عبدالمحمد موحد

In this dissertation, the ways governments depicted in Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel, The Handmaid’s Tale and The Accusation: Forbidden Stories from inside North Korean written by Bandi have used fear to secure their rule have been studied. By using Michel Foucault’s theory of pain and punishment, appropriation of criminals, and disciplinary gaze, as well as Thomas Catlaw’s concept of the People, this thesis illustrates the function of fear, the factors that engender it and the outcomes of it in subjugating people. These strategies have been used as a means of depriving people from such concepts as individuality, independence, and civil rights. That is the reason why the societies in the mentioned works can be considered as dystopian types. This study tries to signify how the authoritarians depicted in these two works employ the same approach to hold their power and keep their authority. Although many studies have been done on Atwood’s novels, appropriate attention has not been paid to the role that fear plays in The Handmaid’s Tale. Bandi’s work has also not been critically looked into sufficiently. It is hoped that this study would shed new light on these works and contribute to the present knowledge about them.