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Coping Mechanism In The Handmaid's Tale

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‘Coping’ refers to conscious strategies used to reduce unpleasant emotions. In Margaret Atwood's novel ‘The Handmaid's Tale,’ the protagonist Offred employs various coping mechanisms to navigate her oppressive reality. This essay will explore Offred's acts of rebellion, her use of internal monologue, and the significance of the night sections as coping mechanisms. Offred refuses to succumb to the objectification desired by the regime, and so, she uses acts of rebellion as a coping mechanism. Initially subtle, her defiance escalates throughout the novel. For instance, she ‘refuse[s] to say my’ when referring to her assigned room, asserting her dominance. This defiance signifies her resistance against becoming a mere object in Gilead's oppressive …show more content…

By reflecting on her situation, she retains a sense of self and individuality within the confines of Gilead. One example of this is when she lists the objects in her room, such as ‘A chair, a table, a lamp’. This exercise allows her to ground herself in the present moment and retain a sense of normalcy amidst the oppressive environment. The night sections in the novel hold great psychological importance for Offred. They provide her with moments of freedom, allowing her to escape the oppressive events of the day. Offred treasures these moments as her own time, emphasizing their significance in maintaining her sanity and emotional well-being. During these night sections, Offred engages in nostalgic reminiscence, reflecting on her daughter and husband Luke. These memories serve as reminders of her past life and the immense loss she has experienced, highlighting the drastic change in society. In addition to all this, Offred also attempts to form connections with others with the goal of solace and support. She forms relationships with individuals like Ofglen and Moira in turn allowing her to share her experiences and exchange information. These connections support her emotionally and give her the strength she needs to

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Outward conformity along with inward questioning, that is what the main character, presented in Margaret Artwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, has to undertake in order to survive in a theocratic society. Stepping out of line in any way risks your life, so in a place where freedom of speech and basic human right’s no longer apply, Offered must comply with whatever rules they have in place and pretend to agree with the system, but in the inside, she cannot help but think about her past life, her husband, her daughter, before everything began. Flashbacks are integrated in the novel to not only compare the old society with the new one, but to also demonstrate this fake conformity Offred has to display to others and her internal struggle with giving up on escaping the Republic or just accepting her fate and playing by

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In the novel The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, the protagonist, Offred, expresses her wish that her “story [is] different,” that it is “happier,” or at least “more active, less hesitant, less distracted” than it is ultimately portrayed (267). However, as her story is told, these characteristics are evident in the way she talks and acts, especially around those with authority. Hesitant to express her true thoughts and feelings, and distracted by memories from her previous life, Offred attempts to piece together her role in the society that has taken her freedom. The result is a compilation of moments, of memories, both from her present, her past, and even speculation about her future.

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Gilead values obedience to their core beliefs and use many tactics to maintain it. The citizens often spy on one another and Eyes are spread throughout the society. Offred’s depression and fear is what controls the way she behaves even around Ofglen, who later on became one of her closest companions. “She may be a real believer, a Handmaid in more than name. I can’t take the risk.

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Offred struggles between her attraction to Nick and remaining faithful to Luke. In the end of the novel, Offred ends up giving in to her attraction to Nick, however she does not feel that she has betrayed Luke in any way. Both gentlemen fulfill needs of Offed at different times of her life. Luke only exists in her past life, and most of Offred’s memories with him are fading away as she struggles to remember certain details of her past. Offred thinks, “The fact is that I no longer want to leave, escape, cross the border to freedom.

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In the book A Handmaid’s Tale passivity is a common theme throughout Offred’s journey as a handmaid. In this context, passivity is allowing others to do things to you without complaining or pushing back to protect oneself and to keep oneself safe from harm or cruel treatment. There are several instances in which Offred is forced to be passive in order to please the people who have Offreds life in their hands. In the position that Offred is in as a handmaid, she is expected to do as her commander and the wife of her commander instructs her to do, and if she does not comply to these orders, no matter how unusual or unfair, she faces severe punishment or even death in the worst of cases. Just like Offred there are several other women who are forced to call Gilead home that must be passive in order to stay alive.

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Through word choice and plot, the reader now feels angry with Glynnis. She is throwing blind accusations at her husband, isolating herself from all her friends and losing connection with her daughter. Oates describes her as a wayward wife. Her husband pushes her out of the window yet he is still seen as sane and sensible. While the other characters in the novel are rooting for Ian, hoping he is not sentenced to jail, Ian “would not make of his wife whom he loved a drunken frenzied knife-wielding woman, to save his own skin” (American

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The protagonist of The Handmaid’s Tale is referred to as Offred (of Fred). Through the manipulation of literary devices such as juxtaposition, allusion, and descriptive diction, Margaret Atwood voices her concerns about our future, and reveals just how quickly and completely our present could transform. As chapter 33 begins, the Handmaids are off to the Women’s Prayvaganza (a portmanteau of pray and extravaganza). The event, juxtaposed to the ‘fun festival’ it resembles, is really a mass wedding with girls as young as fourteen married off to Angels (troops).

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In the Handmaid 's Tale power is used to control the women and sort them into certain gender roles. Each women in the society of Gilead is assigned a certain job that is stereotypical of a woman 's job such as cooking, sex, and reproduction. These women are the lowest class in Gilead and have no control. The men have superior power of the women but the women such as Ofgeln and Offred gain control in power in their lives. Men have an upper hand in the control of these women.

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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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Offred initially feels a sense of loss due to her position as a fertile woman since the independence and individuality she once enjoyed has since been stripped from her by the Republic of Gilead. It is only through rebellion that Offred is able to slowly regain her sense of self and reject the role that Gilead forces her into. By rebellion, however, it is often more dangerous for the perpetrators than to the government’s grip on the people. Offred’s societal role as a handmaid in Gilead forces her to first obey, then causes her to question, which finally allows her to realize her

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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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In the novel The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, Offred has a continuous search for justice for her daughter, in a society in which her idea of justice is starts as one concept and changes to one that she never expected. Margaret Atwood writes Offred as a character who was at once strong-willed, and who would stop at nothing to get what she wanted. Her strength is dimmed at first, when her daughter and husband are first taken from her. Her strength, however comes back in full force when she finds the opportunity to get justice for her daughter. Offred uses the motivation of her daughter to spur a rebellious side of her that disappeared when the new leaders came into power.

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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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Moreover, for Offred, recording her stories is the only way to send a message to the world outside Gilead in hope that one day it will be delivered. She does not try to be accurate about the history and society of dystopian Gilead, yet she is precise in describing her feelings and emotions, knowing that she is not alone: there are other handmaids with similar stories and there are her believed

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Through the character of Offred and the other handmaids, the novel portrays a society that seeks to control women's bodies, minds, and voices. However, the characters' unwavering determination and perseverance in the face of this oppression inspire readers to resist and fight for a better future. The relevance of the novel to modern society lies in its exploration of the political, economic, and social factors that give rise to totalitarianism and oppression. By examining these structures and systems, the novel offers insights into the root causes of these issues and invites readers to think critically about the world around

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