It is hard to believe that a character whose name is composed of the words “serene” and “joy” could emit the opposite of what her name suggests, but Serena Joy of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid's Tale disproves this stereotype. While some may argue that Serena is generous to Offred, she only does this as a means of exploitation rather than pure generosity. Her character exhibits cynical character traits, demonstrating selfishness through her lack of empathy for others, maliciousness through her constant
Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel written in 1985, ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, depicts Serena Joy as a rather complex being. She is revealed to be extremely bitter of her life and rather jealous of Offred. Ironically, Serena becomes trapped by the very ideals which she preached in the time before as a media personality. Moreover, she displays mixed attitudes towards Offred, being both generous and horrible. Since the very preamble of the novel, Serena Joy is unveiled to the reader as being a rather cold figure
Those in power, when they defy what is expected of them, typically do so for self-indulgence and go largely unpunished. For example, Serena Joy is not allowed to smoke under the rules of Gilead, yet she is almost always seen smoking. “She had a cigarette...the cigarettes must have come from the black market, I thought, and this gave me hope.” (14) Serena, while not granted equality in the misogynistic regime of Gilead, is in a position of privilege over virtually every other woman as the wife of
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood is a novel set in the future United States under a totalitarian Christian theocracy. The story is told by Offred in first person detached. Offred is a Handmaid whose purpose in life is to reproduce for the commanders of the “Sons of Jacob”. The wife of the commander Offred lives with resents Offred and everyone in the house looks down upon Offred. While very isolated and lonely, the commander soon starts meeting her in private. The commander’s wife, Offred recognizes
“The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood is a story set in an alternate future in which birth rates have plummeted immensely. In the Republic of Gilead, they seem to have found a solution for this decline in birth rates: handmaids. Handmaids are women who are fertile. They go to houses of wealthy and powerful couples who cannot bear children and have sexual intercourse with the male of the house (also known as the Commander). The problem with this solution is that it is forcing women, such as our
Study Guides and Literature Essays Editing Services College Application Essays Writing Help Q & A Lesson Plans Home : The Handmaid's Tale : Study Guide : Summary and Analysis of V: Nap - VI: Household The Handmaid's Tale Summary and Analysis by Margaret Atwood Buy PDFBuy Paperback V: Nap - VI: Household Summary This section begins with Offred simply sitting alone, waiting. She had not been prepared for all this stillness, all of this boredom. She thinks about experiments
equal while underlying criticizing religious conservative politics. Writer, Fiona Tolan analyzes Atwood’s work more in depth in “Feminist Utopias and Questions of Liberty: Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale as Critique of “second wave feminism”. In this academic journal, Tolan argues that The Handmaid’s Tale is criticism to “second
Imagine, all of a sudden, being forced to begin a new life. The Handmaid’s Tale is a story about a reformed society based on an altered bible where there are specific social castes. The Handmaids are women who are fertile and have children with Commanders because the Commanders’ Wives are sterile or too old to have children. The novel follows a Handmaid named Offred and her life as a Handmaid. Offred frequently remembers her past life of her husband and daughter. Offred dislikes being a Handmaid
novel “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood was published. Narrated by Offred an oppressed handmaid “The Handmaid’s Tale” presents the life of a neglected women in the unordinary Gilead society. A handmaid is a women that is owned by a commander. All women have assigned roles in the Gilead society. The handmaid’s duty is to have sex with the commander in order to produce a baby because the commander’s wife is not fertile. Handmaids have to wear red. In Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale”, Offred
perpetrators of evil, but it is the evil of passivity of all those who know what is happening and never intervene that perpetuates such abuse,” (“Philip Zimbardo Quotes”). In Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, a pair Handmaid’s called Offred and Ofglen, and a wife named Serena Joy, clearly exhibit contrasting examples of complacency and passivity in their dystopia. Taking place in what used to be the United States, the Republic of Gilead begins their overthrow first with a massacre of