Massolit lecture: Indoctrination & Ideology In totalitarian regimes, there are methods that need to be used in order to ensure that citizens obey and conform to the state laws, as opposed to democratic societies where the citizens are at liberty to contribute to the construction of their society. The question of focus here is; how […]
Handmaid’s Tale: Surveillance in Gilead
Massolit Lecture: Surveillance The use of religion As a theocratic society, Gilead is built on a religious foundation and almost all of the state laws derive from the Old Testament. The state uses religion to justify their actions which makes it almost impossible for citizens to challenge the law. Surveillance of God – when they […]
Handmaid’s Tale: The Motif of the Body
In what ways is the control of women’s bodies reflective of the totalitarian control of the regime in Gilead? Notes from Chapter 13: “I’m a cloud, congealed around a central object, the shape of a pear, which is hard and more real than I am” (pg. 86) The “central object” is her womb encompassing a […]
Handmaid’s Tale: The Construction of Identity
When comparing Margaret Atwood’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ and the events of the Holocaust, one can draw many parallels between the two. Primo Levi was an Italian Jew who survived Auschwitz, one of the most notorious concentration camps used in the Holocaust. Levi went on to write poetry and memoirs which reflect his time in Auschwitz, which […]
Linking Duffy & Donnelly
Global Issue Focus: Social perception of women’s beauty Literary work: Medusa by Carol Ann Duffy from ‘The World’s Wife’ collection, 1999 Non-literary work: Political cartoon by Liza Donnelly published in The New Yorker magazine. Duffy’s collection ‘The World’s Wife’ focuses on bringing overlooked female perspectives to light and plays with universal gender stereotypes. This collection uses renowned […]
‘The World’s Wife’ by Carol Ann Duffy
Carol Ann Duffy’s ‘The World’s Wife’ is a collection of dramatic monologues which cleverly recontextualises renowned tales and legends in a way that both discloses overlooked female perspectives of love and relationships, as well as humorously challenges gender stereotypes which are largely prevalent in today’s society, despite being formed many years ago. Together, the poems serve […]