Oppression by Society Social Hierarchy in Handmaid’s Tale, 1984, Elysium and Nose Dive

The protagonist in dystopian societies often feel trapped and struggle to escape due to the oppression prevalent in their social hierarchy.

Undeniably, one of the most prevalent elements in dystopian texts is social class division. Often, dystopian texts offer us a lens to our own society; Margaret Atwood’s (2017) novel the Handmaid's tale, George Orwell’s (1949) novel 1984, Niell Blomkamp’s (2013) film Elysium and Joe Wright’s (2016) Black Mirror episode Nosedive are all flawless examples of this. These four texts provide an examination backdrop into the reality of the protagonist. The protagonist in these dystopian societies often feel trapped and struggle to escape due to the oppression prevalent in their social hierarchy. Handmaid’s tale, 1984, Elysium and Nose Dive all begs us to question elements in our own society and examine “do social hierarchies established in our society today share any common attributes with those of dystopian?” and forces us to re-examine our societal behaviours as a whole.

To a great extent, dystopian texts critique elements that are prevalent in our own society such as social class oppression. This can be seen to be true in George Orewell’s thought-provoking novel 1984 where society is divided into three distinct classes; inner party, outer party and the proles. Orwell invites us into the reality of the protagonist, Winston Smith, under the control of a totalitarianism government which allows readers to understand the difficulty of escaping such a society. Similarly, the social hierarchy in Elysium consists of people on Elysium being superior over people on earth. As a result, this makes it hard for the protagonist, Max DeCosta, to escape, both literally and metaphorically. Elysium's social hierarchy is similar to that of Joe Wright’s Nose Dive. In the black mirror episode, Nosedive depicts a dystopian world in which caste systems define one's roles within society; the class system views those with high ratings of importance and ostracizes those of low ratings. Lastly, in the Handmaid's Tale Gileadean social hierarchy, the oppressors are the commanders of the faithful who control the rest of society: Commanders, Wives, Aunts, Eyes, Handmaids.

Dystopian literature is intended to awaken the reader to the possibility of a future world and often acts as a social commentary on today's society. In 1984, the main character Winston initially conforms to the structure of the social hierarchy. As a member of the outer party, Winston fulfils his duties and complies to the rules out of fear of reprisal. However, we soon learn that Winson contradicts the wrongs of conformity and reveals how he conformed not because he liked it, but out of necessity for survival. Likewise, conformity also prevails in the social hierarchy of Gilead where Handmaids are forced to have sex once a month with the commander.

Although the handmaids do not want to engage in this, they have to comply with the rules and law of Gildean society, like Winston, out of survival. Both texts help us better understand that the totalitarianism regime controls individuals who do not conform to the prevailing social hierarchy in society thus reinforcing the challenges the protagonist experience being trapped. This conformity is also seen in the main character, Lacy, in Nosedive. In Nosedive, Lacy among all other citizens are forced to live a life based on conformity in order to retain social stability. For instance, when Lacy takes a smoothie from a person of a low rating she is judged and so does not take it. Like Winston and the Handmaids, in order to survive in a polarising society, Lacy has to conform to her social class and comply with the standards. The fact that these three main characters conform to the prevailing social hierarchies means that it is difficult to escape … This is particularly relevant to our own society where we can easily be influenced to change our own behaviours in order to fit into a group or social class. It is inarguable that It is human nature to at times conform as we desire to belong to a group.

Oppression within strict hierarchy causes protagonist to rebel- both use words. In all four texts, the notion of language exemplifies how it can be used as a means of oppression and an act of rebellion within their social class. In 1984, writing in his diary as a form of rebellion enables the main character, Winston Smith, to reconnect with his past and revive his memories, thereby remaining human in an oppressive society. Winston Smith's diary embodies resistance to the parties ideology and represents his unwillingness to surrender his real identity. This is similar to Atwood's novel the Handmaid's Tale where writing and reading are also banned. Unlike Winston, Offred does not write her story but instead ‘tapes’ her story.

This helps us to understand that she is rebelling against freedom of speech. In this dystopian society, reading and writing can offer these women an agency or remind them of their abilities. Thus, Offred’s narrative symbolises a brave act of resistance as it shows her reluctance to accept Gilead's new ideology. As a result, this empowers Offred to regain control over her body and mind, which has been disciplined and exploited by the state due to her social status as a Handmaid.

We also witness Offred playing scrabble with the commander. This both literally and metaphorically shows that Offred continues to hold the possession of words that she composes. The character of Offred shares similar characteristics to Lacy in Nose Dive. In Nosedive Lacy also rebels against her social hierarchy through narration. Lacy sets herself at odds with the regime and defies the social standards of society. During the wedding scene, Lacy expresses her true thoughts and feelings which leads to her being outcasted by her social class. Although set in different times, the three texts emphasise that the protagonist feels trapped within their social hierarchy.

Consequently, Winston, Offered and Lacy all use language as not only an escape mechanism but also a form of rebellion against their oppressive social class. In exploring this, it is clear that in these dystopian societies, the oppressive force has prohibited language to deny them of any power and thus the challenge of escaping such strict hierarchy prevails.