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Choice In The Handmaid's Tale By Margaret Atwood

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Personal choice represents that grasp on reality but how does one fully establish that? Choice greatly holds almost every person, even if it is not instantly recognized. The choice is represented through a lot of different moments in time, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, the book recognizes the struggles to grasp society and one’s own personal choices, and ties in ideas of society not representing choice to each individual. In The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, the use of Offred’s storytelling and her past and present memories demonstrates the idea of being able to grasp onto one’s own perspective of the narrative, allows for a grasp of one’s own choice, and how the fight for women’s rights mirrors that want for personal choice. …show more content…

Throughout The Handmaid’s Tale, the progression of Offred developing a sense of her own choice is slightly more apparent but is shown through the offerings of Gilead. Understanding the choices made by the handmaids and by Offred gives a perspective of how their oppressed freedom is conflicting with their own choices. “Yes, we are very happy,” I murmur. I have to say something else can I say?”(29). The quote symbolizes the fear from Offred and Ofglen about fighting to say the truth about their lives in Gilead, as Offred is struggling to rebel against the rules of Gilead. The interchangeable conflict between Offred and Gilead’s societal expectations is represented through her ideas of trying to establish personal choice but also looks back at the precedence of her personal autonomy before Gilead existed at points. This relates back to how the understatement of grasping onto personal choice is also being interpreted and grasped in different …show more content…

Modern society has represented a shift in societal upbringings and standards of equality when it comes to women and women’s rights. There is a set standard which is unequal to the rest of society as it represents a double standard that is mainly applicable to women and the power given to women.“Only this time the subject was women’s bodies, and this time the world had changed... Now it’s a means to further an agenda”(Friedman). This quote about the everchanging standards applied to women is always to further an agenda set by others that are not fully affected by them. This is represented throughout the theme of The Handmaid’s Tale which develops a theme around how women are fully oppressed and not given personal choice in Gilead, and how the women are stuck in a society without a say and are stuck in unequal double standards of

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(Atwood 187). Although Handmaids experience oppression by the Gilead regime, Atwood emphasizes the importance of unity and collaboration in the face of difficulties. The government of Gilead presents how hypocritical their society is toward women’s rights since the government uses a form of manipulation to make the Handmaid’s circumstances more tolerable. Additionally, Offred expresses how women do not have a right to their bodies because of the power others have over them as Offred states “I am abject” (Atwood 331). Offred expresses the removal of her individuality, autonomy, and basic human rights.

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Offred’s new idea of a satisfactory freedom is one in which she must hide her true identity and desire. This newly-acquired mentality is forced upon her by the society she lives in, in which she must outwardly display approval and conformity. Despite occasionally asking the Commander questions and reading, Unlike Moira, who twice tries to run away from Gilead and her assigned duty, Offred quickly becomes demoralized and values safety more than she values rebelling for her unalienable rights. To an extent even Moira becomes demoralized after being captured and forced to be a prostitute, which highlights that Gilead is able to transform and crush the spirits of even those who outwardly rebel. Aunt Lydia tells the handmaids to accept their new duty even though it “may not seem ordinary to [them] now,” because “after time it will.

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What would become of the world, if our current societal flaws, such as sexism, racism, and classism were ingrained and executed at a systematic level? This is exactly what The Handmaid’s Tale set out to explore. The novel, which claims to be speculative fiction, is set in the theocratic Republic of Gilead (formerly the USA), where birth rates are rapidly declining and women have been marginalized by the patriarchal regime, forbidden to read, write or love and valued only if they are able to procreate. They are separated into classes, including Wives, Marthas, Aunts, Unwomen, and Handmaids, distinguishable only by the color of their clothing. The Handmaids are renamed by combining ‘of’ and the name of the Commander that they have been assigned to, stripping them of any individuality.

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Offred is suspicious of what the handmaid 's did. She looks at their hands, and a clue is given to her when she sees “black gloves”(Atwood 275). She ponders what they could have possibly done to have warranted such action from the authorities. Her speculation shows how the society of Gilead functions. The government of Gilead wants the handmaids to see that the prisoners are being hanged, as their suspicion is how Gilead gains control of them.

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Works of literature often portray ideas relating to Marxist theory, this is why in a dystopian society, class distinctions dominate the social climate, using Marxist ideologies as a tool to define the lives of the narrator and those around her. In Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, ideologies from Marxist theory dominate the society in which Offred, the narrator, lives in, evidenced by the strict class systems and limited interaction between them. In writing the novel, Atwood makes a point to create a world that could exist using technology and ideas already accessible in today’s society, meaning the events that take place in The Handmaid’s Tale could happen in present day. Offred lives in a reality where class distinctions dominate society, and women, especially fertile women. These women are displaced downwards, although there are those women who attempt to resist the grip of society.

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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.

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There are two ways people will react to when their freedom is taken away. They will either accept it or rebel against it, which is what a lot of the female characters in Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale accomplished. Shown through Offred’s repetition of certain events, Moira’s tone of being a fighter, and Serena Joy’s desperation, the reader can see that lack of freedom leads to rebellion. Offred, the novel’s narrator, now lives in a world where women are powerless. She has had her freedom taken away, and at times follows the rules, but ends up rebelling in many powerful ways.

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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.

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“No woman can call herself free who does not control her own body”. When Margaret Sanger spoke these words, she was expressing her belief on a woman’s right to have an abortion. This quote, however, speaks to the fact that women are oppressed on more than just abortions. In the novel, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, Atwood portrays the dehumanization of sexuality through both the characters and events within the novel, therefore proving that women will always be considered less than men will. Margaret Atwood was born in Ottawa, Ontario in 1939.

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In the handmaid's tale, the Handmaids are treated poorly, making the person no longer themselves. The reader learns that Offred is being told what to do and has no say for her opinion, since it is against the law to go against the government. According to the handmaid’s tale, "You go out through the door and turn right. There's another door, it's open. Go up the stairs and knock, he's expecting you.

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The Handmaids Tale essay “Faith” as it read and that there would be the last offred would get to read. In the novel The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, tells the story of Offred, one of the few fertile women in Gilead who is used purely for breeding and birth for a population. In the beginning, Offred seems to be inoffensive, ordinary, and somehow makes light of her awful situation and towards the end something changes in her which makes her bitter, reserved, and rebellious. Lust for freedom leads to change in integrity shown through Offred, the Commander, Serena joy, and the rest of the handmaids. Life before Gilead meant women could own property, smoke, decide their sexuality, work, and live for something other than serving man.

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1364 Words | 6 Pages

Aunt Lydia’s more relevant quote in The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, is the two freedoms, who gives the reader an accurate insight of the Gilead society. This quote exposes the contrast between the freedom before and after the settlement of the Republic of Gilead, and the mentality of the brainwashed nation. It is well known that the Gileadean era is a dystopia, but the reader must study deeper into both societies –Gileadean and pre-Gileadean- to understand which one is really worse. Before the appearing of the Republic of Gilead, freedom was seen as a person’s desire, however, on the Gileadean era, freedom is a collective idea. On the current community, freedom is settled by laws based on moral and social values, but ignoring the

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996 Words | 4 Pages

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.

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1587 Words | 7 Pages

One’s power can be abused due to indolence; it ruins the lowest social class. In the handmaid 's tale, the Handmaids are treated poorly, making the person no longer themselves. The reader learns that Offred is being told what to do and has no say for her opinion, since it is against the law to go against the government. According to the handmaid’s tale, "You go out through the door and turn right. There 's another door, it 's open.

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889 Words | 4 Pages

The Handmaid’s Tale is a dystopian novel written by Margaret Atwood in 1985. She is well-known for being a poet, novelist, inventor, essayist, and an environmental activist. She 's a feminist this is important because in her novels she often portrays the female characters being oppressed and rebelling against stronger males. Attwood is very interested in environmentalist issues and one of her main themes for her novels, particularly ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ include men interfering nature. The Handmaid’s Tale is about a totalitarian society set in Gilead which used to be apart of the United States.

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