How far is language a tool of oppression in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ and ‘Nineteen Eighty Four’?
Most dystopian novels contain themes of corruption and oppression, therefore in both ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ and ‘Nineteen Eighty Four’ language is obviously used as a form of the states control, enabling dystopian leaders to remain in power by manipulating language to restrict free thought. Orwell and Atwood have utilized language as a key tool of oppression throughout their novels. The use of language is mostly repressive, language can also be seen as liberating, and used as an act of rebellion, which the state wishes to eliminate.
The novel Nineteen Eighty Four contains a world in which language is being systematically corrupted. The introduction of ‘Newspeak’ (official language of Oceania) is created to remove even the possibility of rebellious thoughts as, “In the end the whole notion of goodness and badness will be covered by only six words” - the words by which such thoughts might be articulated have been eliminated from the language. Orwell believed that the corruption of language may be used to oppress an entire group of people which is why he created “Newspeak” in his novel. ‘Newspeak’ has been developed to the point of absurdity, the idea that words are taken away and re-adapted means you are not permitted to express yourself as "the Party seeks to narrow the range of thought altogether”. Newspeak makes the citizens more loyal to the state as citizens may be afraid of the repercussions of not following the regime and going against the higher power. When Winston pledges his loyalty, he also accepts the requirements of the state which means his loyalty lies amongst them. Orwell uses 'Newspeak' to keep citizens devoted to the state by portraying it as yet another method of mind control, presenting them as inferior, and unable to think independently. References to voices as being "metallic" and "savage" highlights the citizens as lacking emotion or autonomy and simply being copies of the state and embodying their nature. Therefore the idea they lack mortal characteristics, one could suggest language is so oppressing it makes us question the extent to which the citizens are even human. Similarly in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ we see the Handmaids unable to read the Bible as Offred writes “it was from the Bible, or so they said”. The fact that the Handmaids cannot read their holy book and it [Beatitudes] was “played from a tape”, denotes how little freedom they have, as the Bible is supposed to be sacred to them and Gileadean society. Offred also “knew they made it up” implying they have no rights and no control and cannot speak up. Moreover in the novel, the term ‘Martha’ is misused and manipulated as the Marthas had “her sleeves…rolled to the elbow” which suggests how hardworking they are. In the Bible, Jesus criticised Martha for working whilst he was teaching and praised her sister Mary for leaving the housework to come and listen to him. This shows how the state have reversed the term and enforced their misreading of the Bible onto Gileadean society to suit their current society and mistreat the women. They want women to behave like Marthas in order to gain full control over women, if all women are the same this de-individuates them and loses their true identity, as a result making them more compliant and submissive to the over-powering state. Highlighting the extent to which totalitarian society will go to in order to have full control over citizens, to corrupt and oppress them.
As well as this, the three largest buildings in this city, which happen to belong to the government, are the Ministry of Love, the Ministry of Truth, and the Ministry of Plenty. The Ministry of peace “concerned itself with war”, The Ministry of Truth dedicated itself to destroying the truth and The Ministry of Love was described as “frightening” with “gorilla faced guards." This brings forth the idea that the state are trying to subtly manipulate society however they are a threat. In addition the face of the party ‘Big Brother’ is extremely ironic as Orwell uses this as a tactic to make you feel reassured. This is because the word 'Big Brother' is an example of a double entendre as a big brother is commonly associated with protection, care and love which is the extreme opposite in this case as "the party seeks power...for its own sake" conveying the irony further as it is not what it seems at first glance. The constant motif of ‘BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU” exemplifies the idea they will always try to control you, and they have great power. The fact that Orwell chose these names is a reflection of the Party's of the brainwashing of their society and the desire for control over the people. It is a warning as it emphasises the abusive nature of dictators, as they use psychological manipulation as a means of control. The use of names in Nineteen Eighty-Four presents a false sense of security and desirability to citizens, as it makes the state appear friendly and trust worthy regardless of their demeaning acts. The slogan of the party is the most oppressive. “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” As the official slogan was introduced so early in the novel, it serves as the reader’s first introduction to the idea of doublethink, the ability to hold two contradictory ideas at the same time, and the severity of the oppression. This is a tool used by Orwell to show the Party's techniques to break down the individuals capacity for independent thought and inclining them to believe anything. Forcing them to live in a constant state of propaganda-induced fear and oppression.
Comparably, through names Atwood portrays the physical and psychological oppression of women under a totalitarian regime that reduces its women to mere voiceless, child bearing objects. Handmaids are detained and brainwashed by the state, and1 even Aunt Lydia, who appears to have control. She is not given her own identity and emotions, as she is simply following the rules of Gilead, as she explains to the Handmaids, “this may not seem ordinary to you now, but after a time it will.” This shows how even those in power have been convinced into believing this is 'normal', while she appears to have some power she is being repressed. It also reflects the power of the totalitarian state to transform a natural human response after seeing "crying women" and substitute this with "emotional blankness" transforming horror into normalcy. The words used suggests their oppression and ability to make people forget what a different world could be like because this is "what they are used to." Moreover the idea of ‘Aunts’ is ironic in the novel as they are supposed to be loving and caring but are the complete opposite. Aunt Lydia uses language to belittle the Handmaids and acts very condescending and patronisingly as she tries to manipulate the Handmaids into feeling compassion for the wives, by stating “try to think of it from their point of view she said, her hands clasped and wrung together, her nervous pleading smile. It isn’t easy for them.” This statement reveals Aunt Lydia’s qualities as a master manipulator, as she is encouraging them to feel compassion for those who are in power and acting as the oppressors. In addition, Gilead maintains control and oppression over women by controlling their names. The absence of names in the novel is the state’s way of making the women have no identity, and appear emotionless and the fact they are all referred to as ‘Handmaids’ suggests their deindividuation. Offred’s name is dehumanizing as it shows she’s property of her commander, portraying how patriarchal the society they live in is. Atwood may have utilized this device to shock modern audiences, as names are taken for granted and portrays the extent of their oppression, as well as making it hard to feel close to Offred, as we are unaware of her real name. Therefore the women in The Handmaid’s Tale, appear victimized, as they have to suffer forever with the permanent mark of Giledean society as they have no idea who they really are.
In the Handmaid’s Tale , Atwood gives Offred the role of the 1st person narrator, while the state oppress what she can do, they cannot oppress what she writes, as she is free in her narrative, and in this way language liberates her, rather than oppresses her. In Nineteen-eighty four it appears that Winston just follows the states regimes, as Gilead does not have the same degree of control that Oceania does, this is evident due to Offred's symbolic endearing relationship with the commander (higher power) where she asks for "hand lotion"' and shows her ability to confide in him. For Offred, the act of telling her story becomes a rebellion against her society. As Offred speaks out, even if it is only to an imaginary reader. Gilead denies women control over their own lives, but Offred’s creation of a story gives her, as she puts it, “control over the ending.” Most importantly, Offred’s creation of a narrative gives her hope for the future, a sense that “there will be an ending . . . and real life will come after it.” Therefore showing how the state cannot fully control her language and oppress her, as we see her expression through a vocal diary. However we see Offred still has to be cautious in her language, showing how she has to change her personality to meet the demands of the state. Towards the end we see how the state have used their demeaning language and control to fully oppress Offred, as she says “They can do what they like with me, I am abject. I feel for the first time, their true power.” This highlights how although Offred was able to be free to an extent, the state will always win, due to her inability to reveal her true name in her narrative which was supposed to be her 'escape', she has been brainwashed to believe she is worthless with no value and needs to suppress her origins even to the reader and herself. You would think Offred’s diary style of writing would act as a tool of comfort when actually it acts as the opposite as she has to constantly be careful with her words. She states, “I would like to believe this is a story I’m telling. I need to believe it. I must believe it” this shows how she understands and acknowledges the lack of freedom in her speech and here we see how strong the power of the state really is. Portraying how her subtle act of rebellion is liberating to an extent, but not fully as there is no true freedom.
Overall, language has been used as a key tool for oppression in both novels, in order to manipulate and limit characters from freedom. This is the most effective technique to portray the dangers of the state and the extent to which totalitarian society will go to try and gain full sovereignty over citizens. The use of Newspeak and state names in Nineteen Eighty-Four allows readers to see how extreme the government are with regard to exploiting and negatively influencing citizens, as they are naïve due to their lack of knowledge and independence, so therefore they are being oppressed. Similarly in the Handmaid’s Tale, names and control over the Bible is used as a device to oppress women and emphasise the power of the state. However we can also see how language is also used as a form of liberation rather than simply oppression, In Nineteen Eighty-Four, the Appendix written in Old Speak shows how Newspeak was perishable and the state was limited as they were unable to fully control the language used by citizens. Orwell’s technique of reversing the dialect at the end of the novel, portrays how language can be used as a tool of defiance and a form of escape from reality. As well as in The Handmaid’s Tale, Offred’s first person narrative acts as a form of rebellion and freedom of her mind to recall memories and past events. As a result language is oppressive in both novels but can be seen as a release.

Grade Saver. (2001). Study Guide. Available: http://www.gradesaver.com/the-handmaids-tale/study-guide/major-themes/.
Shmoop. The Narrators. Available: http://www.shmoop.com/handmaids-tale/offred-narrator.html.