Comparing The Past In Androids And The Handmaid's Tale

The events of the past always leave deep enough scars to still be felt way into the future. The two works Androids and The Handmaid’s Tale Illustrate this by use of flashbacks specifically in the Handmaids tale. In regard to Androids, the lurking influence of the past can be seen in the alternate history that the novel itself follows and the subsequent events that spawn from the scars that the events created in the future world of Androids. The Handmaid’s Tale is the story of a Handmaid named Offred and how she lives in a world radically different from the world she used to live in the past. To Offred the oppression she lives with is the only future she knows. Unable to escape this brave new world, Offred lives and copes the best way she knows how by adopting to her surroundings and resorting to reminiscing about the past to keep her sanity. The past often looms behind Offred; often times her refuge in a world that is so different from the world she lived in before the Republic of Gilead was established, are her memories of the days before. During the nap sections or during the sections where Offred has spare moment usually when she is resting or taking a nap. The past serves as Offred’s only escape. An example of what I mean is portrayed when Offred is sleeping and remembers her affair with Luke and their

But one thing remains clear it follows our characters invading our character’s lives in different ways. Serving as a gentle and soft warming pillow for Offred. But serving as a force that leads to eventual destruction much like the androids during the climax. The past holds a strong power over the characters and it does not let them go. In conclusion, I would say that the past has great meaning for these characters and will remain an important part of the development of the both the Author’s points; both on oppression and the relationship between ethics and technological