The Handmaid 's Tale And Gattaca

Mary Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale describes a Christian society in the Republic of Gilead whereby the lives of women are controlled and governed by men. In this society, power is concentrated in the hands of certain religious extremist men and thus, leading to the restriction of women freedom. Offred, a leading character in the novel, describes the lifestyle of people living in the Republic of Gilead. Additionally, she portrays the political situation in the Republic of Gilead prior to the installation of the new Christian government. The important issues in the novel comprises of the political condition and gender inequality of the Republic of Gilead. Feminist groups wanted liberation from customary gender roles and suppression of women by men. The use of contraception, abortion and voting rights for women were all prohibited. Similarly, reading and writing were altogether outlawed. In the Republic of Gilead, women were subjugated to oppression and abuse and were made to obey gender roles assigned to them. Atwood is not optimistic about the situation of women and power and a means of fighting oppression against men. In this paper, I will argue that the main purpose of Margaret Atwood’s novel is to raise attention to feminine issues in the

The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood describes the story of Offred, a Handmaid, that is a woman ascribed a breeding function by society, and who is placed with a husband and wife higher up the social ladder who need a child. Through Offred's eyes we explore the rigidity of the theocracy in which she lives, the contradictions in the society they have created, and her attempts to find solace through otherwise trivial things. The heroine is never identified except as Offred, the property of her current Commander, she was a modern woman: college-educated, a wife and a mother when she lost all that due to the change in her society. The novel can be viewed from one perspective as being a feminist depiction of the suppression of a woman, from another

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.

“Atwood’s feminism is an integral part of her critical approach, just as her concept of criticism is inseparable from her creative work” Walter Pache (1). A dystopia is a fictional society, usually existing in a future time period, in which the condition of life is extremely difficult due to deprivation, oppression or terror. In most dystopian fiction, a corrupt government creates or sustains the poor quality of life, often conditioning the masses to believe the society is proper and just, even perfect.

One of the many sad aspects of The Handmaid’s Tale is that the women who are subjected to abuse and discrimination soon comply with the roles that have been assigned to them, permitting abuse and exploitation against and amongst themselves. Atwood is not particularly hopeful about women as a means of changing the conditions in which they are living in this society. Even Offred’s eventual escape from the perverted system is more of a luck luck thing than determined will. Paying particular attention to the ending of the novel, this essay will argue that the author wants to call the reader’s attention to the problems that women suffer, but that she offers no solution or hope for change. I will be addressing three different literary devices in this essay; Repetition, Characterization, and Foreshadowing. I hope you enjoy.

Dystopian texts’ roots lie in social criticism. Many of the classics such as Orwell’s 1984, Huxley’s Brave New World and Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale all end bleakly for the protagonists: their purported futures are warnings, and at least part of their purpose is to make us wonder what horrors our own real world decisions could ultimately engender. Gattaca is a 1997 “cautionary futuristic fiction” film directed by Andrew Niccol and the predominant reason for its dystopic nature is due to society’s yearning towards a utopic world, where humans are genetically perfect. In attempting to create this flawless world, dystopic elements such as the genetic engineering, discrimination and oppression as well as a lack of individuality are brought about, generating an unintended dystopia, and encouraging the audience to speculate about the world mankind has created.

However, she wishes that she could imagine her new life as a story, and does not want to accept the reality. The Handmaid’s Tale contains various elements that significantly affects the hero, Offred through her struggles to accept the Republic of Gilead. One of Atwood’s most prominent element she uses to show significant changes towards Offred is the theme of feminism shown by the various characters. Religion is the driving force for the creation of the Republic of Gilead, which in turn significantly affects

The Handmaid’s Tale has explored the disempowerment of individual power that is implemented by the society. Margaret Atwood demonstrates this through the main ‘protagonist’ of the story, Offred, with her minimal amount of visible power in society. Individual power can catalyse minor change but lacks the strength to impact upon large scale power regimes. While confined behind the “white wings of the Handmaids”, Offred and Ofglen “learned to whisper almost without a sound” to share information they had heard “through the grapevine” about what is withheld from them. Although the government has immeasurable power driven by fear of being taken away in the “black van”, they battle for what little individual power they can get.

A dystopian society mainly asks one question and that is, “What if?” Typically, their government, beliefs, and way of life are different from what we would find normal. All the literary works demonstrate a society unlike ours including: To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, “Harrison Bergeron” by Harrison Vonnegut, “The Pedestrian” by Ray Bradbury, Anthem by Ayn Rand, 1984 by George Orwell, and Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer.

Dystopian literature feeds off the fears present in the human psyche. The genre latches onto the concerns people hold about humanity’s state, and amplifies them to create eerie, cautionary tales. “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood and “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley both play on worries held by society on the topic of female sexual expression and control of women’s bodies. The societies in these novels differ greatly on this topic, but both represent real fears held not only by the people living during the time periods of each respective novel’s creation, but also that affect the world we live in today. To compare these novels whilst considering the topic of women, it is important to look at how the societies exercise control over

Popular literature often reflects society’s beliefs and struggles, and dystopian fiction is once again gaining popularity. From Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro to Hulu’s reimagining of The Handmaid’s Tale, written by Margaret Atwood, and all the young adult dystopias in between, one does not have to search far to find a unique dystopian read. While every dystopia is different, these novels have similar characteristics that define their genre.

Have you ever imagined a world where religion is manipulated into its twisted version? In The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, the author portrays a dystopian world, where a woman are forced to follow the norms of the twisted version of the Bible. Atwood uses the creations of handmaids, a woman who is used as a vessel for babies, in order to portray how religion impacted the society she has created, Gilead. The readers are introduced to Offred, the narrator and the main character of the text, she is one of the many handmaids that are introduced in the text. Offred narrates her perspective of the situation she is forced in. As it can be seen in, The Handmaid's Tale, woman are restricted in the name of religion. This can be seen through

When we mention the theme of a book or a novel, we are discussing about a general idea, lesson, or message that can be seen through the entire story. The events in the book may be very interesting, or exciting, but without the universal connection to human, they will not grab our attention in any real way. A novel of Magaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale, is highly considered as a stimulating work of feminist dystopian fiction that examines the themes of fertility, rebellion, manipulation of power and love. All of these themes play an essential role in displaying the dehumanizing impacts of patriarchy on women and address the way in which society may be in the

A Critical Analysis of “The Handmaid’s Tale.” In this dystopia novel, it reveals a remarkable new world called Gilead. “The Handmaid’s Tale,” by Margaret Atwood, explores all these themes about women who are being subjugated to misogyny to a patriarchal society and had many means by which women tried to gain not only their individualism and their own independence. Her purpose of writing this novel is to warn of the price of an overly zealous religious philosophy, one that places women in such a submissive role in the family. I believe there are also statements about class in there, since the poor woman are being meant to serve the rich families need for a child. As the novel goes along the narrator Offred is going between the past and

Dystopian literature and film has been quite a popular genre for readers. In most texts, they are set in a post-apocalyptic or dystopian world where the protagonist struggles to fit into these corrupted worlds and these protagonists rebel because they feel like the government has turned their backs on them, leaving them treated unfairly. The protagonist fight back in the hopes of restoring society to its sensible state. All the main protagonists in the plots are put into inhumane situations as they are controlled by the government in order to fit their ideas and beliefs or just the plain simple reason, for their own entertainment. Through the actions and perspective of these protagonists, it shows a reflection of how we deal with certain issues