Handmaids tale

In the novel The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood depicts a near-future world in which Christian theonomy has overthrown the United States Government, and all of the women’s rights are taken from them. The novel is told from the perspective of a woman who is living in the new world and how she survives it, as well as how she ended up in this horrendous position. Atwood’s novel has been read by millions of individuals throughout the years, leaving many with different perspectives on it. This critical response will examine how liberals and conservatives have interpreted the novel in different manners.

Margaret Atwood 's The Handmaid 's Tale analyzes human nature by presenting an internal conflict in Offred: acceptance of current social trends (victim mentality) -vs- resistance for the sake of individual welfare and liberties (humanity). This conflict serves as a warning to society, about the dangers of the general acceptance of social evils and boldly illustrates the internal struggle that rebels face in choosing to rebel.

The novel, “The Handmaid’s Tale”, by Margaret Atwood, explores the role of women in a fictional patriarchal society. Women in the novel are seen as property of a man and they live under a strict set of enforced rules and guidelines that male society has deemed appropriate. These patriarchal beliefs are so entrenched in the society that many women either believe the ideals or have been subconsciously influenced by society. Most of the women in the novel were “products of society” with their personalities being heavily attributed into the culture that they were now immersed in. A major theme of “The Handmaid’s Tale”, by Margaret Atwood, is the skewed sense of freedom and power that the women have developed; seen in the value placed on children, the women’s interactions with one another, and the clear presence of suicide.

The central social hierarchy within the novel is the gender hierarchy, placing men in a position of extreme power. This is evident in every aspect of the book, as the entire Gilead society is male dominated. The Commander is at the top of the hierarchy and is involved with designing and establishing the current society taking control of a nation of women, and exploiting their power by controlling what is taught, what they can teach themselves and the words that they can use. Soon all of the women will become brainwashed, simply because it is made nearly impossible to defy the rules

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood is set in a future time period where the United States is under the control of the Gileadean regime. A terrorist attack leads to the collapse of Congress, the suspension of the Constitution, and the establishment of a theocratic totalitarian government. Men and women are given roles within society; they are Commanders, Eyes, Handmaids, and Marthas. In this novel, Atwood explores a prominent social issue, feminism. The suppression and power of women are examined through the setting and characterization of the novel to help understand the meaning of the novel as a whole.

In this brave new world, women are subjugated to the will and authority of men and divided into eight distinct classes. Wives are perched atop this government-mandated social strata, followed by daughters and then “handmaids,” a concubine class tasked with the job of continuing the human race, as sterility is on the rise. (Why ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ is the Prestige Miniseries We Need Right Now)

In the book The Handmaid 's Tale by Margaret Atwood, the foremost theme is identity, due to the fact that the city where the entire novel takes place in, the city known as the Republic of Gilead, often shortened to Gilead, strips fertile women of their identities. Gilead is a society that demands the women who are able to have offspring be stripped of all the identity and rights. By demeaning these women, they no longer view themselves as an individual, but rather as a group- the group of Handmaids. It is because of the laws that have been established that individuality has been demolished. From these points that will be raised, it can be concluded that a handmaid’s role in Gilead is more important than their happiness, and mental wellbeing.

In her book, “The Handmaid’s Tale”, Margaret Atwood describes a dystopian society in which all of the progress in the feminist movement that was made during the twentieth century is reversed and the nation is reverted back to its traditional patriarchal ways. The story is told from the point of view of Offred, a woman who was separated from her husband and child and forced into the life of a handmaid. In this book, Atwood explores the oppression of women through her use of literary tools such as figurative language, symbols, and literary allusions.

Margaret Atwood is author that is most famously known for her use of feminism in her literary works. The Handmaid’s Tale is among one of the most well known books for its critique of feminism. Feminism is described as the advocating for women's rights for equality to men on all levels, including social, political, and economical. Atwood’s novel centers around a dystopian culture in which women’s rights are disregarded by the state, men, and fellow women. After the birth rate started to decline, the state decided to take control by creating a new society in which reproduction was the main focus. The men did not lose their right when the new society was formed, creating a patriarchal society. A disunity was created within the various rankings of women in

In The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood explores the role that women play in society and the consequences of a countryís value system. She reveals that values held in the United States are a threat to the livelihood and status of women. As one critic writes, “the author has concluded that present social trends are dangerous to individual welfare” (Prescott 151).

Imagine growing up in a society where all women are useful is to reproduce. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood is an excellent novel of what could potentially be the fate of the future one day. The main character, Offred, moves into a new home where she is there to perform “rituals” with the Commander, head of the house, so she can hopefully reproduce herself. The Commander is a key character for he can get rid of Offred if he does not like her and he has all the power. The two end up having a secret relationship where Offred begins to trust him. In the book the Commander is portrayed as a pretty trustworthy character to Offred, however the movie adaptation was the complete opposite. There are three important scenes that portray the Commander differently from the movie in comparison to the book serving to create a different mood.

In a modern-day society, there are ideologies that select groups of people are to be subjugated. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood plays on this idea dramatically: the novel describes the oppression of women in a totalitarian theocracy. Stripped of rights, fertile women become sex objects for the politically elite. These women, called the Handmaids, are forced to cover themselves and exist for the sole purpose of providing children. The Handmaid’s Tale highlights the issue of sexism while also providing a cruel insight into the manipulation of power seen in the modern world.

Imagine knowing that a group of people are attempting to take full control of society and the way to live life, but there is nothing that can be done to stop them from accomplishing it. That’s exactly what has been occurring to societies around the world for centuries: Hitler in Germany, Stalin in Russia, and Idi Amin in Uganda, but still continues due to a leader or Regime’s clever techniques to gradually attain power in society without the acknowledgement of citizens. Similarly, in the dystopian novel “The Handmaids Tale,” a staged terrorist attack kills the President, which leads to the government being taken over by the Republic of Gilead, who ultimately transforms the state of Gilead into a women’s nightmare. The women in the novel are forced to be sex slaves in society, in order to produce babies for the infertile men in the state of Gilead, where fertility rates are significantly low. However, the Republic of Gilead forces citizens to follow their theocratic ideology through misleading the entire population with their clever techniques to accomplish their goal of having full power and eventually form a totalitarian society. Thus, in “The Handmaids Tale,” by Margaret Atwood, misinterpreted references to the bible’s scriptures and manipulative techniques are used by the Regime of Gilead to form a totalitarian society.

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.