individual. “A rat in a maze is free to go anywhere, as long as it stays inside the maze.” Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale
To understand what is meant by the term ‘dehumanisation’ one must first ascertain what it is that makes us human. The Oxford English Dictionary defines ‘dehumanisation’ as ‘the deprivation of positive human qualities’. This would imply that it is qualities such as humour, imagination, eroticism, rebelliousness and beauty that are responsible for our humanity. Nick Haslam, in his essay entitled ‘Dehumanisation; an Integrative Review’ stated that the denial of uniquely human attributes to others presents them as animals. This is defined as animalistic dehumanisation and has occurred multiple times throughout history. Victims of animalistic dehumanisation include black Americans in the 18th and 19th century as well as Jews in the holocaust. It important to note that Atwood deliberately uses historical parallels to express her belief that society (however advanced it may become), will always regress, leading to dehumanisation. Finally, to understand whether society is a malevolent force, bringing about dehumanisation of the individual, we must first examine the individuals themselves. In this essay, these individuals take the form of Offred in Margaret Atwood’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ and D-503 in Yevgeny Zamyatin’s ‘We’.
Both Zamyatin and Atwood depict a society wherein one must surrender their individualism for the greater good. In both novels, a catastrophic event has led to a society in which deindividuation has become the norm, enforced by a faceless, omnipotent body. According to
To what extent is this idea shown in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ and ‘We’ by comparing the writers presentation of the pressures society brings to bear on the individual. “A rat in a maze is free to go anywhere, as long as it stays inside the maze.” Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale
To understand what is meant by the term ‘dehumanisation’ one must first ascertain what it is that makes us human. The Oxford English Dictionary defines ‘dehumanisation’ as ‘the deprivation of positive human qualities’. This would imply that it is qualities such as humour, imagination, eroticism, rebelliousness and beauty that are responsible for our humanity. Nick Haslam, in his essay entitled ‘Dehumanisation; an Integrative Review’ stated that the denial of uniquely human attributes to others presents them as animals. This is defined as animalistic dehumanisation and has occurred multiple times throughout history. Victims of animalistic dehumanisation include black Americans in the 18th and 19th century as well as Jews in the holocaust. It important to note that Atwood deliberately uses historical parallels to express her belief that society (however advanced it may become), will always regress, leading to dehumanisation. Finally, to understand whether society is a malevolent force, bringing about dehumanisation of the individual, we must first examine the individuals themselves. In this essay, these individuals take the form of Offred in Margaret Atwood’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ and D-503 in Yevgeny Zamyatin’s ‘We’.
Both Zamyatin and Atwood depict a society wherein one must surrender their individualism for the greater good. In both novels, a catastrophic event has led to a society in which deindividuation has become the norm, enforced by a faceless, omnipotent body. According to