Breaking Society's Expectations

“Etiquette is all human social behavior. If you’re a hermit on a mountain, you don’t have to worry about etiquette; if somebody comes up the mountain, then you’ve got a problem…” This quote from American journalist, Judith Martin, illustrates the concept that the presence of others creates or inspires expectations. Social norms, or specific cultural expectations for how to behave in a given situation, are practiced throughout various societies and cultures across the planet. People relay on social norms to provide order and predictability in social situations. Social roles are the part people play as members of a social group. With each social role one plays, the behavior changes to fit the expectations both you and others have of that role. It is most common for people to conform to the guidelines provided by the roles we perform. When one does not conform to the social norms, it is considered abnormal behavior. For this assignment, I faced the challenge to disregard expectations of social roles and norms in society.

In today’s news we see many disruptions and inconsistencies in society, and, according to Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, humankind might be headed in that direction. The deterioration of society is a concept often explored biologically in novels, but less common, is the effect on everyday social constructs such as the position of women as a item that can be distributed and traded-in for a ‘better’ product. The Handmaid’s Tale elaborates the concept that, as societal discrimination towards women intensifies, gender equality deteriorates and certain aspects of societal freedoms are lost. Offred’s experience with serving Gilead demonstrates a victim’s perspective and shows how the occurring changes develope the Republic.

The Handmaid’s Tale revolves around the main character Offred and her determination to escape the totalitarian society she is trapped in. Treated as an object to bear children and repopulate a devastated America, Offred tries her best to relive memories in her mind to hold onto her family before. The text leads us through her journey and her attempt of escape from the fearful dominance.

Despite the little dependence on women, they are still objectified and subjected to injustice because of their gender, regardless if they were a female in general or as a poor female. As something as simple as what a person is born with affects the respect that is given to them. Margaret Atwood formulates Offred’s personality much like any other handmaid in the community. Offred becomes familiar with the functionality and role of women in the community, therefore she adjusts herself in order to be up to par with the unethical standard. “I wait. I compose myself. My self is a thing I must now compose, as one composes a speech. What I must present is a made thing, not something born. (Atwood, 75). To be what is required of her, Offred must act unhuman because the expectations of females exceed the

The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood describes the story of Offred, a Handmaid, that is a woman ascribed a breeding function by society, and who is placed with a husband and wife higher up the social ladder who need a child. Through Offred's eyes we explore the rigidity of the theocracy in which she lives, the contradictions in the society they have created, and her attempts to find solace through otherwise trivial things. The heroine is never identified except as Offred, the property of her current Commander, she was a modern woman: college-educated, a wife and a mother when she lost all that due to the change in her society. The novel can be viewed from one perspective as being a feminist depiction of the suppression of a woman, from another

All throughout the story Ralph shows us heroic qualities like: blowing the conch and having all the boys run to him. It shows that the boys look up to him as their hero to get them off the island. Even at at the end when all the boys chased him down trying to kill them. He still lead them all right to the naval officer. Showing us that he is the true hero of the story. At least Ralph stayed moral that meant he could live with himself without the weight of a person's death on his

Culture is what we make of it. The way we live in our country or in our own city can differ from others; the way we eat, what we eat, how we talk, how we act, ect… (Henslin, 2013) In every culture there are social norms, or unwritten rules that people in a culture comply with. To break a social norm would be considered deviant; to defy the way everyone else does something. (Henslin, 2013) To begin my research I decided to head to a local hot spot.

The novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, is a dystopian speculative fiction novel written by Margaret Atwood. It follows the story of Offred, who is a Handmaid living in post-apocalyptic Massachusetts during the Gilead Regime. Her job is to have sex with the Commander in order to produce a baby for him and his wife, Serena Joy. This is the one role for Handmaids in Atwood’s world because the fertility rates are drastically declining. Other environmental factors such as radioactivity and disease also make it more difficult for people to have children. The rest of the women in the Gilead are also split into different classes, each with its own roles. In this society, there are Marthas, Aunts, Econowives, the Commander’s Wives, and the Unwomen. Although these roles might be different, one thing is common: women’s rights have been severely oppressed since the rise of Gilead. Specifically, one common idea suggested by the novel is that women are expected to suppress their sexuality while men are not, and this

In the novel The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood tells of hardships endured by Offred, a young woman, whose only task in life is to bear children. In this dystopian world, the government has fallen, the world is plagued in nuclear waste, and the population has substantially dropped due to infertility. As a result, individuals are grouped into classes based on their bodies and its functions completely disregarding education, lifestyle, and personality. The novel is told through Offred’s point of view, a handmaid, who’s given to a commander to have his children. Ultimately, stripping individuals of their identity lead to rebellious actions as shown through those of the men in Gilead. Throughout the novel, the author depicts men as superior

In Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, The theme of gender, sexuality, and desire reigns throughout the novel as it follows the life of Offred and other characters. Attwood begins the novel with Offred, a first person narrator who feels as if she is misplaced when she is describing her sleeping scenery at the decaying school gymnasium. The narrator, Offred, explains how for her job she is assigned to a married Commander’s house where she is obligated to have sex with him on a daily basis, so that she can become pregnant and supply the Commander with a child. In addition, the uniform that Offred along with the other handmaids are required to wear is a red dress, which symbolizes blood. Offred has little to no freedom as she has duties assigned daily making her feel as if she is in prison. When she occasionally leaves the room she is confined to, Offred is always being watched over by someone else so that she is never alone when she is outside of her room. All through the novel, Offred has habitual flashbacks to different parts in her life. For example, she is nostalgic about her relationship and time spent with her mother, daughter, and husband Luke as she compares her new life to how it was before the regime. Furthermore, the regime denies public access towards acquiring new knowledge and language, limiting Offred’s potential. The Gileadean regime’s primary focus is rule over gender, sexuality, and desire.

Although handmaids were an integral part of society, their role was not looked as desirable by any means. Other women did not want to be in a handmaids position. Offred struggles with integrating and accepting the new laws and customs because she craves normality and power. Offred shares an unusual relationship with her commander. In most homes, the commander and handmaid have little to no interaction, except for their monthly attempt to conceive; Offred’s commander invites her to his chamber nightly, gifts her lotions and magazines, and makes her feel like her old self. She tells herself that she has power over the commander in these visits but she is being bought, and every item has a price, so she sets hers high: normality. As Offred becomes more accustomed to these visits, she craves more “power.” As Offred becomes more accustomed to these visits, she thinks about how she would like to steal something from her commanders chamber; when confronted by off maybe a pen but when asked to steal something of value, of information, she justifies her desire to steal and says its "....a small defiance of rule....like the candy I hoarded, as a

Novel and Film Analytical Paper: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood Thelma & Louise by Ridley Scott Sexism and gender roles have divided societies for centuries while the great feminist movement has impacted everybody. How women from the past and from the present struggle to managed their position in society as gender roles define their lives. Analyzing the novel The Handmaid’s Tales and the movie Thelma & Louise, I will evaluate, compare and contrast the advantages and drawbacks of the feminist movement. With completely different settings and scenarios, these two stories will have a struggle that will defined their ends. Analyzing these diverse turnouts; from a handmaid that wishes to get pregnant so her life has a meaning as a women,

In the Republic of Gilead, handmaids compose one level of the female social order, distinguished from other women as potential breeders. However, the title of handmaid comes with other duties as well, one of which is demonstrated by Offred as she leaves her commander’s house daily to obtain fresh food from local markets. According to Gilead law, the handmaids must go to the markets in pairs, and it is during one of these dichotomized outings that Offred observes her new walking partner, Ofglen. The initial observation that Offred makes about Ofglen’s physical appearance, primarily her distinction of the handmaid’s red colored habit, symbolizes the dehumanization of women by the government. Offred remarks the similarities in the costumes worn

​Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale is set in the unspecified future in the Republic of Gilead, which is ruled by a totalitarian theocracy. In Gilead, individuals are segregated and separated into categories that can be identified from one another by something as simple as their dress uniform/code. The narrator of this story, Offred (or June), belongs to the category of a Handmaid, which exists under the umbrella category of “legitimate women” along with Wives, Daughters, Aunts, Marthas and Econowives. Despite the already subordinate ranking of women in this society—just before the Republic was established, all women’s rights were taken from them— there is further separation and, thus, tension within the different groups of women

As well as being suppressed, the women in The Handmaid’s Tale struggle to grasp their identities. Forced to dress the same, talk the same, and act the same, Offred has trouble remembering who she was before the revolution. She is surrounded by people making sure she doesn’t step out of line. Offred is tasked with walking town to run errands but “[she isn’t] allowed to go there except in twos. Supposedly for [her] protection, but the truth