Sacrifice In The Handmaid's Tale

Margaret Atwood’s, The Handmaid’s Tale, speculates the reconstructed Republic of Gilead as it changes from a commonplace, modern society into a closed, dystopic society in which “misogynistic laws and tendencies are responsible for reducing women to the level of objects” (Chadha 33). The handmaids abide by these strict laws and serve their commander, or risk being severely beaten or tortured on parts of their bodies that are not essential to procreation as their female oppressor Aunt Lydia reminds them “for our purposes your feet and your hands are not essential” (91). Offred, the protagonist, details the evolution of society through her memories of the past and the world around her, proving herself an anomaly to the traditional handmaid by exploring her ability to “act as a subversive agent against the oppressive reality created by the Republic of Gilead” (Hogsette 100). Through Offred’s experiences, The Handmaid’s Tale depicts a rife dystopia as Offred challenges the

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.

In Margaret Atwood’s, The Handmaid’s Tale she explores the concept of a not-so-distant future where toxic chemicals and abuses to the body have left many men and women alike sterile. The main character, Offred, gives the reader a first person account about her submissive life as a handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. A republic that was formed after a coup against the U.S. government. She and her fellow handmaids are fertile women that the commanders of Gilead ‘enslave’ to ensure their power and to repopulate their ‘society’. While the laws that govern the people of Gilead seem outlandish and oppressive, they are merely

Paula Hawkins, a well-known British author, once said, “I have lost control over everything, even the places in my head.” In Margaret Atwood’s futuristic dystopia The Handmaid’s Tale, a woman named Offred feels she is losing control over everything in her life. Offred lives in the Republic of Gilead. A group of fundamentalists create the Republic of Gilead after they murder the President of the United States and members of Congress. The fundamentalists use the power to their advantage and restrict women’s freedom. As a result, each woman is assigned a specific duty to perform in society. Offred’s husband and child are taken away from her and she is now forced to live her life as a Handmaid. Offred’s role in society is to produce a child

Gilead instills fear in the handmaids by publicly displaying the repercussions of those who rebel against the rules set in place by the government. Offred the main character is a handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. Handmaids are subject to routine schedules, because of this most are unhappy such as Offred who says, “we thought we had such problems. How were we to know we were happy?” (56). The handmaids are not treated as individuals. Rather, they are seen as potential mothers who hate and avoid looking down at their own body’s “not so much because it’s shameful or immodest but because…[they] don’t want to look at something that determines [them] so completely” (71). Offred’s life revolves around shopping trips with Ofglen,

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.

This gives us a hint on the totalitarian society of Gilead that Offred lived through, where she had no control over her own life. She wishes she had control over what would have happened to her. Overall,

Offred narrates by describing her daily routine, in which she talks about her new life in Gilead. Often times she slips into flashbacks and glimpses of what her life once was. In the society previous to Gilead, Offred had engaged in a situation, in which she had an affair with a married man by the name of Luke. As their affair continued on, Luke left his wife in order to marry Offred. Once Luke and Offred were together they had a child together. Offred reveals the events that led up to the society of Gilead through her flashbacks. From the narrative unveiling of events, Offred explains to the reader that prior to Gilead, the society was one in which pornography was readily available, pollution and other hazardous waste spills affected fertility rates, and prostitution was prominent. Then a group of people were able to get the

In Margaret Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale, the character of Offred is restricted by the severe regulations of her society. The once democratic United States of America with equality for all has been turned into the theocratic and totalitarian Republic of Gilead. When Offred is affected by the strict standards of this society, she responds in audacious, yet furtive ways in order to not attract the attention of the omniscient Eyes who control the society and punish offenders

Further, Offred succumbs to the government because of her passiveness. Although she originally wanted to be freed from Gilead, after she begins her affair with Nick,"[she] no longer wants to leave... [she] wants to be [there] with Nick. " Her affair with Nick, causes her to abandon any thoughts of rebelling or leaving as she wants to stay with the person she cares for. Lastly, Offred recognizes that her worth is determined by whether or not she can bear a child.

While observing her body, she thinks, “My nakedness is strange to me already. My body seems outdated. Did I really wear bathing suits, at the beach?” (63). While most of the women around her are resisting the Gilead rules, Offred never seems to rebel. Even during the most traumatic experiences, such as the Ceremony or beating a man to death, her moral judgments cease to exist, as if she has accepted her fate as a handmaid. It is only until her knowledge of the resistance when she finally decides to participate and even then, it is still kept on the down low. She gives into discreet affairs only under the request of her Commander and Serena Joy. She participates at the Jezebel club under the request of her Commander. Her most daring acts of rebellion are her stealing butter, the thought of stealing from the living room, or her talking to Ofglen. During all of this mutiny, she still binds herself to the color red and her duty as a

In Margaret Atwood’s ‘The Handmaids Tale’, we hear a transcribed account of one womans posting ‘Offred’ in the Republic of Gilead. A society based around Biblical philosophies as a way to validate inhumane state practises. In a society of declining birth rates, fertile women are chosen to become Handmaids, walking incubators, whose role in life is to reproduce for barren wives of commanders. Older women, gay men, and barren Handmaids are sent to the colonies to clean toxic waste.

Offred chooses to be a Handmaid rather than result to the unknown. Gilead is totalitarian and made Offred leave her husband and daughter to be a Handmaid.

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).

Offred, not her real name but the name given to her by her occupation, is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. The Republic of Gilead is a