Serena Joy In The Handmaid's Tale

In the book The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood, the author depicts a dystopian system of the future. Within it, both the men and the women have become oppressed. The men are prohibited from developing friends and personal relationships with the women and each other. The women are stripped of having personal, financial and educational independence. However, ultimately both sides suffer from the restrictions on sexual freedom and the ability to love.

Throughout history there have been many examples of people of power abusing the power they were given. Some of the most prominent were in ancient times. In the Roman Empire, as power changed from one hand to another, the abuse would range from very minor to the people fearing being randomly stabbed by their emperor. Some of the worst examples of power abuse of the first century were known for randomly stabbing the citizens, matricide, forcing others to pay for their extravagance and killing a man who was a war hero.

Margaret Atwood is a Canadian author of short and long fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. A motif among most of her pieces is voice and the power of possessing one, or the ability to speak up or stand up for what one believes in, and Atwood uses this motif to teach her readers about the importance of having a voice with her stories’ characters; strong and/or gifted with a variety of traits are her stories’ characters with voices while powerless and unstable are those otherwise.

Apart from illegal substance possession, Serena and some of her fellow wives were revealed to have organised secret liaisons between their handmaids and fertile men, hurrying the procreation process. This was often done without the knowledge of their husbands, many of whom were suspected to be sterile in any case. However, despite the unlikelihood of any offspring produced by the husbands, it is not right by Gilead and its ideals, for the wives to be taking steps to defy the laws set down for the good of the people and the nations survival. These wives are acting for their own gains and desires, not for the good of the handmaids. The handmaids are placed in a household with the assurance of protection from the wife. The wives are supposed to act as mentors and guardian angels, shielding and caring for the handmaid under their roof, not throwing her at the closest man with the highest viable sperm count. The wives have a strong desire to have children, even via other women, so as to feel power or superiority over fellow women of equal stature. They ensure the provision of a child by ‘setting up’

hese women from the book “ Women Hollering Creek”, were abused and taken advantage of their own men. Sandra Cisneros explores the stories “Never marry a mexican”, Woman Hollering Creek”, and “One holy night”. The women in this stories made a mistake by being with the wrong men in their life. They became careless when they met their own men. These girls have lost their respect for themselves. They have destroyed their own self, for the guy who never really loves them. No one stood up for their rights as a woman. Love and hate made these women vulnerable.

Sometimes people can get lost in their ability to control others, your mom yelling at you to take out the trash or maybe you pinning your younger sibling down in a wrestling match. It happens to us all, even if you do not realize. It all comes with our ingrained desire for this thing we call power. This desire plagues every society, those of the past and present. For example, in the 1960s an author named Arthur Miller saw his society falling victim to this plague, so he wrote a play. Miller shows us throughout The Crucible that power and the desire for it is a disease that spreads in communities and cripples them, we see this through the actions of Abigail, Danforth, and Parris.

This is shown in many places throughout history and recreated in fiction. Elie Wiesel’s memoir Night gives an example of abuse of power when Franek, the foreman of the depot Wiesel worked in, used his authority to bully Wiesel into giving him his gold crown by attacking his father. “This went on for two weeks. It was untenable. We had to give in. That day, Franek burst into savage laughter.” (pg 56) Franek knew that he could target Wiesel’s father without getting in trouble, so he was able to get what he wanted by the use of his power. Lord of the Flies by William Golding also shows how power corrupts people. When Jack became the chief of his own group, he and his accomplice, Roger, gained almost complete power over the boys on the island. They were able to do what they pleased, including hurting other people. “The chief snatched one of the few spears that were left and poked Sam in the ribs… The prodding became rhythmic. Sam yelled… Roger edged past the chief, only just avoiding pushing him with his shoulder. The yelling ceased, and Samneric lay looking up in quiet terror. Roger advanced upon them as one wielding a nameless authority.” (pg 182) Jack and Roger used their power over other boys to scare SamnEric into joining their “tribe”. Similarly to Franek, Jack and Roger inflict physical harm upon others to get their way, proving that those in power become abusive of their lack of

Those in power are often never satisfied with the power that they already hold but rather seek the flaws in other

Setting higher standards for those persons in positions of authority and power over the public establishes a prescribed set of standards for which the public expects to be upheld if authorities are to successfully exude their power and authority over the people. Williams and Arrigo state “Along with power comes an increased responsibility to use it in appropriate ways” (2012). As can be seen in current events, when officials abuse the authority by excessive use of force, kickbacks, or unethical or immoral behavior, the public loses trust and respect for the system as a whole, not just for the individual or individuals in question. An expectation of increased morality and value is expected in persons holding positions where the enforcement of laws, societal values and morals are rendered. Williams and Arrigo further state “…with the presence of increased power, discretion, and thus opportunity, the need for morality increases considerably”

Abusing power is capable of ruining many lives, including the individual. Having power can be a good thing, but misusing it, such as characters from the novels Brave New World, Oedipus the King, and Antigone. In each novel, a character possesses great power and uses it wrong. In Brave New World, Mustapha Mond is able to dehumanize an entire civilization with the use of many practices and drugs. Oedipus, in Oedipus the King, lets his hubris get the best of him, and results in a horrible punishment for himself. In Antigone, Creon, king of Thebes also causes harsh times due to his misuse of power; he believes his choice is above divine law. Brave New World, Oedipus the King, and Antigone all have the recurring theme of the abuse of power which

Many women have experienced discrimination due to their gender. Society views women as inferior beings that cannot achieve greatness. Furthermore, women have acquired a set of rules and expectations to meet within their role in society. In the 1850 romance novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne depicts the beauty and strength of women. Despite society’s strict views of gender roles, women can convert society’s oppression into freedom due to the qualities they possess, which surpass society’s assumed capabilities of them.

When power is wrongfully obtained it can be misused and lead to one’s downfall by ambition.

The relationships between corruption, power and powerlessness cannot be derived into two equations. These entities cannot be separated nor weighed. Current and past, fictional and nonfictional events have recurred in order to reiterate the dangers of the relationship between power and powerlessness.

The aunts in The Handmaids Tale appear to be unsympathetic. The aunts are a group of women who are supposed to force the new beliefs of this society unto the handmaids and make them accept their fates. They control these handmaids in a place called the Red Center. This is where the handmaids go to learn about their place and what they will have to do before actually becoming handmaids. "Aunt Lydia thought she was very good at feeling for other people.” “Try to think of it from their point of view she said, her hands clasped and wrung together, her nervous pleading smile. It isn't easy for them.” Surprisingly aunt Lydia thinks she is very sympathetic but she only cares for the wives. She twists her words and manipulates the handmaids into

This is directly reflected in our world today, especially in governments around the world. Most of these infringements are out of self-interests or personal beliefs, and show blatant disregard for others on both small and large scales. As seen with Creon’s abuse of power ending with the deaths of those close to him, the abuses by today’s authorities will certainly only lead to a path of