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Essay exploring the statement 'Modern writers are characterised by a sense of nostalgia for the past' using Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Handmaid's Tale$6.23
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- Essay that explores the authors' viewpoints in relation to the statement, which is integral for an A Level Essay
- Is a good example of an essay that explores nuanced points whilst being understandable
‘Modern writers are characterised by a sense of nostalgia for the past.’ Compare the
presentation of history in two of the texts you have studied.
Neither Williams nor Atwood is characterised by nostalgia for the past, but their
criticisms of the past are different. Atwood’s 1985 novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, explores her
concerns surrounding nostalgia of social conservatism that erupted in the 1970s as a
reaction to second wave feminism as it attempted to return to a more repressive time for
women. This contrasts Williams because he is critical of humanity and consequently has no
nostalgia or hope for the future. Williams uses Cat on a Hot Tin Roof to critique the American
dream and 1950s American society and is broad in his lack of belief of goodness in human
nature. Both writers display the damaging effects of nostalgia but Atwood is more concerned
with how nostalgia is twisted, whereas Williams' lack of hope makes his play observational
but less of a warning than Atwood’s novel. This is because Atwood believes something can
be done to fight this nostalgia and she offers hope to fight against social conservatism. In
contrast, Williams offers no optimism or potential change for a better society as he believes
humanity is fundamentally flawed and immoral.
Neither writer is characterised by nostalgia for the past, rather Atwood is warning the
reader of the nostalgia which fuelled 1970s social conservatism and Williams’ portrayal of his
bleak truth of humanity critiques both the past and the present. Atwood is concerned with
how nostalgia for a more theocratic state would repress and affect women. Consequently,
Atwood uses Gilead to explore her concerns on how a theocracy would force women back
into less powerful positions and attempt to control them. She has done this by incorporating
lots of aspects of different societies and how they attempted to oppress women into her
dystopian society, Gilead; different to Williams who explores the society in which he was
living in. This means that the horrific normalities of Gilead are made more threatening and
worrying for the reader because they are parts of actual history rather than fictional.
Moreover, Atwood uses the historical notes to further express her worries about a desire for
a return to a more conservative society. In the historical notes, one reason that is put forward
for a declining birth rate is the ‘widespread availability of birth control … including abortion’.
This is an argument which was frequently put forward by the social conservatives in the
1970s and 80s, demonstrating that Atwood is targeting and attempting to shut down their
arguments. However, Atwood does offer a more positive view of nostalgia as she argues that
it can be beneficial when used as a form of rebellion in order to remind humans who are
struggling of joyful and better moments in life. For example, Offred’s memories of Moira, her
mother, husband and child all allow her to connect a past before the consequences of social
conservatism fully affected her life. However, this does not mean that Atwood’s writing is
characterised by nostalgia because the reason Offred is being nostalgic is because the
nostalgia for a theocratic state and stricter rules has been imposed. Atwood is arguing that
personal individual nostalgia can be beneficial as a comfort and in order to fight oppression,
overall, Atwood is concerned by societal nostalgia that wants society to return to more
traditional gender values that would repress and remove women’s rights and freedoms.
Additionally, although Williams is also not nostalgic for the past, his dissatisfaction with
society is much more widespread than Atwood’s. Williams uses his play to criticise the
present and all that encompasses: homophobia and the denial of homosexuality in 1950s
America, the construct of the American dream and the mendacious nature of humanity. He
does this through Brick and his internalised homophobia that causes him to turn to alcohol.
As well as this Brick and Maggie ‘occupy the same cage’, highlighting how their marriage -
which represents the perfect American ideal - has broken down. Additionally, as this is a play
and performed on stage, the visual effects - a method which Atwood cannot use - would
have shown the division between the couple as they are in separate rooms. Moreover, by
suggesting that both are trapped in the same ‘cage’, Williams is not suggesting that they are
trapping each other, rather that society has ensnared both of them by putting pressure on
them to appear as if they are living the perfect American lifestyle. Williams then extends this
throughout the play as there is a sense of hopelessness with the cyclical nature, highlighting
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