Dystopia Satire: Hunger Games and the Handmaids Tale

A dystopian satire is a significant and interesting type of literature to read and get engaged in .If you read various types of dystopian based stories you would notice that they normally have three main themes though-out the text. Such as Futuristic , Survival, and Government Control. Those who enjoy it say that it is both a thrilling and depressing experience due to certain characteristic the stories themselves may entail . A dystopia satire could be described as stories told in high-tension environments,because of the constant actions or the captivating, story-lines. These specifics aspects certainly play an important role in the continued success of most dystopia satires . This paper will be comparing and contrasting two kinds of dystopia satire fiction , such as The Hunger Games, and the Handmaids Tale .

In order to fully compare the similarities and differences between the two stories in detail, the term “dystopia” needs to be defined. According to dictionary.com, dystopia is defined as a “society characterized by human misery, as squalor, oppression, disease, and overcrowding”. Another website describes dystopia as” an imaginary place where people are unhappy and usually afraid because they are not treated fairly”. However the Oxford dictionary defines dystopia as an” imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded one”. However the term is defined , they all have one similar concept in common—and that is the fact that dystopia worlds are portrayed as unfavourable places to be . Further aspects of dystopia societies may portray future-like settings due to the technological and environmental advancements being described in the stories, This will be explored further down the essay when discussing the Hunger games and Handmaids Tale.

The novel Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood tells a satiric story of a totalitarian government in first person narration . In this dystopia the society consists only of men who dominate women based on strict , incorrect and pathetic Christian ideologies. The government uses fertile women called “handmaids” for baby making purposes, mainly because of a decrease in birth rate. In Handmaid’s Tale, women are unfortunately used and controlled , they are forced to have no identity because their futures are already planned for them. There is no freedom for anyone , especially the clones and the handmaids, they are refined as nothing and treated as less than a human. In contrast to the Hunger Games where the targets and those suffering are young kids and the parents. Gender does not play a huge role in how you are treated . However in both stories the government mercilessness enforces laws and regulations for their own amusement and gain . Justifying its reasons for doing so by stating that they wish to maintain peace and harmony within the societies. In both dystopia worlds, the laws are apparently meant to ensure the safety of all citizens . But this is done in a very twisted way.

A recurring theme between the two stories is the use of manipulation and propaganda in their respective societies . In the Hunger games novel by Suzanne Collins, the main character Katniss Everdeem struggles everyday in the propaganda consumed society known as Panem . In this society there are twelve districts and one all mighty and powerful Capital . The capitol uses persuasion and propaganda through the “games” to keep all the districts under their control . They take children from each district and forcing them to fight and kill each other , for survival, while their parents are forced to watch in horror/ suspense and celebrate it . The civilians are also starved as a method of control “Most people in the district, Katniss explains, don’t have enough food “ (Collins 1-3). These are tactics used to put fears in the hearts and minds of Katniss and the civilians that live in Panama.

When I was younger, I scared my mother to death, the things I would blurt out about District 12, about the people who rule our country, Panem, from the far-off city called the Capitol. Eventually I understood this would only lead us to more trouble. So I learned to hold my tongue and to turn my features into an indifferent mask so that no one could ever read my thoughts. (Collins 6)

This quote by the main character Katniss further explains how the fear and controlling tactics used by the capital worked, and the effects it had on the minds of many civilians. Constantly living in terror and having to watch what u say , in fear of being punished.

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Comparable to the Handmaids tale , where the main character Offred lives in a controlling and cult like society called Gilead . In the community she is forced into being a sex slave , who’s only purpose in life is to bear children. In the novel she is brainwashed to believe that such an existence it is honorable one . Aunt Lydia in the novel is quoted manipulating Offred by stating, “Yours is a position of Honour “ (Atwood 13) . A statement that is far from the truth , due to the fact that majority of the women are forcefully kept in a buildings where many wish to run and escape but cannot do so , because of the intense security surrounding the place . It is not an honorable position .

The handmaids are psychologically tormented , they are deceived to believe that they are free just because they can move around in their community , however in reality they are completely trapped. Offred illustrates this concept well by stating , “A rat in a maze is free to go anywhere, as long as it stays inside the maze” (Atwood 165). The conditions are so devastating that some handmaids concluded that taking their lives is the only way to get actual freedom in Gilead. A contrast between the two satires is that ; women in Gilead face more extreme and dire conditions due to the wicked patriarchy government then women in Panama , This is because women aren't the specific targets in the hunger games. The women with suitable ovaries in Gilead have no identity of their own because they are used for baby making purposes against their will . The entire ordeal the handmaids have to face is traumatizing .The kind of trauma is illustrate in chapter 13. While talking about her body, and comparing how she use to view it verse how she sees it now Offred says ,

I use to think of my body as an instrument , of pleasure, or a means of transportation , or an implement for the accomplishment of my will .. Now the flesh arranges itself differently. I’m a cloud , a congealed around a central object , the shape of a pear, which is hard and more real than I am. (Atwood 71).

In this quote the main character is traumatize because she sees that her former self no longer matters , and that now her boy is only significant because of its “central object” aka her womb. In Gilead women are seen as objects and not individuals. That mindset alone can traumatize anymore and make them feel worthless.

A final factor connecting the two dystopia satires is the theme of being under constant watch by the government . In the Hunger Games the watchmen are called the “Peacekeepers” , an active militarily force controlled by the capitol to keep an eye on everyone in the districts of panama and to maintain order. While in the Handmaids tale the watchmen are known as “ The Eyes “. The eyes (police) in Gilead are use as a propaganda tool by the government to keep everyone in fear . They are used to convince and scare the citizens into thinking that the eyes of god and the eyes of the police are one and the same . That kind of manipulation created by government as a means of control , completely embodies a totalitarian regime/state. This satirizes the real world by having us the reader step back and look at how our own world is governed . One example in particular regarding government control are abortion laws and bans. Government creating bills and laws telling women want they can and can not do with their own bodies. In a article entitled -Abortion Bans Strip People of Their Human Rights- published by TIME a writer explains that “ the bans are designed to control and confine women and girls to stereotypical gender roles. They are an affront to their human rights and dignity and constitute gender discrimination’ (Newberry-Gheer) . The connection between the article can be tied to the handmaids in Gilead not having freedom of choice when it comes to their body . Totalitarianism stories may also satirize real life problems by reflecting on, women imprisoned and currently living in patriarchy environments while not having the freedom to make their own decisions- without suffering serious consequence or sometimes even death. “Any person who does not control what happens to their body cannot be free.” (Newberry-Gheer)

In closing both the Handmaids Tale and the Hunger Games are similar in futurist setting descriptions , and key traits on how the dystopia societies are govern with cruelty . Two significant differences in the stories however are the targets being tortured and humiliated - which consist of women and young - kids respectively and the various punishment and controlling lifestyle the citizens must endure throughout the story .

Works Cited

1. Atwood, Margaret Eleanor. The Handmaids Tale . New York : Anchor Books. 1998 ,c1986. Print.
2. Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic, 2008. Print.
3. Newbery, Uma Mishra, and Jamie Tood Gher. 'Abortion Bans Strip People Of Their Human Rights. Here's Why We Must Stand In Solidarity Against Them.' Time. N.p., 2019. Web. 7 Mar. 2020.