Autocratic Societies In Handmaids Tale
Autocratic Societies and Their Tyrants
In my essay I am going to talk about the autocratic societies in the books Not Wanted on the Voyage by Timothy Findley, and The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. In Findley's twisted version of Noah's ark, Noah is a tyrant running a dictatorship on the ark he built to survive the great flood. The Handmaid's Tale, is a story of a society where women are extremely oppressed and men run everything. Both these examples present us with the subject of autocratic societies. There seems to be a pattern in which tyrants follow in starting and running a community, society or country. First, power is obtained through division. Second, power is secured through the introduction of new policies. Lastly, power is ensured through unusual penalties for crimes against the tyrannies.
Not Wanted on the Voyage, is a book about the great flood. When God sees the evil in the world he decides to start it over and tells Noah to build an ark for he is going to flood the world. Noah builds the ark and places two of each kind of animal on the ark, along with enough food for the voyage. To go with him on the ark are his wife, his children and their wives. Once on the ship Noah runs a dictatorship over his wife those who side with her.
Margaret Atwood writes about a society controlled by men. Women are extremely oppressed and only used for breeding and for whatever use the men can find for them. They are watched carefully and given only one chance. The Handmaids Tale is about a handmaid named Offred, and her life in Gilead, the name of the place where it all takes place.
In order to gain power over a community, a change is made to the society which appeals to the dominant sect or group. This change causes the society to split into two major groups. One of which thrives under the new conditions, and another which is oppressed and treated like they are inhuman. Many times the divisions are made using religion, interpreted to fit the situation, as a shield, or reason for the change. In both my books, the change is brought on by people using Christianity to repress, in the first case, unwanted voyageurs, and in the second, women.
When Mrs. Noyes, the wife of Noah, in Not Wanted on the...