Comparative Analysis

The Handmaid’s Tale One Day in the Life of Ivan D Title, Author, Year, period Margaret Atwood’s novel “The Handmaid’s Tale” is a tour-de force, which was published in 1985 during the Feminist era. Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s “One Day In the Life of Ivan Denisovich” was published in 1962 following the downfall of Stalinist Russia. Genre Dystopian fiction Historical Fiction, Russian Literature Characteristics of the Genre Oppressed person, Oppressed state, happiness and society Influential period of someone’s life, providing wisdom with hindsight Purpose In the novel, Margaret Atwood creates a dystopian, futuristic society to illustrate how religion can be used to nullify women’s rights, a political tendency apparent all over the world. Margaret Atwood believes that novels should be about society as a whole, rather than characters’ specific lives. The novel is an inspiration of Alexander’s personal experience in the Soviet Gulag system, depicting the injustice and abuse of power inflicted upon Russian prisoners during the Stalinist era.