Camus wrote that “the world is ugly and cruel, but it is only by adding to that ugliness and cruelty that we sin more grievously ”.Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Dystopian novels can be both a mirror and a magnifying glass, reflecting our world and exaggerating aspects of it to create their own nightmarish realities. However, much dystopian fiction is not simply intended to increase the ugliness and cruelty in the world. In reality its purpose is completely opposite: to warn against the serious "sin" described by Camus. By looking into a fictional universe, we are shown what could happen to our very existence if these warnings were not heeded. The barren desolation of Cormac McCarthy's The Road and the totalitarian oppression of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale are simply extensions of modern humanity. Despite the dystopian nature of both novels, key themes of love and humanity are also present. It is this degree of hope that allows both works to be taken as warnings, rather than nothing more than nihilistic prophecies of doom. Both written in the West in the modern era, the novels, and their readers, focus on the key issues of the day, such as the environmental problems facing the world and humanity's increasingly questioned relationship with God. Contextualized by the nationalities of both novelists and from the right-wing, global control of American politics in the decades surrounding the creation of both texts, there is a viable political reading of the novels as critiques of the dominant political structures under which they were written: in the case of The Road, a critique of the consumerism and environmental abuse inherent in these systems, while The Handmaid's Tale focuses on the abuse of power and reduction of human rights. The exploration of God, religion and their places in the 21st century is present in both novels. The Handmaid's Tale appears to be a warning against authoritarian societies born out of extremist monotheism, as seen for example in modern Iran. Atwood's Gilead, and its perversion of religion for the purpose of control, highlights the dangers that can be created when religion is abused. Atwood herself states that “such dictatorships obtain initial consensus by justifying their actions in the name of the beliefs most dear to their subjects.” However, it is not religion itself that seems to be criticized by Atwood, but humanity's practice of distorting ideologies to its own advantage. There is much conflict in the novel between the use of religion to exploit and control and the humanitarian aspects that underpin religion: for example the intentional and misinterpretation of biblical passages to vindicate the more arcane practices of the Gilead regime, like surrogacy and public executions, it is in direct conflict with the hope and love shown by Offred that helps her survive her oppression. The exploration of religion in The Road is altogether more complex and unclear. The book is full of religious images and references to God, but could be interpreted validly by both atheists and believers. Echoing Waiting for Godot, a strong existentialist thread runs through the entire novel, presented in the minimalist and Beckettian language, in the frequent use of ellipses and in the apparently abandoned world, but this is contrasted by the messianic figure of the Boy and the traditionally Christian themes of pilgrimage, love and hope. The devastated world in which the novel is set could also be a commentary on God; orin support of its existence or against it. The “dry, silent, and godless” earth seems to refute the concept of Natural Revelation, the idea that God's majesty manifests itself and is demonstrated through the beauty of his creation, the natural world. The harsh and unforgiving landscape does not fit into the image created by the Christian scriptures, which say that “the heavens declare the glory of God; the heavens proclaim the work of his hands" (Psalms 19:1) and that "since the creation of the world the invisible qualities of God, his eternal power and his divine nature, have been clearly seen and understood from what is been done” (Romans 1:20). ). However, a believer can point to the eternal power of Nature that is shown in the book through both the final section and the fact that the world has survived the human race as evidence of Natural Revelation. Of course, the allusions to God are deliberately cryptic (e.g. "If He is not the word of God, God never spoke") - McCarthy does not appear to reveal a moral position on religion, but only an exploration of God's need for divinity. 'humanity. Perhaps the closest thing to his ideas is when we read "there is no God and we are his prophets". God is a human necessity, whether he exists or not. Dystopian fiction is often set in a world that has suffered some sort of disaster, a physical manifestation of the moral corruption that has taken hold. Both novels are set after the environmental disasters of human creation, but details remain largely unspecified. This refusal to elaborate on the part of both authors may be a commentary on the fact that there are actually too many possible causes to warn about, be they nuclear, climate change-related, or otherwise. It may be that this lack of explanation is also a comment on the fact that such a disaster is inevitable and cannot be prevented or warned against. Through his description of the hellish “colonies” and the crucial decline in humanity's fertility that underlies Gilead's coup, Atwood is making an environmentalist point. His comments paint a clear “portrait of what life will be like in the future if people continue to ignore the increasingly permanent damage done to our ecological systems.” However, it is in The Road that man's relationship with nature is explored most fully. Throughout the book, natural phenomena are described as hostile towards the characters, with a pathetic fallacy often used: "the cold, autistic darkness". Yet this animosity is a creation of humanity itself: it is because of humanity's actions that environmental issues have arisen. The ending of the novel seems to be completely incongruous: the poetic language and beautiful natural images are in stark contrast to the bleak outlook of the novel. It is here that we are shown the true meaning of nature: it is “older than man” and full of “mystery,” giving it a much higher status than that of humanity. An environmentalist might interpret this as an instruction to humanity to treat our environment with even greater respect than we have for ourselves. This is linked to the idea of ​​consumerism and humanity's tendency to take without thinking of giving back. The Road is set in a world ravaged by this consumerism: capitalist societies have collapsed having exhausted their natural resources, but even then, The Man and The Boy are forced to live by plundering the earth, taking what they can. Men have even taken consumerism to its most violent extremes, resorting to cannibalism to survive. One of the strongest representations of consumerism is manifested in the shopping cart: dilapidated, with wheels falling off, it represents the failures of consumerism and the impossibilityof its sustainability. However, it is equally strongly symbolized in the can of “Coke” that the Boy drinks. By referencing one of the companies synonymous with consumerism, and then describing it in such positive terms, McCarthy admits the appeal of the consumerist lifestyle. “Really good” and “bubbly” are two of the most positive descriptions in the entire novel, but the fact that this experience is so transitory and superficial is a further commentary on the limited nature of consumerism. The fact that strands of consumerism still persist, even in a world that has been ravaged by that same lifestyle, could be seen as both a warning and a pessimistic lament: we, the readers, are warned to change our consumerist ways, but they are also exposed to the inevitability of our destructive flaws, leaving two equally viable but diametrically opposed responses to Camus' quote and the response given. A theme that both novels address very openly is the relationship between parent and child. The bond between father and son is the very essence of The Road, and Offred's relationship with her daughter is central to the survival of her personal identity. The beauty and intimacy of the bond shared between The Man and The Boy is almost inexplicably powerful. The child is entirely dependent on his father for protection and survival and it is only through him that the boy has contact with the world of the past, however tenuous that contact is. However, the Man is just as reliant on his son: his entire purpose is to take care of this child. He even says to his son, “If you died, I would want to die too.” The purity and simplicity of this dynamic, in the face of a world so brutal and devoid of love, is not only a powerful exploration of love but also a message to the reader: appreciate this love and treasure it above all else, because when everything else is over gone, it will continue to last. The same value is emphasized in The Handmaid's Tale. Offred uses her memories and love for her son to preserve her individuality amid the oppression of Gilead. He has a reason to survive and rebel against the regime: to find his daughter. Even when she doubts that the little girl is still alive, Offred's love for her daughter and need for a reason to continue proves stronger than her doubts. This is another message of hope overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds. However, the contrasting ways in which the two novels approach this theme reveal much about their author's intentions. While this Parent/Child relationship is the central theme of The Road, while any moral and social discussion that is uncovered plays a secondary role, it is the opposite in Atwood's novel, where the questions asked relating to the morality of humanity seem more important . with respect to the human issues that are included. Given that parental relationships are so central to both novels, it could be said that only a parent's reading will fully experience both works, and that those without children are unable to access the novels on certain levels. The Handmaid's Tale is dystopian literature in its true sense. Echoing Orwell's 1984 and Huxley's Brave New World, he follows the tradition of using his creation as a means to open moral discussion; we are forced to look at our ethics and practices and reevaluate them. Atwood's strict adherence to his factual basis (“I couldn't put anything in the novel that humans haven't actually done”) shows that his intention is for us to examine modern life and our behavior. The fact that Offred seems to escape the regime offers hope for the good of humanity, even if the levity and gender of the lecturer in the Historical Notes seem.