The Handmaid 's Tale By Margaret Atwood

The Handmaids Tale is a poetic tale of a woman's survival as a Handmaid in the male dominated Republic of Gilead. Offred portrayed the struggle living as a Handmaid, essentially becoming a walking womb and a slave to mankind. Women throughout Gilead are oppressed because they are seen as "potentially threatening and subversive and therefore require strict control" (Callaway 48). The fear of women rebelling and taking control of society is stopped through acts such as the caste system, the ceremony and the creation of the Handmaids. The Republic of Gilead is surrounded with people being oppressed. In order for the Republic to continue running the way it is, a sense of control needs to be felt by the government. Without control Gilead will

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).

Not only does Gilead control day-to-day time, but also attempts to erase traces of historical time. The creators of Gilead seek to abolish as many traces of the past as possible. Gilead does well in its attempt to erase history, for when Offred goes out on shopping expeditions she is haunted by vague memories of vanished buildings. Offred constantly remembers what used to be, an ice cream store, or a movie theater, but things from Offred’s old life change and disappear so quickly, that she can’t remember “the way they used to be” (164). Gilead has changed so much that they’ve even manipulated a once concrete system of exchange to fade away. Money that was once used in these stores has become a relic of the past. Money is now an artifact that is saved, Offred’s mother “kept some saved, pasted into her scrapbook along with the early photos” (173). People hold on to these keepsakes and hold on to their past as a way to resist Gilead and live in memories. Yet another instance of the totalitarian manipulation, by making paper money obsolete the Gileadean forces are destroying women’s savings and making escape even more impossible. This totalitarian

In Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, one discovers the dystopian society of the Republic of Gilead. This society was created in order to keep the birth rates from the continuous decline and deals with the problem by requiring women to have government-sanctioned sex. Women are only treated as if they are a pair of ovaries and the only purpose that they have is to keep the country populated . If a Handmaid is unable to reproduce, they are punished for their failures. “Having given birth successfully, the Handmaid can rest assured that she will not be sent the Colonies, where ‘unwomen’ clean up toxic dumps and radiation spills. ” (Miner 149). If a Handmaid is unable to do their duties, they are sent away, and there is a great chance they will not return. The sex they are giving to their Commander is in no way romantic, nor is there any real love involved. Offred, a Handmaid, remembers the life she once lived before becoming a Handmaid. The women who become Handmaid’s are given names that are not really their own. “My name isn’t Offred, I have another name, which nobody uses anymore because it’s forbidden. I tell myself it doesn’t matter, your name is like your telephone number, useful only to others; but what I tell myself is wrong, it does matter” (Atwood 84). The government has brainwashed these women into believing that they do not really matter and they have no real purpose. The government has taken away their names and given them the names of their Commander. In

Atwood uses allusions to religious texts and ideas to portray how Gilead secures

During the pre Gilead period society was free and was able to do as they pleased. However, the extremist views of religion changed the life of Gilead. Society is forced to believe that the Republic of Gilead is much better than the pre Gilead period, and that they are the supreme power of the world. The creators of the totalitarian regime believe that society can forget about the past. They also use brainwashing and desensitizes society from the amount of violence, executions, discrimination, and horrible treatment towards women and those with different religions.

Margret Atwood’s 1985 dystopian novel The Handmaids Tale is a striking work of fiction, with strong characters inundated in a depressing melancholy. A dysfunctional patriarchal society based around the common goal of producing offspring, Gilead, becomes the physical manifestation of modern misogyny and championing of the male. Atwood uses this speculative and extreme example in the future to convey a message about current society, resulting in a famous example of the Dystopian genre. Atwood explores the ideas of individuality, leadership and control, conveying her ideas through a multitude of techniques.

The art form that I find captures my emotion the most would have to be a novel (literature). It was a close choice to me. While I love visual art, like photography and painting, I find a good novel to be completely captivating. I have loved to read since I was a child. I remember reading the book "The lion, the witch and the wardrobe" by C.S Lewis when I was about 7 or 8. The mental pictures that I created while reading the book were so vivid that it was, literally, like watching a movie. When the movie came out, many years later, I was comparing their creation with my "mental movie.' They did an okay job but mine was better! The picture was so clear that I initially couldn't remember whether I had read it or watched an earlier version

A woman’s power and privileges depend on which societal class she is in. In Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale each group of women are each represented in a different way. The three classes of women from the novel are the Handmaids, the Marthas and the Wives. The ways in which the women are portrayed reflect their societal power and their privileges that they bestow.

This allusion is applied with this one quote from Aunt Lydia, the woman who indoctrinated the handmaid's to the ways of the Republic of Gilead, "The Republic of Gilead. . . knows no bounds.  Gilead is within you" (p. 23, italics: mine).  The lush soil, and the future, of Gilead was located "within" the handmaids.

In John Osborne 's 1956 piece, Look Back in Anger, housewife Alison Porter is faced with the difficult decision of remaining in a toxic marriage or returning to live with her parents. Indeed, Alison is the archetype of the 1950s British woman, as depicted in both academic and popular discourse—meek, miserable and resigned to her fate as mother and housewife. While such a paradigm of the 1950s woman has long remained unchallenged, historians have begun to suggest that this stereotype is inaccurate and misleading, and overlooks the complexity of female gender roles during Britain of this era. When reviewing the literature on this topic, what emerges as a clear point of tension between academics is whether the 1950s was a static or a dynamic

In “The Handmaids Tale”, author Margaret Atwood vividly illustrates the repulsive society of Gilead, that is strictly regulated by a Theocracy. In a Theocracy both religion and the government is one entity that rules under the teachings of the Bible and God. In Gilead, every inhabitant has an occupation based on gender and class that they must entirely devote themselves too. The authoritarian rule of Gilead disciplines many characters into being docile, obedient and submissive in consequence of modified communication. Gilead is able to drastically change and maintain order in this society by the manipulation and alteration of phrases. Through the perception of color, defined phrases and biblical ceremonies is that Gilead is able to suppress an entire society. Gilead imposes compliancy to a Theocracy by the use of the colored uniforms, defines freedom, biblical references and objects such as a wall.

In The Handmaid’s Tale, the author, Margaret Atwood, creates a dystopian society that is under theocratic rule. From this theocracy, each individual’s freedom is, for the most part, taken away. The Handmaid’s Tale creates a dystopia by placing restrictions on the individual’s freedom, using propaganda to control its citizens, and by having citizens of Gilead live in dehumanized ways. Furthermore, the creation of a hierarchal system in Gilead caused its citizens to lose the ability to feel empathy towards one another. In the search to create a perfect society, Gilead caused more harm and problems than expected which created a dystopia rather than a utopia.

In Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood writes about a dystopia society. Atwood used situations that were happening during the time she began writing her novel, for example, women’s rights, politics, and in religious aspects. Atwood’s novel is relevant to contemporary society. There are similarities between Atwood’s novel and our society today, which lends to the possibility that our modern society might be headed to a less intense version of this dystopia society.

I am only working part time. My new supervisor has reduced my office hours to 15 hours a week. With additional appointments, to tutor students, I am averaging approximately 20 hours a week. She has tried to discharge me; however my previous supervisor would not allow her to do so. Therefore, she has reduced my office hours to circumvent this.