Survival Dilemma And Ethical Reconstruction In Atwood’s Speculative Fictions

“The Handmaid’s Tale” series and “Madd Addam” series are both survival stories by Margaret Atwood.There is an emphasis on “other worlds” in the future that extend from the “past”(i.e.our present)to the “future of the future”.Atwood refers to this type of fiction as “speculative fiction” and proposes the term “ustopia” to describe its characteristics.“ustopia” implies that “speculative fiction” is based on history and current problems,warning of future dangers.Moreover,in the fictional future of dystopia,there is a utopia of hope.While allegorizing the present,Atwood always maintains a sense of confidence in the future.There is continuity and relevance between the “The Handmaid’s Tale”series and “Madd Addam” series in terms of story structure and inner meaning.Therefore,we consider them to be “speculative fiction” for systematic study,and look to “other worlds” as a starting point for exploring Atwood’s insights into the dilemma of human existence and her thoughts on ethical reconstruction.There are three parts to this paper: the Introduction,the Body,and the Conclusion.The Body is divided into three chapters.Chapter one focuses on the dilemmas of survival in “other worlds”,exploring the spiritual crisis that survivors face when trapped.From the fundamentalist totalitarian state depicted in The Handmaid’s Tale,to the technological age of Oryx and Crake,to the atavistic utopia of Madd Addam.It is the irrationality of the social order and the rootlessness of the value basis of the three “other worlds” that leaves the survivors suspended between the old and the new worlds.There is a lack of subjectivity,multiple internal otherness,and ambiguity of identity among these survivors.Two aspects of the dystopian future are presented in the novel: the general social dilemma and the individual spiritual crisis.In the second chapter,we examine breakout strategies in the dilemma of survival.There is a discussion of the significance and practical enlightenment associated with different forms of resistance to individual survival and ethical reconstruction.Throughout the novel,characters always struggle between taking responsibility and appealing to the subject.Over time,Atwood shifted her focus from self-identity to the reconstruction of the inter-subject ethical relationship.As part of her aim,she will discuss the possibility of constructing subjectivity and reconstructing ethical life under the ideal of pluralism.As a result,the novel concludes in the form of an “apocalypse” that action and freedom are effective ways to create “possible life” and reestablish ethics.It shows Atwood’s faith and determination to rebuild utopia in dystopia.In the third chapter,we explore the narrative-ethical dimension of the existential dilemma.By combining the dark picture of dystopia with the confidence in rebuilding utopia in the first and second chapters,it clarifies the narrative strategy and the realistic value of “ustopia” in Atwood’s “speculative fiction”.On the one hand,narrative is a unique way of survival.It can be helpful to understand the ethical direction of Atwood’s narrative strategy by analyzing the survival intentions behind witness literature and fragmented narratives.On the other hand,the “ustopia” established in Atwood’s “speculative fiction”combines social criticism of literature and its aesthetic value.As a result,the interaction of literature,aesthetics,science,and technology can be reexamined.