Atwood has written about Orwell as a direct model, including an introduction to 1984 itself, and the structural borrowing is unmistakable: both novels end with an academic appendix set long after the regime has fallen. Orwell closes on a note about Newspeak; Atwood closes on the Symposium on Gileadean Studies, where a professor makes jokes about the woman whose recording we have just heard. Both devices do the same work, telling you the tyranny ended without letting that be a comfort.