How Does Margaret Atwood Use Language In The Handmaid's Tale

One of the many prevailing themes in literature is that power is gained and can be manipulated when restraints are placed on natural desires of the individual. This passage is significant because it is an example of this theme, for it shows how power and manipulation have completely changed and restricted the people, especially women, of Gilead. Due to this, the passage reveals the shared anger that the Handmaids possess, and the cruelty that has been brought upon the society. The use of similes, diction, syntax, and illustrate the impact that this event had on Offred, for she feels such anger towards the unknown man and the crime he has supposedly committed. These literary and rhetorical devices additionally serve to make this event seem as

It reflects in the restrictions of language to only shows masculine as Offred tries to show her gratification to the Rita she says, “the Mathas are not supposed to fraternize with us” when the words should been “soronize” (18). After Offred lost her freedom by becoming a Handmaid, she realize being exposed to massive information and having the ability to read and write was power, which Atwood implicate that information and knowledge empower people. But the Gilead regime only allow men to be literate as compared to women As Offred walks the street with Ofglen, she points out the store that sells dresses for women “habits” in which “habits are hard to break” (34). [in fear that nothing has change in the future and history] As Gillam and Wood states, as long as we look at the media with a critical eye, people can decipher the purpose of large amount of images that appears in the media and decides at their own

Atwood’s view is that indifference and complacency to issues which are present in society will exacerbate them. The 1980’s is generally regarded as the end of the second wave of feminism and the beginning of the so-called “feminist sex wars”, The Handmaid’s Tale was a method for Atwood to warn against the issues that could arise from women being simply content with the gains they had made throughout the 1960s-1980s and not striving for complete equality. These ideas of the need to strive for absolute equality and to not be complacent to the issues of society are summed up by Atwood in the historical notes where sexism and the patriarchal society which were present in Gilead are still present though they are thinly veiled. For instance the very name The Handmaid’s Tale was given to the collection of tapes by Professor Wade and is intended to be a play on words with “tail” which has vulgar connotations. This use of a sexist joke emphasises that although the society post-Gilead is not as overtly sexist the society is still not equal.

Throughout the first 15 Chapters we are provided with information, as narrated by Offred, with glimpses of her past life and her journey to the life she is now facing. These glimpses are not logical in their sequencing or chronological in the narration, therefore creating a feeling of disorientation among readers, a feeling matching that experienced by those living in this society. This also provokes many questions in the reader’s mind along with creating tension and expectation as to the nature of the procreation which we have come to

Nevertheless, Language both written and spoken have played a major role in The Handmaid's Tale. Language is vital in representing the oppression of women in Gilead. Throughout Atwood's novel many women experience the power of the regime through the denial of language. Gilead defines women based on their gender roles, such thing is evident in the stores women are allowed to shop at. The name of the stores reflects the women's fertility, for example “Mild and Honey.” In the society of Gilead, stores are renamed to enforce female functions in society, this is revealed as Offred and Ofglen’s make a trip to the grocery grocery store, Offred states, “Our first stop is at a store with another wooden sign: three eggs, a bee, a cow. Milk and Honey” (Atwood 28).

In Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, Offred recounts the story of her life and that of others in Gilead, but she does not do so alone. The symbolic meanings found in the dress code of the women, the names/titles of characters, the absence of the mirror, and the smell and hunger imagery aid her in telling of the repugnant conditions in the Republic of Gilead. The symbols speak with a voice of their own and in decibels louder than Offred can ever dare to use. They convey the social structure of Gileadean society and carry the theme of the individual's loss of identity.

Essay Prompt: Discuss Atwood’s use of language throughout the novel. How is it a form of power? How is it a means of escape? How does Offred, in particular, use language as a tool to escape the plight of her existence?

Within history, societies have to try to find a balance between gender and class. Margaret Atwood writes about a country called Gilead: a society where women are broken down into classes while men control all the power. Throughout her dystopian novel, The Handmaid's Tale, Atwood utilizes gender and class to alienate the protagonist, Offred, illustrating how women and their position within society are used as a political instrument to gain dominance.

Neologisms and Biblical Language help to give new meaning to words that were heard before and are scattered throughout the novel, from beginning to end. With language resulting in so much of the woman’s freedom, the story quite frankly could go two ways. After Offred has her child (assuming she has one), she may find a new perspective in all of this and find her place in society, something that she has been searching for since she became a Handmaid. This would result in no social change, but would end the story as her

In the Book a “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood the use of language is different all throughout the book because of the use of tone. The author uses different elements of language to display the circumstances in the book. She uses different terms in the book to show how freedom of speech was taken away from characters. The author uses a different approach towards power in the book, rather than in the real world.

Alexander cruz Ms milliner EES21QH-02 10/19/16 Margaret Atwood uses extensive vocabulary and has a very unique use of language in her novel the handmaids tale. She uses extreme description and metaphors and other types of descriptive language to keep the story flowing and give it depth. The story is compelling. It tells the story of a women named offred.

Margaret Atwood uses language to illustrate the suppression of women in her novel. In the society of Gilead women are defined by their roles. Wives, handmaids, econowives, and marthas are the roles of women in Gilead. Women in Gilead are striped of their individuality through renaming and dividing them

Atwood's Attention to Words in The Handmaid's Tale The Handmaids Tale illustrates that dictatorship can be established by creating a state of fear once language controls are instituted. As a tradition to dystopian novels, Atwood has drawn much attention to the meaning of words and the significance of names, as well as the prohibition for women to read or write, in order to portray Gilead as a successful totalitarian state. Atwood is trying to make the point that in a dystopian world, language can be the power.

Unlike Moira, Offred is desperate to conceive the Commanderís child in order to survive. Both women parallel many women in todayís society. On one hand, there are feminists who rebel against society no matter what it costs. On the other hand, there are women who are just trying to survive and find their place in a society in which they are second class citizens. In the novel, Offred is torn between smearing her face with butter to keep her complexion and hanging herself. In the same manner, she is caught between accepting the status of women under the new regime and following her own desires to gain knowledge and fall in love. Offred doesnít know whether to accept the circumstances and die inside, or to fulfill her own desires, set herself free like Moira has done. The contrast between Moira and Offred reveals Atwoodís attitude towards women and their sometimes self-destructive submission. Atwood shows the oppression of women through the extreme setting of the story, but she also allows the reader to see how women passively oppress themselves.

Though the English language has its roots in a male-dominated society where the true meaning of words are now taken for granted. In The Handmaid’s Tale, language facilitates power. In order to effectively rule over class and gender the level of censorship on literature and control of discourses runs high. Atwood uses word choice to expose the shocking structures of the Gilead society and how faulty its foundations are as it was built upon gender inequality. The repercussions of gendered language are evident throughout the novel, implying that the sexist structure of Gilead is a result of oppressive language modern Americans accept and use in every day talk.