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The handmaid's tale feminism atwood
Religion and control in the handmaid's tale
Religion and control in the handmaid's tale
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In the novels, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick, showing the human soul in very similar ways. In these two novels, they take away the understanding of the soul to push their beliefs on others. Saying that Handmaids or Androids don't have a soul, or aren't as valuable as others, makes it easier for people to see them as less than. In The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, the human soul is based on who you are.
3.Topic sentence: The two dystopian states resort to a totalitarianism government in order to maintain some facade of control, which was lost with the ability of reproduction. POINT: The republic of Gilead acts as a totalitarian society where the citizens are controlled by the population. The people are denied information, what little media they have is censored and monitored by Guardians or Eyes, men whose job it is to spy on other members of society. This was all done in order to ensure that there is no rebellion, otherwise women might choose to not reproduce.
The desire for power is very prominent in The Handmaid’s Tale. In the Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, Atwood uses figurative language including, symbolism, diction, and dramatic irony to show multiple characters struggles with reproductive rights and the struggle of gaining power in the male dominated society; It is not always the lack of power that these characters, but the desire to not be underpowered. Offred is the main character in Handmaid’s Tale. The first struggle that is known right away is her name. Her name is forced upon her by others choosing.
Here we meet the heroes of our story. #1 and #2. And our villains: #3 and #4. #3 is chopping #2 in half. He’s bleeding.
Through this dialogue, Atwood exposes the absurdity and cruelty of a society that denies women their basic reproductive rights and the reader is able to comprehend and apply the importance of reproductive autonomy for all individuals. Ultimately, Atwood also seeks to modify traditional attitudes and beliefs surrounding power dynamics within relationships and society. In Gilead, power is highly centralized and held solely by a select group of men, with women completely subservient and lacking any agency or power of their own. Atwood uses the character of the Commander, Offred's male owner, to illustrate how traditional power dynamics can be used to exploit and manipulate others. Through the Commander's interactions with Offred and his thoughts and actions, Atwood highlights the corrupting and destructive effects of unchecked power and encourages the reader to feel the importance of equality and mutual respect within relationships and society.
In the Handmaid’s Tale, the former university is turned into a prison run by the secret police. Dissidents are executed and hung on the walls of the university to show as a warning for any other citizen if they think about committing heresy. “The wall is hundreds of years old too; or over a hundred at least. Like the sidewalks, it’s red brick and must once have been plain but handsome” (Atwood 31). This shows that the wall has been around of a long time and hasn’t always been used for hanging.
In Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, Gilead, an ultra-misogynistic dystopia, has taken over what can be assumed to be the United States. Women are separated into categories based on their age, fertility, and general use to the regime. Any women who does not fit the qualifications for any of the categories or violates rules against sexual activity is deemed an Unwomen and sent to the a supposedly treacherous place known as the “Colonies”. Men are also forbidden from having sexual relations unless given position of Commander, a rank that seems to hold the most power and privilege in society. The systematic oppression of these people is surrounded by religious justifications and biblical references.
Often, we see a society’s cultural values reflected in its citizens. For example, the United States values equality, a standard that is shared in all facets including gender. The opposite is true of Gilead, a fictional society in Emily Bronte’s The Handmaid’s Tale. The novel’s main character, Offred, is subjected to degrading treatment simply because she is a woman. It becomes apparent that this repeated degradation has affected the protagonist’s mind.
In Margaret Atwood’s novel, ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, Moira is depicted as the symbol for resistance to authority and represents hope to the Handmaids. Atwood presents her as a polar opposite to Offred. She is independent, strong-willed, and outspoken. Conversely, the pair can be argued to be doubles in the fact that they both ‘resist’ to the oppressive Republic in Gilead.
Whether one era or society allows to think about themselves and individual is always obligated to make there action for there happiness and for themselves .In the novel The Handmaid 's Tale by Margaret Atwood, Offred’s acceptance towards complacency helps her survive in a misogynistic society but internally she is refusing to comply to sustain her identity. As much as Offred disagrees with the value and beliefs in the society she has to comply in order to endure. The commander throughout the book breaks many rules one of them was calling Offred secretly in the nights.
Some of these methods include destroying identity through classification, objectification, and indoctrination. Most women of Gilead are sufficiently repressed that they seem to accept their assigned roles, at least outwardly resigned to their fate. Atwood uses gender roles in The Handmaid’s Tale to show the lengths to which misogynistic totalitarian governments will go, to protect their dictatorships. The Republic of Gilead is a hierarchical society which requires complete submission of women to men. By taking away women’s paid jobs, confiscating their property, draining their bank accounts, and giving them no recourse, the male leadership leaves women in a fully dependent and subservient position.
The purpose of the wall is like a punishment . People are hung on the outside to create fear to the people not commit any crimes or else that is going to happen . When Offred and Ofglen are walking home in chapter 6 they walk down the path to where the wall is located “We stop , together as if on signal , and stand and look at the bodies . It doesn’t matter if we look. We’re suppose to look : this is what they are there for , hanging on the wall”(Atwood 32).
In this written text, the emphasis will be on Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale and as well as the way Atwood portrays women and how it can be argued to show the oppression of women. The main purpose is to analyze the way women are treated throughout this book and depict why they are represented this way in the society in Gilead. Then, comparatively, observe the men’s domination over women and how they govern this society. In The Handmaid’s Tale, women are stripped of their rights, suffer many inequalities and are objectified, controlled by men and only valued for their reproductive qualities. The Gilead society is divided in multiple social group.
“Power doesn’t corrupt people, people corrupt power.”- William Gaddis. People take advantage of power when it is entrusted to them because of their own greed, which as a result lead to societal deterioration. In the story, “The Handmaid’s Tale,” by Margaret Atwood, the higher-ups from Gilead abuse the power that is given to them, ruining the life of the citizens in the society. This was the cause for the need of higher birth rates and fixing conflicts in the world, but this was handled immorally.
I would choose The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood as USF’s Common Read for next year. When I first read this novel last year in my English class, I was hooked. The novel is well written and engaging while also simple to read, and contains mystery and suspense, making it hard not to become invested. The book deals with a dystopian society in which some women are classified as “handmaids”, forced to bear children for a group of men, the Commanders. The themes of this novel overlap with prevalent topics in America today: women’s rights and feminism, freedoms and rights in general, and treatments of minority groups.
