All authors have their own ways of writing literary pieces. From the ways they unfold a plot to detailing a character's profile, every aspect of an author's literary styles differ from another. This is very evident when comparing the books, The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood, and A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens. These two Authors have major differences in the ways they write as well as similarities, mostly because of the very different time periods of the books, as A Tale of Two Cities was published in 1859, compared to 1985 when The Handmaid’s Tale was published.
The first and possibly most obvious difference is the genres the two authors use. Charles Dickens wrote A Tale of Two Cities in a historical drama way where Margaret Atwood used a science fiction approach. Now, neither of these two styles are completely non-fiction, which is a similarity, but Dickens’ book is written off true events compared to Atwood, who wrote in the future. The events in A Tale of Two Cities may not have actually happened, but both London and Paris went through revolutions where the top monarchs were overthrown by lower class citizens, and people were put in jail on completely false accusations. The Handmaid's Tale, while not impossible, but the the events that took place in this book probably will not happen, at least in the near future.
The two authors also have quite different writing styles. Because Dickens wrote his book more than one hundred years before Atwood did, he has what seems like much more lofty diction. Although this was just the norm back in the 1800’s, compared to now words like besmirch (smear as to make dirty or stained) and bacchanalian (used of riotously drunken merrymaking) look very intelligent. Another difference in writing style that the two books do have, is the point of view that they are written in. A Handmaid’s Tale is written in the first person point of view by the character Offred. Just about all of the book is her telling us (the reader) her story and her past life. On the contrary, A Tale of Two Cities has a narrator who is never identified, that knows all the characters and tells their stories.
A small but notable similarity of the two authors in these pieces were the book’s structure. Although not exactly alike, both books were made up of full, exciting chapters that were never too short and left out information. This also applies to the sentences. Similar to the paragraphs, both Atwood and Dickens wrote with eventful, and lively sentences to make the books flow and keep the audience in tune.
Finally, the last big difference that is very noticeable was the way the two authors used characters. In A Tale of Two CIties, all the characters were introduced and briefly described, but not very many of them got full descriptions, leaving the reader the opportunity to imagine how the characters look to themselves. Also, Dickens jumps around a few times, focusing between the two topics of the french and english revolution. Although it all intertwines, his style creates a sort of confusing book because the reader must pay attention to events happening on both parts to understand the book well. When looking at The Handmaid’s Tale, the main character, Offred, is described in full, leaving little room to think up a colorful image of her. The rest of the characters aren't as described as her, but they are all given a thoughtful explanation. But, for the entire book Offred is the one telling the story, minimizing confusion. Within these differences, there are small similarities, too. In both writings, characters make special bonds with other characters that are evident throughout the entirety. It is clear in both who the main characters are and who they like and dislike.
The way Margaret Atwood wrote is an easier to understand type of style. The more modern language provided better comprehension of her book, which results in a better read. Also, since the Handmaid’s Tale was written in a first person perspective, rather than a third person view, it allowed us as the reader to create stronger bonds with characters because we got to really see how the main character got to interact with others.
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