LANGUAGE AND PLEASURE RESHAPE POWER DYNAMICS IN MARGARET ATWOOD'S THE HANDMAID’S TALE

Vikash Raj Pal

doi:10.29121/shodhkosh.v5.i6.2024.3111

Authors

Vikash Raj Pal Research Scholar P.G. Department of English Magadh University, Bodh Gaya, Gaya (Bihar) India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29121/shodhkosh.v5.i6.2024.3111

Keywords:

Totalitarian, Language, Pleasure, Power, Dystopian, Cultural Theories

Abstract [English]

After being published in 1985, Margaret Atwood's well praised work The Handmaid's Tale quickly gained recognition and was included in the canon of literature. Offred, a handmaid in a totalitarian society where people are constantly watched, is the protagonist of this dystopian novel. In this repressive culture, power is heavily exercised in all spheres of life. This essay employs media researcher John Fiske's cultural theories to investigate the workings of power. It explores language's dual uses as a tool of resistance and authority, emphasizing the roles pleasure and discipline play in Gilead's power structure. In The Handmaid's Tale, people continuously rebel whenever they get the chance, even in the face of a totalitarian government. As such, they are neither simple commodities nor passive things. This essay also examines the significant impact that pleasure plays in these people's resistance and captivity. Lastly, it clarifies how people use guerilla warfare to oppose the ruling class.

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