ELSA Meet: Utopias and Dystopias
Utopia, the term coined by Thomas
More which is also the title of his famous work, explains what an ideal society
is ought to be. This was first literary portrayal of utopia. Plato's Republic
which also talks of perfect city with the three classes comprising Rulers, Guardians,
and producers. But it has no place for poets. With this preliminary explanation
Prof. Nibir Ghosh opened the discussion of the latest ELSA Meet. He further
explained the concept of utopia with reference to News from Nowhere by
William Morris. Dr. Sanjay Mishra elaborated Thomas More's Utopia to understand
the dynamism of this term. He explained with the reference to this work how
each utopia is imperfect in itself.
Dr Srikant Kulshrestha took up the
seminal work 1984 by George Orwell. The novel, which depicts Oceania
under watch of Big Brother and totalitarian regime is fearsome portrayal which
is understood to be most prophetic of dystopian literature. Mr. Surender
Sabharwal introduced Rabindranath Tagore's 'Where mind is without fear' as
Indian concept of Utopia. He elaborated how each line of the poem is suggestive
of perfect land for humanity. Dr Rajan Lal and Dr. Shipra Kulsrestha talked of
another Orwellian jewel Animal Farm. Saurabh Agarwal discussed the
literary devices used in dystopian literature with examples of The Road
by Comarc Mccarthy, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and Darkness
at Noon by Arthur Koestler. Dr Chanda
Singh talked about works of Prem Chand where Utopias and Dystopias gets merged
and are cyclical in occurrence.
Among outstation
participants (online) “Gilead’s Discourse in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale” by Dr. Tanya Mander (RGNLU, Patiala) and “Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain’s Sultana' Dream: Utopia for One and Dystopia for Another” by Dr.
Manju (Chandigarh University, Chandigarh) received special appreciation for
their enthusiastic participation. Dr. Tanya pointed out how Atwood's narrative
has a lot to offer as it imagines the failure of humanism, liberalism,
individualism, feminism and even capitalism. Dr. Manju pointed out, citing Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain ‘s Sultana’s Dream, how the story
creates feminist Utopia.
Gilead’s Discourse
in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale
Tanya
Mander
When we engage with
science fiction particularly labeled as feminist we encounter a new term ‘speculative fiction’ which frames the
concerns of feminism and attempts to achieve, through temporal displacement, a
view of the fault lines clearly etched in a patriarchal and discriminatory
society using scientific know-how to perpetuate the imbalance. The template for utopian/dystopian fiction is
defined by “willful transgression of time”; a temporal displacement; break in
the linearity of the narrative; and the interaction between utopian and
dystopian elements is achieved by contrasting past events and future
circumstances, with each commenting and contradicting the other; offering a
dialectical exposition. Feminist dystopian fiction can be described in terms of
Ernst Bloch, the “not yet”.
Atwood has often said
that, “there is not a single detail in the book that does not have a
corresponding reality, either in contemporary conditions or historical fact.” Gilead
is a bleak rendition of Christian fundamentalists taking over and realigning
the USA after renaming it. Atwood’s Offred (the protagonist) initiates an
examination of fragmentation, which is perceptible at multiple levels:
geographical; socio-political and cerebral (intellectual and emotional at the
same time). Offred narrates different accounts of reality, creating
‘poly-perspectives’. She unravels the means to keep women under tight control:
language and violence. Offred splits her recollections titled ‘Day’ and
‘Night’. In her narration she emplaces the duality of past and present; time
and space and freedom and oppression. Atwood interrogates how such a society
came into being.
The answer lies in society’s
discourse. Focault’s idea on discourse underlines the idea of truth as a
construction where statements, opinions and interpretations interplay to evolve
a truth. “Each society has its general politics of truth” and in case of Gilead
all statements abrogating the identity of women lie within this truth; the
unspoken, the unacknowledged, and the unofficial truths are part of the
discourse too. Ideas governing Gilead found incubation in the discourse before.
Offred’s journey is within as she comes to confront that it was the way she
lived her life before, that assisted in crystallizing Gilead. Truth pertaining
to women are contemplated and constructed by men as the “ ‘semi silence’ undermines from within all
that is said.” Atwood wants the reader to recognize ‘knowledge’ as contested
space in a dystopia. Offred seeks knowledge from the Commander after
understanding the frivolity of seeking material things. With no ‘knowledge’ of
an alternative, Gilead is able to keep Offred within its discourse.
Dr. Tanya Mander is Assistant Professor of
English at Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab. She has been
associated with teaching English Literature and Language to law students for
over 15 years. Her areas of interest are Contemporary British Theatre,
Dystopian Literature, Gender Studies and Literary Theory. She contributes to
newspapers: The Tribune, The Hindu (Blog) The Thread. She is guiding research
on changing contours of feminist consciousness and dystopian literature.
Rokeya
Sakhawat Hossain’s Sultana' Dream: Utopia for One and
Dystopia for Another
Manju
Power
has always been a major cause of inequality which itself is the source of
various other evils. Jean Jacques Rousseau who is known for his love for
equality and liberty also says that “Man is born free and everywhere he is in
chains” due to dependence which is the product of inequality. Society comprises
men and women, the authors of its being, who are complements to each other and
their union is the foundation of the universe but their journey is the tale of
endless clashes due to numerous inequalities therefore they are often treated
as rivals. Women have been subjugated and suppressed by the patriarchy for the
last many centuries. This oppression is discussed in many literary works as
literature is the imitation of life. There are some women writers like Begum
Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain who feel this agony and articulate the pain in their
works. Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain ‘s Sultana’s
Dream is also one of the stories which creates feminist Utopia. The
protagonist of the novella Sara shows Sultana who enters this feminist utopia
from an ordinary world where women are subjugated and oppressed by the men
folk, how “Ladyland” is free from this repression. The women are ruling the
world. Male dominance has been replaced with female dominance. Man is compared
to the beast and is enchained within the four walls of “Janana." The women
establish great universities. They use solar power and make enormous scientific
progress. They create a world which is free from feminine oppression but at the
same time create another inequality through male dependence. Thus the writer
creates utopia for femininity and dystopia for masculinity as men folk are
described as "Women's brains are more quicker than men's. ". Thus the
story leads to emancipation of femininity but subjugation of masculinity.
With such feminist ideas which emphasize on feminine dominance, are we not
moving towards another origin of inequality?
If a man is known for his valour, a woman is known for her compassion.
One maintains his hold on the society physically while the other affects
emotionally. Thus they both are equal and this equation leads to peaceful
societies. Despite being the wisest creature either men or women spoil this
equilibrium and try to dominate each other.
Dr
Manju is
Associate Professor UILAH, Chandigarh University
Anjali Singh
1. Utopia
a fictional work by Thomas More. As
the term suggests, it refers to a fictional world ruled by ideal
socio-political, religious and political customs.
2. Published
in 1515 (Latin) and in English (1551)
3. Firstly,
let me talk of the meaning of the word Utopia.
4. Derived
from a greek word, ‘ou’ means ‘not’ and ‘topos’ means ‘place’.
5. Originally
written in latin, the title when translated means “Of a republic’s best state and of the new island Utopia”.
6. Next,
it is a frame narrative. The
characters share their opinions and views. During one such exchange, the
character Raphael Hythloday talks
about the egalitarian society of Utopia.
7. Furthermore,
it has 2 books.
8. Book
1 introduces the characters. They discuss on the contemporary socio-political
environment. In a way, here we get a glimpse in the grievances of the common
man in England.
9. Book
2 is largely about Hythloday’s
account of Utopia.
10. Some
unique features of the island nation are:
·
No locks on houses.
·
Houses rotated between
citizen’s every ten years.
·
Every citizen to
contribute 2 years to farming. Agriculture
the most important occupation.
·
All citizen’s wear same
type of simple clothes. No fine dresses
or dressmakers
·
Working hours per day not
to exceed 6 hours.
·
Gold is part of community
wealth.
·
Jewels worn by children
who give them up when mature.
·
Several religions – pagan
and tolerant.
·
Widowed women could also
become priests.
·
No privacy, everything
public. No places for private gatherings.
Interesting
Facts about Utopia
1. The
first edition contained a woodcut map of the island if Utopia.
2. Published
under Erasmus’s editorship.
3. The
English translation published 16 years after the death of More.
4. Similar
works or works with a similar theme that appeared prior to this are
·
Candide
by Voltaire
·
New
Atlantis by Francis
Bacon
5. The
socialism mentioned in the book was the first instance of Socialism concept.
6. Some
ideas expressed were polar opposites of those of Thomas More. For ex.
·
Priests – married and
female. In stark contrast to the contemporary socio-political environment, this
was a reality in Utopia.
·
Divorce, easily granted
and a reality in Utopia.
·
Lawyers were criticized.
Political
Hypocrisy & Animal Farm
Rajan Lal
“Power
corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”, the statement made by Lord
Acton, a British historian of the late 19th & early 20th
centuries, in my view, is fully applicable to “Animal Farm” where Seven Commandments, basically discipline
criteria among the animals on the farm, the philosophy of Animalism drawn by
Old Major, the senior-most pig on the animal farm, is abridged to a single
sentence as per his own manner and morality by Napoleon, the dictator, in a dinner party
for pigs and local farmers as under: “ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL, BUT SOME ANIMALS
ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS.” The proclamation underscores the hypocrisy of
governments that proclaim the absolute equality of their citizens but craftily
provide power and privilege to a small elite.
Animal
Farm,
an allegorical novella, is a political satire on imperfect masters and corrupt
leaders of the Russian revolution or the communist regime of Russia. The system
on the farm represents the communist system. The whole action of the Animal Farm is classed into ten books.
It begins with a revolution in which animals decide to get rid of their human
master. Mr. Jones is a drunkard master and remains careless to animals even in
providing them food timely. The animals revolt against drunken and careless Mr.
Jones and consequently he is overthrown from the farm, which they call “Animal Farm”. To run the Animal
Farm properly they,
(especially Old major) constitute Seven Commandments of Animalism. Napoleon
provokes his dogs to chase Snowball away. Taking advantage of Snowball’s
absence, he adopts nearly all of Mr. Jones’ despotic principles and cruel and
inhuman treatment of all animals. He turns into a perverse dictator. Power
corrupts him so he starts abusing his powers and makes life harder for other
animals. It proves that indeed, communism is not equality, but just another
form of inequality. The pigs and dogs adopt most of the power for themselves.
They think that they are the best administrators of government. At last, the power
corrupts them, and they begin to get rid of those animals that may prove their
competitors. They justify their unjust actions through propaganda and
bloodshed. Stalin also gets murdered many of his own people in order to
maintain his dictatorship of Russia. It is nothing but political hypocrisy as
whosoever comes in power but later on turns into a despot. Thus, in my view,
the Animal Farm is a dystopian novel
because the whole of the communist system of the farm is perverted to the
oppressive and suppressive dictatorial political system. The term ‘dystopia’ (bad place) has come to be
applied to works of fiction that represent a very unpleasant imaginary world in
which ominous tendencies of our present social, political, and technological
order are projected into a disastrous future culminations.
Dr. Rajan Lal is Lecturer in English
at Govt. Inter College, Agra.
Shipra Kulsrestha
The
setting of Animal Farm is a dystopia, which is an
imagined world that is far worse than our own, as opposed to a utopia,
which is an ideal place or state. Other dystopian novels include Aldous
Huxley's Brave New World , Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, and Orwell's own 1984.
The
most famous line from the book is “All animals are equal, but some are more
equal than others.” This line is emblematic of the changes that George Orwell
believed that followed the 1917 Communist Revolution in Russia.
Rather than eliminating the capitalist class system it was intended to
overthrow, the revolution merely replaced it with another hierarchy. The
line is also typical of Orwell's belief that those in power usually manipulate
language to their own benefit.
George Orwell's
message is very effectively communicated in the novel. He takes real life
people from the Russian Revolution and converts them into animals, showing the
same problems and the same situations. He also gives a dreary impression of
what the future may have been if things continued the way they were going.
Dr. Shipra
Kulsrestha teaches English in Govt. School Agra.
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