THEME STUDY: Rebellion and Resistance (The Handmaid's Tale and 1984)

Difference between rebellion and resistance

Rebellion is active where resistance is passive; rebellion is extreme action where resistance is small actions or in the mind

What are the types of rebellion in THT?

Small acts of rebellion, feminist rebellion, sexual rebellion, rebellion through memory, organised rebellion

What are the types of rebellion in 1984?

Small acts of rebellion, sexual rebellion, rebellion through memory, the illusion of organised rebellion

How does Moira represent resistance?

Moira represents a form of resistance that contrasts with Offred's passive survival - her defiance highlights the cost and power of rebellion in a totalitarian regime.

What is the significance of Moira's escape from the Red Centre and how does that moment shape the tone or direction of the story?

Moira's escape from the Red Centre leads to the tone of the story becoming more violent. It shapes the story in that it gives Offred hope and allows her to perform acts of resistance, regardless of their level of passivity.

THT: "Maybe he's forgotten..."

"...protocol, but maybe its deliberate"

THT: "A woman, who can..."

"...see in darkness while he himself strains blindly forward"

THT: "Moira was...

"...our fantasy"

THT: "Moira had power...

...now, she'd been set loose, she'd set herself loose, she was a loose woman"

THT: "It's a beautiful...

...May Day"

THT: "It's all right, it's...

...May Day, go with them"

THT: "The music lingered...

...a palimpsest of unheard sound"

THT: "Neither of us...

...says the world love, not once. It would be tempting fate; it would be romance, bad luck."

THT: "Being here with him...

...is safety, it's a cave, where we huddle together while the storm goes on outside. This is a delusion of course"

How is sex an act of resistance in THT for Offred?

Dissociation during the ceremony when she should be proud to be bearing a child for Gilead. She removes herself from "I" describing herself as "One" because its too painful in that situation. This shows an alienation from herself and her identity.

How is sex with Nick an act of rebellion in THT?

Though neither of them say it, Offred and Nick seem to love each other. Though they're aiming to have a child to save Offred, their sex isn't strictly ceremonial. Offred reveals things about herself which make sex more of an emotional act, revealing her name and stopping her identity from being congealed around the central aim of having a baby.

How is the Commander forgetting protocol in the Ceremony an act of rebellion in THT?

The Commander entering the room early and defying protocol could be seen as a form of resistance against his role, perhaps linking to the idea that men have been restrained by Gilead's constraints to and he attempts to break free from this. It could also link to the idea that he tries to reclaim patriarchal power, resisting against a society that focuses around women, in a household with several women.

How does the quote "A woman who can see in darkness, while he himself surges blindly forward" link to rebellion?

Offred has autonomy because she is the only person who can know her own body. This is a form of rebellion because the regime does not want her to have any autonomy over her body.

Mayday Significance (2 points)

- international distress call - perfect for rebellion in a place where speaking out is a death sentence

- atwood keeps mayday's presence vague because in real oppressive regimes, underground movements are cryptic, with scarce information, high risk and a lack of certainty

How is Offred's memory of her name an act of resistance?

Offred holding on to her name is an act of resistance. It shows how she holds on to her past to retain a sense of autonomy. She purposefully repeats her hold name to herself in an act of rebellion.

How does "The music lingered, a palimpsest of unheard sound" show the setting itself rebels against Gilead?

The history of things can almost always be uncovered underneath - Gilead will come to an end

What is the purpose of memory of the past in 1984 and THT?

Serves as a form of coping and survival

AO5: Wendy Jones (vital, oppressors, merely, feelings)

"The vital goal for oppressors to control not merely the actions of subjects, but their thoughts and, even more important, their feelings"

1984: "purpose of marriage was...

...to beget children for the service of the Party"

1984: "Even to have awakened...

...Katharine, if he could have achieved it, would have been like a seduction, although she was his wife"

1984: "The sexual act...

...successfully performed was rebellion. Desire was thoughtcrime"

1984: "It was a blow...

...struck against the Party. It was a political act."

1984: "rebel from...

...the waist down"

1984: "Air it seemed...

...to possess of belonging to an age quite different from the present one"

1984: "devoured...

...the chocolate [...] felt somewhat ashamed of himself"

1984: "illusion of...

...hearing bells"

Summarise Wendy Jones' argument for memory and rebellion in THT.

- Offred's latent resistance makes her dangerous due to her 'interiority'

- When she asks "Where shall I go tonight" she remembers her past, which makes her dangerous

Orwell in Politics and the English Language [thought, language]

"But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought"

What is the significance of the "illusion of hearing bells"?

An aural memory - the significance is that the regime is not completely successful, people can still access little bits of the past in a form of rebellion through the mind

The Brotherhood

Underground anti party movement led by Goldstein; likely a myth designed by the Party to trap rebels

O'Brien and The Brotherhood

O'Brien convinces Winston the Brotherhood is real and gives him Goldstein's manifesto, making Winston something of a revolutionary

What is the significance of the fake nature of The Brotherhood?

Rebellion is engineered by the Party. This suggests that the Party has control over everything. By encouraging rebellion in certain individuals, it is able to continue to maintain a wider control.

Symbolism of the Brotherhood

illusion of hope & stands for total control (even rebellion is manufactured by the Party)

1984: "The Brotherhood cannot be...

...wiped out [...] Nothing holds it together except an idea which is indestructible"

1984: "I tell you that the Brotherhood exists...

...but I cannot tell you whether it numbers a hundred members, or ten million"

How does Winston not sharing his rations show his character and serve as a foundation for rebellion?

Children can be ignorant, naive and selfish in the face of oppression, not realising the extent of what is truly going on. However, this also highlights a desire to hold onto normalcy and the past - something that continues on into Winston's adulthood.

1984: "first fragment...

...of chocolate had melted on Winston's tongue"

Symbolism of Forbidden Luxuries in 1984

Sugar, coffee and chocolate all represent the old world; they represent life before oppression when everyone had access to everything

Scrabble as a form of Rebellion in THT [3 points]

- offred spells words relating to the human body -> reclamation of autonomy

- offred describes wanting to eat the words -> reclaim language and the ability to communicate (lost due to women being silenced)

- commander has a desire to return to normalcy (form of private resistance) - building a relationship is resistant against destruction of human relationships and highlights a connection w/ the past that the regime seeks to destroy

Why does Goldstein's manifesto serve to undermine the small acts of rebellion in 1984?

makes rebels feel like they've found the truth so they let their guard down; actually part of the system to seal the fate of rebels

Winston Buying The Paperweight as a Small Act of Rebellion

Desire to connect w/ the past is a form of rebellion; defies the nature of his job as a part of the Party's destruction and perversion of memory and truth

How does Winston's sexual relationship w/ Katharine reflect resistance? [3 points]

- Awareness of Party control over desire highlights resistance

- Katharine resists her own human nature by seeing sex as a duty to the Party

- Winston critiques Katharine, reflecting criticism of the Party

How does Winston's encounter w/ a prostitute link to resistance? [3 points]

- defies party rules and shows a struggle between indoctrination and instinct

- his disgust w/ himself afterward highlights the internal conflict caused by party indoctrination

- seeking intimacy w/ the prostitute reflects resistance to the Party's suppression of human connection

Why is love considered a catalyst for rebellion in Winston's case?

Love acts as a catalyst because it intensifies pre-existing feelings of hatred and rebellion, solidifying Winston's commitment to defy the Party.

In what ways does love make Winston more human and expose the Party's weaknesses?

Love humanizes Winston by fostering deeper emotions and connections, while exposing the Party's vulnerability in its inability to control human affection completely.

How does the expression of hatred bring Winston and Julia together, and what does it reveal about their autonomy and individualism?

The shared expression of hatred for Big Brother draws Winston and Julia together, allowing them to assert their autonomy and individuality by finding solace in one another and rebelling against the Party.

How does love transform Winston and Julia, and why does the Party seek to stop it?

Love transforms them by redirecting their emotions away from Big Brother to each other. Individuals can transfer their love of BB to a partner. The Party seeks to prevent this transfer of affection, as it threatens its control.