Fiction Or Reality : All Too Familiar World Of The Speculative Fiction Novels Of Margret Atwood

Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale is a postmodern text written with the goal of shocking society out of indifference to modern issues, in essence it is a warning tale. Atwood uses post-modern ideas throughout the text, most notable of these are her commentary on the complexities and fallibilities of truth as a concept. The Handmaid’s Tale is to be read as both a recount of events and a construct of events, to be known as stage 1 and stage 2 respectively. The Handmaid’s Tale emphasises the issues present in society in the context of Atwood’s writing period, the 1980’s, although those same issues can be seen in the world presented in the historical noted, although slightly toned down, reflecting the idea that history is cyclic.

Characterisation is important in any short story as it helps to make the story that little bit more appealing, because it’s a short story, it is important to get the characterisation right as we don’t have hundreds of pages to learn about the character, in fact we only really have a page or two, maybe even less depending on the story, we might only have paragraphs to learn about the character. When looking at characterisation in the short story, you have too keep in mind, which character catches your eye? Is it the main character? Is it a supporting character? Why do they appeal to you? How does the author of the short story portray and reveal the character? The idea of characterisation is literally an act of describing certain characteristics,

If there was no characters, there would be no story. Characters make up a story, along with other aspects of course, but characters come with different types of personalities. With the characters and their personalities it can create different types of moods for the readers. The characters bring these moods in stories such as a scary story, which is very important. Characters make the story have mystery and suspense. In the story Where is Here, by Joyce Carol Oates, the author uses one of the characters in the story to create a mysterious mood because he was very strange. With the character being strange it builds mystery by making the reader want to know what his next move is. The author uses characters to establish many characteristics

Margaret Atwood's renowned science fiction novel, The Handmaid's Tale, was written in 1986 during the rise of the opposition to the feminist movement. Atwood, a Native American, was a vigorous supporter of this movement. The battle that existed between both sides of the women's rights issue inspired her to write this work. Because it was not clear just what the end result of the feminist movement would be, the author begins at the outset to prod her reader to consider where the story will end. Her purpose in writing this serious satire is to warn women of what the female gender stands to lose if the feminist movement were to fail. Atwood envisions a society of extreme changes in

Characters play a major role in ensuring that the novels can be read and comprehended. However, the success of a novel is dependent on the quality of characterization and whether they will attract the

THE OPPRESSION OF WOMEN IN ATWOOD’S THE HANDMAID’S TALE AND THEIR WAYS OF RESISTING THE REGIME

In Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood writes about a dystopia society. Atwood used situations that were happening during the time she began writing her novel, for example, women’s rights, politics, and in religious aspects. Atwood’s novel is relevant to contemporary society. There are similarities between Atwood’s novel and our society today, which lends to the possibility that our modern society might be headed to a less intense version of this dystopia society.

One of the many sad aspects of The Handmaid’s Tale is that the women who are subjected to abuse and discrimination soon comply with the roles that have been assigned to them, permitting abuse and exploitation against and amongst themselves. Atwood is not particularly hopeful about women as a means of changing the conditions in which they are living in this society. Even Offred’s eventual escape from the perverted system is more of a luck luck thing than determined will. Paying particular attention to the ending of the novel, this essay will argue that the author wants to call the reader’s attention to the problems that women suffer, but that she offers no solution or hope for change. I will be addressing three different literary devices in this essay; Repetition, Characterization, and Foreshadowing. I hope you enjoy.

Characters are used to help develop a theme and create a more relatable story. In the book, “Out of the Dust” by Karen Hesse, Billie Jo and her father stay strong through the dust bowl and the death of their family members. Billie Jo and daddy, from “Out of the Dust”, helped to develop the theme that when you’re at the end of the rope, tie a knot and hold on because of how they persevere through their hardships. Daddy shows persistence in how he never lets his sadness overcome him. First, even though his wife was gone, he never stopped digging the pond.

The result of these characteristics give each story suspense and mystery, leaving the readers wondering what each character will do next and what further action will take place. Characters hold a primary role in determining the outcome of a story, which is the reasoning behind the many similarities and differences among literary characters. Also, a clear example is the similar plots with two completely different outcomes. Once the audience understands a character, they are capable of building on their existing knowledge to foreshadow events or understand the text more logically, which is evident when reading these

The minor characters in a story can play such a major role. In the novel, “The Strange Case of Dr .Jekyll and Mr.Hyde” by Robert Louis Stevenson, the readers are introduced to several minor characters, such as Lanyon, Enfield, Carew, and Poole, who help advance the plot. Hastie Lanyon was an old friend of Jekyll who wrote a letter to Utterson about what he witnessed, Richard Enfield told the story of the door , Sir Danvers Carew was murdered by Hyde, and Poole was Jekyll’s butler who got Utterson for help. These minor characters play a major role in the plot.

In this essay I will be comparing two dystopian novels, Handmaid's tale by Margaret Atwood, and The Man In The High Castle by Philip K. Dick. Both of these books being popular pieces of dystopian literature from the mid 20th century although, the novels were spaced out by about 20 years give or take. I think these books are similar in many ways while also sending out very different messages and seeing a dystopian past from a different point of view. Margaret Atwood’s piece follows a women called Offred (renamed by the new government put into place) and the new role her and many other women have been forced to take up by the Republic of Gilead (The new and not so great United States). The Man In The High Castle takes a different approach, showing

The two novels, The Handmaid’s Tale and Indian Horse, are moving, first-person novels of personal difficulty in a narrow-minded and controlled environment. In this essay, I will reveal a multitude of similarities and differences between the two books, focusing on the settings and the similarities between the two societies, as well as the differences between the key characters.

Not only do the roles of the characters compel a reader, they also illustrate the

   American society has had certain cultural and political forces which have proliferated over the past few decades-described as the return to traditional Christian values. Television commercials promoting family values followed by endorsements from specific denominations are on the rise. As the public has become more aware of a shift in the cultural and political climate through the mass media, Margaret Atwood, in writing The Handmaid's Tale, could have been similarly affected by this growing awareness of the public consciousness. This may have led Atwood to write of a bleak future for the country where a new regime is established and one religion becomes so powerful as to