How have writers explored a social or intellectual concern in at least two works you have

studied?
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien

In Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid's Tale and Tim O’Briens The Things They Carried, characters
are faced with the intellectual concern of the way in which one may express oneself in the face of
loneliness. An intellectual concern pertains to an issue that an individual must deal with internally.
Loneliness lives inside the mind, and although it may infect one's lifestyle or be caused by external forces,
it is a state of being rooted in one's mind. In both The Handmaid's Tale and The Things They Carried
characters experience loneliness due to the isolative nature of the environment that they are in. By
comparing the ways in which these characters express themselves when faced with loneliness we may
further our understanding of Atwood and O’Brien’s intended message.
Most do not simply give in to loneliness, compromises, and small delusions are created to soothe the
mind. Both Offred of The Handmaid's Tale and Norman Bowker of The Things They Carried converse
with themselves, creating internal dialogue to compensate for their lack of company. Offred, the
protagonist, and narrator of the novel live inside her head. As her interactions with others are limited a
large portion of the novel consists of her thoughts and memories. Delusions of the past create ”a story
[she’s] telling, in [her] head” (Atwood, 31). With the intention of allowing her desires to actualize in any
form possible. O’Brien uses Bowker as an example of the loneliness those who return from war face. As
Bowker desperately attempts to justify his existence, he retreats into his mind, discussing his thoughts
with himself. With no one to talk to, he must live inside his memories of the past, talking to former
images of his friends and family. “Now Max was just an idea” an idea Bowker held onto in the hopes of
being understood by anyone, even if they are not truly around (O’Brien, 88). In doing so O’Brien created
an escape from Bowker's loneliness.
Both novels allow their characters an internal escape from their loneliness, however, the reason why
Offred and Bowker must take part in this method of coping vary. Atwood creates a society that controls
its people through fear. Scare tactics and physical punishments become commonplace, disobedience is
met with death. Secret police, in the form of the eyes, and individuals who truly believe in what Gilead
stands for are interspersed in the population. Doubt spreads between individuals, with no limit to Gilead's
cruelty one never knows what they have to lose. In the face of fear Offred may only imagine her
punishment, “They know where my child is. What if they bring her, threaten something to her, in front of
me” (Atwood, 198). This is the fear that controls her actions, this is the fear that forces Offred to cope
with her loneliness internally. The reason for Bowker's method of coping does not come from external
forces such as Offreds, it comes from his internal conflicts. Shame prevents Bowker from speaking.
O’Brien creates this push and pull inside of Bowker's Head, he so desperately wants to tell his story
however he can not do so until coming to terms with himself. He’s ashamed of what he did, and so he
keeps it to himself, dodging every opportunity to speak his mind. His internal conflict is the reason for his
isolation, and one can not be remedied without the other.
Internal dialogue is not the only way in which individuals cope with loneliness, they may attempt to
regain power. Power does not necessarily mean force must be used, it may simply be gaining a feeling of
superiority over one's oppressor. During the middle section of The Handmaid's Tale, Offred preserves a
shift in power due to her engagement with the commander. Through the thoughts of Offred Atwood
shows the superiority felt from her new position, ‘[she] was taking something away from [Serena joy]”
(Atwood, 111). Although the oppressive reign of Gilead extends much further than Serena Joy, she
directly imposes on Offred's freedom. The small displays of superiority act as a way in which Offred
copes with her loneliness, thus she is her most immediate oppressor. Tim O’Brien also demonstrates the
idea that small acts in the hopes of regaining power may soothe one’s loneliness. Tim O’Brien, the
fictional character, is met with surreal loneliness when seeing his platoon again after being injured for
some time in the chapter “ghost stories”. O’Brien allows his character to feel an array of emotions “It was
anger, partly, but it was also a sense of pure and total loss” (O’Brien, 126). To escape this crushing feeling
Tim attempted to assert his superiority over Jorgenson, the medic that caused him so much pain, through
fear. Although a feeling of superiority did not dissipate Offreds or Tims loneliness, it served as a way to
temporarily cope with it.
Both Margaret Atwood and Tim O’Brien create characters in their respective novels that are deeply
lonely. They allow their characters to express and cope with their loneliness through the internalization of
their thoughts as well as attempts to feel superior to their oppressors. Although the reason why they must
keep their loneliness to themselves differs, the loneliness and how it is dealt with connects these
characters from two disconnected novels. Atwood and O’Brien attempt to show the readers the
individuality and innate humanity their characters possess through these displays done out of loneliness.