Resistance And Survival

Margaret Atwood is one of the most influential writers in contemporary world literature. A versatile and prolific writer, Atwood has produced novels, criticism, poetry, essays and children's books. Most of these works focus on contemporary social and political issues. In an interview after the publication of The Handmaid's Tale, Atwood defines what she means by"politics":"What we mean is how people relate to a power structure and vice versa."This definition of"politics"explains Atwood's concern about social realities: her scrutiny of relations between men and women, her engagement with questions of Canada's national identity, her concern with the basic human rights of people living at the bottom of different societies, and her anxiety about environmental damage. Based on a comprehensive study of Atwood's works, this present dissertation investigates the theme of"resistance and survival"throughout her writings. This dissertation consists of six parts.The"Introduction"introduces"resistance"as the core of postcolonial theory and gives a definition of Atwood's view of"resistance and survival". Through a general review of the Atwood criticism in recent years, I contend that, in recent studies, there has been a lack of overall evaluation of Atwood's works. I then argue that Atwood's theme of"resistance and survival"corresponds to much of the concerns of feminism, postcolonial theory and ecocriticism which are interrelated in the way that they all follow the strategy of deconstructing logocentrism.Chapter One discusses how women in Atwood's works, in order to survive, resist oppression from the patriarchal society. On one hand, they dismantle male hegemony through subverting traditional female characters in literary classics; on the other hand, they employ quilt-making as a way to reconstruct their own identities and strengthen solidarity among themselves. Chapter Two presents a picture of what Atwood sees as Canada's awkward situation in the postcolonial world, demonstrating how to her it can survive both the trappings of British colonialism and America's cultural and economic imperialism. I argue that, in Atwood's eyes, the Canadians should track down the cultural root by turning to their national culture and resist colonial domination by seeking"a third language", that is, while rejecting the metropolitan power over the means of communication, the Canadians should remold the language of the center to express Canada's unique experience.Chapter Three focuses on Atwood's treatment of those who suffer in totalitarian regimes and under colonial oppression. Through a study of this submerged population in Atwood's writing, I explain what Atwood sees as the root of their sufferings and the way for them to survive in this lost world. Atwood expresses her opposition to hegemonic power, and she exhibits the ways for the subaltern to overcome all kinds of oppression.Chapter Four looks into Atwood's reflection on man's plundering of nature and nature's revenge. Pointing to the ecological disaster delineated in Atwood's works: the disastrous destruction of both the organic and inorganic life in the natural world and man's alienation in the process of destroying the nature, I contend that environmental problems are a reflection of the problems of human beings: natural disasters caused by the abuse of technology, anthropocentrism as the source of ecological crisis and the crisis of civilization and nature brought about by human greed.In my"Conclusion", I point out that Atwood's investigation into the problems surrounding women, race, class and ecology can perhaps be summed up as a general critique of logocentrism. The way to cast away anthropocentrism for humans is, according to Atwood, to get rid of their inflated egos in the face of nature, and to solve environmental problems, man should make up for his own limitations and eliminate the sources of Eurocentrism, orientalism, racialism and patriarchalism.