ipl-logo

Discrimination In The Handmaid's Tale

1097 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Margaret atwood the handmaid's tale characterisation

Victim or offender?Even after experiencing the worst crimes, for example sexual violence, women feel powerless because the blame falls on themselves. Margret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” is a dystopian novel set in the near-future of America that tells a story where women are only valued for their fertility. Powerful or powerless? Within the problems of this novel: the ceremony, the salvagings and the particicution, the novel highlights “power relationships” and the discrimination of women and their power in society. The real question is, are women discriminated against only in this book, or in the real world?

So, let me ask you a question, what is the worst part about the society of Gilead? Is it the big events, like the ceremony and the …show more content…

The relationship between the Handmaid’s Tale and the current way we blame the victim of rape is outstanding. It’s upsetting to know that even though this novel is a dystopian piece of writing, Atwood has got our society spot on! In 2010, an 10-year-old girl was placed in a Child Protection Service after being removed from her house. She ran away with another girl, both 10 years old, and were on the street for about a week. At some time, they encountered a 30-year-old convicted drug dealer who assaulted her in his apartment. In 2011, the same girl, now 11-years-old, was gang raped by 20 men for the second time in two years. The perpetrators received between a 15 year and 99 year jail sentence. In the trial, the prosecutor described Cruse, an offender who received a life imprisonment after the incident, as one of a ‘pack of dogs’ who gang raped the girl and likened the victim to a ‘spider’ who lured men into her web. The assault was videotaped showing Cruse as a proud man after his buddies were constantly saying, “beat that ho.” The judgement against this girl for bringing the crime onto herself is discrimination. Recently, there was a debate in class about whether or not it was her own fault. Personally, I believe that running away from home the second time was a mistake, even after knowing the dangers of the world from the incident the year before. In today’s society, sexual assault is growing more and more. On average, there are 288,820 victims, aged 12 or older, of rape and sexual assault each year in the US. Discrimination against women was the major key in this novel, which is also a huge world problem nowadays. In Saudi Arabia, women are not allowed to drive, in relation to the restriction of reading and writing for the Handmaid’s in the novel. In Yemen, Asia, Yemeni women are some of the least empowered women in the world. In Nepal, if a women is raped or assaulted, the perpetrators are not

Show More
Related
1865 Words | 8 Pages

In schools across the world, children learn that, despite rampant injustice committed by a few, there is still good in the honorable majority of mankind and the promise of righteousness under the law. These children mature idolizing both superheroes in society and those existing on the big screen, teaching that right will trump wrong and that good will prevail over evil. Unfortunately, however, this is not an all-encompassing theme outside of the fictional realm. In Louise Erdrich’s The Round House, Geraldine Coutts, a rape victim on a Native American reservation, finds only injustice in the very judicial system that sought to protect her.

Read More
1011 Words | 5 Pages

All the Rage by Courtney Summers is a novel about a rape victim named Romy that lost her respect because no one wanted to believe that the town’s golden boy Kellan Turner raped her. The night after she attended a party, she woke up with no memory of the previous night and news that her former best friend Penny Young was missing. There is a huge mystery to solve with Penny Young that raises many questions about date rape drugs, rape and death. All the Rage shows readers that society doesn’t allow rape victims a chance for rightful justice portrayed by the preconceived notions that surround the main Character Romy, the setting of the novel and the theme.

Read More
303 Words | 2 Pages

As feminist issues go, rape is one of the most predominant topics that is brought up when discussing women’s rights. The concept is one that Aphra Behn chooses to write about frequently in her works; from The Rover and The Fair Jilt, which both contain scenes where the (attempted) rape is clear, to her poem The Disappointment, where the lines between consent and force are muddied depending on how the reader interprets her language. This essay will focus on comparing The Rover and The Fair Jilt in their depictions of their respective perpetrators, victims, and rationalizations of rape. The Fair Jilt introduces readers to Miranda, a young ward of a nunnery who has very little political power but has been blessed with beauty, wit, and a large

Read More
977 Words | 4 Pages

I could have been any one of the women in this book. They were treated l like they didn’t exist, their opinions and feelings weren’t valued, their freedom and rights were taken away from them. Hundreds of women were falsely accused of nonviolent crimes and never got the forensic help they needed. Hundreds of women were given the death penalty and life in prison for little crimes, like writing fake checks to Toys R Us for one hundred and fifty dollars. These women looked to the justice system to be there for them.

Read More
167 Words | 1 Pages

The Declaration of Independence not only shaped the government and culture of America, but it also did shaped the thinking of the world with its greatness. The declaration represents the full vision of what America should be. Thomas Jefferson took on the job of writing the first draft in 1776. The Declaration consists of an introduction saying we owe the world explanation for separation, statement ideals about government, a long list of injustices against the British, and a declaration of independence from Great Britain. There are four ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence: Equality, Inalienable Rights, Consent of the Governed out, and the right to Alter or Abolish government.

Read More
908 Words | 4 Pages

As a girl today, I am well aware of the adversities for women in the world. Inequalities in our society are undeniable, but we focus on our own lives rather than women’s lives in the horrific world of human trafficking. The novel Sold by Patricia McCormick explores this terrible world and its implications. McCormick has experience with this world through extensive research and time spent among third world country red light districts. Reading this text, I began to think about gender and its large role on society.

Read More
1000 Words | 4 Pages

”(Harriet Jacobs,567) Many women have suffered from sexual assault and have felt like there is no law that would protect them from this horrible act. Also, women who were born into slavery had to bear children for their master, but

Read More
996 Words | 4 Pages

When analyzing the characters of the Handmaid's Tale and the Scarlet Letter through the feminist lense, sexism has become so internalized that women work to maintain the system through prejudice and belittling one another for not fulfilling orthodox gender roles.

Read More
746 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More
571 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More
801 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More
981 Words | 4 Pages

Atwood’s dystopian novel is a warning about the consequences of misogynistic, authoritarian governments. Her message seems to be universal since the subjugation of women by religious extremists, remains a concern in the present

Read More
783 Words | 4 Pages

The entire Ceremony, while used as a form of reproduction, is a way to strip the Handmaids of their entire sense of self-worth and their humanity. Margaret Atwood also portrayed dehumanization and objectification outside of the

Read More
988 Words | 4 Pages

In the 1980s, United States was experiencing the rise of conservatism. Under the presidency of Ronald Reagan, conservative religious groups were gaining popularity. In response to the social and political landscape, Canadian author Margaret Atwood published a fictional novel The Handmaid’s Tale in 1986; a genre of dystopian novels. The storyline projects an imaginary futuristic world where society lives under oppression and illusion of a utopian society maintained through totalitarian control. Dystopian novels often focus on current social government trends and show an exaggeration of what happens if the trends are taken too far.

Read More
1096 Words | 5 Pages

“Women are the only oppressed group in our society that lives in intimate association with their oppressors,” -Evelyn Cunningham. During the early 20th century, society’s expectations of women were tremendously different than how they are currently in the 21st century. Women were expected to be submissive to the men around them and had to listen, obey, and serve them. Prominent examples were represented in Ernest Hemingway’s stories, “Cat in the Rain” and “Hills like White Elephants.” Both of the well-known short stories were written in the 1920s and depict the mistreatment of women.

Read More

More about Discrimination In The Handmaid's Tale

Related Topics

Open Document