The Handmaid 's Tale By Margaret Atwood

Language, arguably mankind’s most influential invention, not only forms the foundation for human culture, but is also embedded within every aspect of our cyclical lives. In The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood skillfully portrays the systematic oppression in the Republic of Gilead, as seen through the array of forms that language encompasses. Ultimately, Atwood depicts language as a manipulative tool used by the totalitarian regime to undermine its perceivably dystopian nature by spreading a false sense of organization and order. This is evident with the regime’s employment of naming systems, the misuse of religious texts, and the controlled limitations of language for women.

In the book The Handmaid 's Tale by Margaret Atwood, the foremost theme is identity, due to the fact that the city where the entire novel takes place in, the city known as the Republic of Gilead, often shortened to Gilead, strips fertile women of their identities. Gilead is a society that demands the women who are able to have offspring be stripped of all the identity and rights. By demeaning these women, they no longer view themselves as an individual, but rather as a group- the group of Handmaids. It is because of the laws that have been established that individuality has been demolished. From these points that will be raised, it can be concluded that a handmaid’s role in Gilead is more important than their happiness, and mental wellbeing.

Margaret Atwood is author that is most famously known for her use of feminism in her literary works. The Handmaid’s Tale is among one of the most well known books for its critique of feminism. Feminism is described as the advocating for women's rights for equality to men on all levels, including social, political, and economical. Atwood’s novel centers around a dystopian culture in which women’s rights are disregarded by the state, men, and fellow women. After the birth rate started to decline, the state decided to take control by creating a new society in which reproduction was the main focus. The men did not lose their right when the new society was formed, creating a patriarchal society. A disunity was created within the various rankings of women in

One of Atwood’s bestselling novel is The Handmaid’s Tale, a disturbing dystopian fiction novel. The Handmaid’s Tale is a complex tale of a woman’s life living in a society that endorses sexual slavery and inequality through oppression and fear. The female characters in Margaret Atwood’s novel demonstrates how these issues affects women’s lives. Offred is the individual with whom we sympathize and experience these issues. In The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood addresses her perception of the ongoing feminism issues during her time; reproduction rights, workforce inequalities and gender discrimination. Atwood uses her talent to write The Handmaid Tale to express her view on past, present, and future women’s issues.

The definition of feminism is very elusive. Maybe because of its ever-changing historical meaning, it’s not for certain whether there is any coherence to the term feminism or if there is a definition that will live up to the movement’s variety of adherents and ideas. In the book “No Turning Back,” author Estelle Freedman gives an accurate four-part definition of the very active movement: “Feminism is a belief that women and men are inherently part of equal worth. Because most societies privilege men as a group, social movements are necessary to achieve equality between women and men, with the understanding that gender always intersects with other social hierarchies” (Freedman 7).

The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood, is a dystopian novel written by Margaret Atwood that contains many controversial ideas and themes relating to society. The novel takes place in the near future of a new society called the Republic of Gilead, not very long after the United States government was overthrown. Gilead follows the rules and policies made by the new religiously extremist rulers. The readers learn about Gilead through the narrator named Offred, who is a handmaid. The Handmaids in Gilead are women who had the job of reproducing with the Commanders of the different households they were assigned to.

The Handmaid’s Tale is a futuristic novel set in the Republic of Gilead, a dictatorial Christian society that has ousted the American government to come into power. The new government demands its followers to have a moral, highly religious and virtuous lifestyle guided by the Bible. The Handmaid’s Tale focuses on the journey of Offred, a handmaid during this era. Offred has viable ovaries, a fact that makes her valuable to the Commander and his wife who are in need of a child. In her previous life, Offred had been used to taking her freedom for granted.

In the “science fiction” novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood describes a distinct view of the future in which a new totalitarian regime has taken over the government of the United States. The novel focuses on the experience of Offred, a handmaid, as she retells events of her past life, and provides readers an insight on the extremity of control that the Republic of Gilead has over citizens. Atwood conforms to and deviates from the conventions of science fiction by using different narrative elements to give her audience a view on her futuristic, dystopian society. Although this novel was first seen as science fiction, Atwood claims that it is speculative fiction.

How does Atwood represent the absence of freedom in The Handmaid’s Tale? Bretons H. Literary Theory: (The Politics Of Class: Marxism) states, ‘Marxist Theory argues that the way we think … the way the economy is organised.’ Taking this statement to be true, then the social economic environment & background of a writer determines their perception of the world. Atwood’s dystopian novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, is a response to her own background and the social and economic events that were taking place around the time of writing the novel.

Atwood takes doesn’t take the feminist side in “The Handmaid’s Tale”, but does examine the possibilities of what could happen if the feminine was removed from the norms and reverted back to pre-1970s gender roles as being a ‘slave’ (Irigary 795). The dystopian government or the Republic of Gilead is the epitome of false Christian values that have been altered to achieve a person goal of obtaining knowledge at the risk of destroying something that already existed. The goal to achieve such knowledge ends up being flaw by the creators, The Commanders of the Faith, Offred’s commander actually breaking the rules for caring and allowing knowledge that she already had being given. She is allowed other freedom that were supposed to be forbidden and even begins breaking into her sexuality to be with Nick. In a way, Offred captures the ideals of Nietzsche to have the will to keep going and find the flaws in the Republic of Gilead.

Expressing feminist views is forbidden in this society. Women do not get basic human rights, power, or freedom. The common theme throughout this tale is women’s bodies are used as political instruments; every aspect of women’s lives is controlled by men, especially their bodies being used solely for sex and childbearing. In The Handmaid’s Tale, Offred is the narrator when The Republic of Gilead replaces The United States Government.

“But who can remember pain, once it’s over? All that remains of it is a shadow, not in the mind even, in the flesh. Pain marks you, but too deep to see. Out of sight, out of mind.” (Atwood 125), is a beautiful quote by Margaret Atwood used to portray the struggles and the agonies of women suffering from the unequal Gileadean hierarchy, which indirectly connects to our modern world issues with feminism such as pay gaps and property ownership laws. In the book The Handmaid’s Tale, it is not difficult to spot from the beginning that women are treated inhumanely. They are seen locked up in a gymnasium surrounded by gunmen and other groups of women called ‘Aunts’ with electric tasers, and the names all seem to be pre-made, as all names mentioned at the end of the first chapter possess polysyllabic first names and monosyllabic last names, except one, June. It seems that the new groups of people called Sons of Jacob overthrew

Reaction#2: The Handmaid’s Tale The Handmaid’s Tale novel by Margaret Atwood succeeded in describing the feminism concept and the oppression of women. It spoke at the time of Gilead, describing the life of the handmaids, especially “Offred”, and what they had been through from brutal and gruesome treatment. In this paper, I would like to clarify how this novel speaks to the position of women in the Middle East generally or in Kuwait specifically.

The textbook definition of feminism is “a doctrine that advocates equal rights for women” (WordNet, 2010). While this is correct, there is much more to it than that.

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