Dystopia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Dystopia - Essay Example The fictional novel depicts life in the fictional futuristic society. The following discourse thematically focuses on the book in view of trying to find its relevance to human life. In order to portray the specific thematic issues in the story, the novel has a characteristic plot in which the author validates all her fictional themes. She sets the story in a post-civil war society known as the Gilead Republic. The republic lies in the modern day United States and the story begins with a military revolution that overthrows the government of the United States after an Islamic terrorist group bombs the society thus killing both the president and a section of the congress. This creates room for the radical and extremist military group to disregard the constitution. Instead, they put in place an authoritative form of governance. In fact, they change the name of the society to ‘Gilead Republic’ where they rule with an iron fist. Among the fundamental social changes that the ne w regime institutes is the confiscation of all the financial resources previously belonging to women. This way, the new government incapacitates women thus reversing the previous gender roles prevalent in the United States. The new government introduces a cashless society following the implementation of an electronic payment mechanism. The technology permits the government to monitor all the financial resources belonging to women thereby confiscating such. Additionally, the new government ran by the group referring to as themselves as the â€Å"Sons of Jacob† bans the employment of women. The seizure of all the finances previously belonging to women by freezing their bank accounts coupled with the ban on women employment reverses the gender roles as the new government redefines the women roles in the society. through the poor financial policies instituted by the new government, the society plunges into abject poverty as viral diseases spread through the region thus reducing t he population of the previous United states (Hammer 35). The author thus narrates the story through the first person narration technique by following the life of one of the key women in the new society. Offred was an average American woman in the previous civilization; she had a respectable family with a husband and a daughter. As an upper middle class American woman, she had a respectable lifestyle and avoided the prevalent viral diseases that began spread before the collapse of the previous regime. In the new government, Offred is a concubine just as all other women in the new republic. However, unlike many others, she is health and therefore serves as a tool for reproduction. The Commander known as Fred keeps Offred as a concubine but unlike any other, he considers using her to foster his lineage. the following story is therefore of betrayals as the various characters both male and female strive to survive in the new authoritarian society. The author of the novel selects the feat ures of the novel strategically in order to validate her claims. Among the styles she uses is the futuristic position of the novel. She understands that the issues she raises had never been experienced neither in the past nor in the present society. However, placement is a fundamental literary feature. She must place the plot in both a time and a society in order to earn some relevance to her