Utopias/Dystopias Senioritas

Warning: contains upsetting content. Read at your own risk. In The Handmaid's Tale , one of the most disturbing scenes is that of the Particicution, where handmaids are encouraged to tear an accused rapist to death. Such events are reminiscent of lynchings, but with one key difference; as far as I know, lynching were not publicly sanctioned events. And since Margaret Atwood stated that all events that occur in this book are drawn from real world events, I became curious as to whether or not Atwood drew inspiration from other sources. Although I was unable to find examples of state sanctioned events where humans physically tear apart other humans (comment below if you do), I found another form of public execution that is, if not more, disturbing that the Particicution. Stoning is a capital punishment where the criminal is buried up to the chest or neck in the ground and people gather around to throw stones at them until they die. A very slow, painful process. And in the source...

The Handmaid’s Tale has been one of the most emotionally disturbing books I’ve ever read. There are points where I honestly thought the society couldn’t get any worse but then Margaret Atwood drops a new detail into the storyline that brings an even darker side of it to the light. So to cope, I’ve shifted towards trying to understand why she would ever write the Handmaid’s Tale in the first place.  Undoubtedly, the society is a dystopia. However, I feel that Margaret Atwood has been particularly successful in creating a world that most people would never want to live in. With women essentially being slaves who are subjected to some pretty horrifying stuff and the Eyes surveilling every action someone takes, it sounds like a new type of hell.   Yet why bother writing such a book? Isn’t this the type of thing you have nightmares about and is best kept in your own thoughts than written in 311 pages? Evidently, Margaret Atwood had a reason for writing this boo...

Humanity is powerful. Many would argue that it exists as the most defining characteristic of people. Without it, our ability to love, feel compassion, or experience community would dull our complexes and alter our moral. With that in mind, it’s no wonder that at the core of what makes a society dystopian is its lack of humanity. Whether it is masked by tyranny, discrimination, or anything in between, without humanity, a true utopia is simply unachievable. Thereby, dystopian novels are notorious for having some form of authority seize control by reducing a people’s sense of humanity.        Consider how the World State in Brave New World exists with the sole intention of oppressing natural human emotions and tendencies – a prime context of a dystopian society. Reading Brave New World , I was constantly waiting for the ball to drop: for Helmholtz and John to speak up and spark a much-needed revolution against the World State. This, however,...