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Dystopian Society In 'The Handmaid's Tale'

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It is often the case that authors use ideas in novels as a lens through which they comment on the nature of society. Margaret Atwood cleverly does so by creating a dystopian setting, Gilead for her novel The Handmaid’s Tale. Themes such as extreme gender roles, theocratic society and forms of control lead us as readers to question our own society’s views, structure, and ideals and draw parallels between Atwood’s dystopian society and elements of our own. In Gilead, low fertility rates caused gender roles, a theme which arises from the book, to be taken to the extreme in society. Men make the decisions, who are able to both make and break the rules. Women are forbidden from reading or writing and whose sole purpose is to reproduce or serve …show more content…

Many of the laws of Gilead are based on a very literal understanding of the Bible. Each week, the commander reads passages from the bible to the household, focusing on those which justify the actions and beliefs of Gilead. For example,“…and Adam was not deceived, but the woman who was being deceived was in transgression, notwithstanding she shall be saved through childbearing” clearly illustrates Gilead’s belief that women are inferior to men and can only be saved through reproduction. Ideas like this are drilled into the minds of the handmaids as they are taught to chant “Give me children or else I die”. Unfortunately for them, Gilead takes this saying seriously – if a handmaid is unable to conceive after three postings, she is sent to the colonies to work until she dies. In Gilead biblical interpretations are used to justify these extreme acts. The prevalence of biblical messages is also clear in other ways. The names of the guards – ‘Angels’ as well as the grocery stores – “Fish and loaves”, “All scrolls”. Atwood’s aim to challenge society’s view ‘that could never happen here’ is made crystal clear. By basing Gilead upon biblical interpretations, we are forced to examine how our interpretation of the Bible is similar or different from Gilead’s. One cannot help but question whether a society like Gilead could arise from our own in the

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856 Words | 4 Pages

One of the factors used by the characters in the two novels for their survival is conformity. An example of conformity that plays an important role in the two novels is clothing. In The Handmaid’s Tale, the classifications of each individual are conformed by different clothing. The Handmaids wear red dresses, Marthas wear green, Wives wear blue, Ecowives wear stripes dresses of the three colours, and Commanders and the Angels wear black clothing. According to Offred from The Handmaid's Tale, “The wings too are prescribed issue; they are to keep us from seeing, but also from being seen” (Atwood 9).

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1854 Words | 8 Pages

When Offred is in the bathtub, the lack of connection she feels with her body is revealed: “Now the flesh arranges itself differently. I’m cloud, congealed around a central object, the shape of a pear, which is hard and more real than I am and glows red within its translucent wrapping” (Atwood 73). Here, she is describing her body as “flesh,” which connotes the separation she feels from her body, as “flesh” is a word often used to describe dead things. The “central object” that she feels “congealed around” is her womb, because the only purpose she feels she has in the society of Gilead is to bear children. This reveals Offred’s lack of motivation to defend her body or her beliefs, and her assimilation to Gilead.

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643 Words | 3 Pages

The Commander and the Aunts claim that women are better protected in Gilead, where they are treated with respect and kept safe from violence. However, while Gilead claims to suppress sexual violence, it actually institutionalizes it. An example is Jezebel’s, the club that provides the Commanders with prostitutes to service the male elite. Another example is the Ceremony that compels Handmaids to have sex with their Commanders. Foster suggests, “...sex can be pleasure, sacrifice, submission, rebellion, resignation, supplication, domination, enlightenment, the whole works” (158).

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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.

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1203 Words | 5 Pages

Regina Carla L. Silva 2015-01293 The Handmaid’s Tale The novel is set in the Republic of Gilead which is formerly the United States of America. The name comes from a place from the Bible. It is a totalitarian, theocratic government.

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2035 Words | 9 Pages

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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1044 Words | 5 Pages

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.

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Matthew Sarnowski Ms. Manuppelli World Literature 20 June 2023 The Handmaid’s Tale Essay The Handmaid’s Tale by Margret Atwood is a strong warning to women and society in the present day. Even though her novel is set in the future, one can see slight reflections of society today. People often do not realize how the radicalization and the division can lead to places like Gilead, but when things such as the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and the gaining popularity of christian extremist groups.

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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.

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1322 Words | 6 Pages

Daisy Lv Ms. Jamieson English 12-1 26 February 2018 Nineteen Eighty-Four Versus The Handmaid’s Tale: Is There a Difference? “It is possible to dehumanize man completely (Fromm 318)?”

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783 Words | 4 Pages

“What it really means is that she is in control of the process and thus the product. If any.” (109). The society of Gilead wants to make sure that the child is the Commander’s wife’s child as much as possible, and they believe that by having Serena Joy hold the hands of Offred, then that is possible. In this way, Offred, and all of the other Handmaid’s are sexually dehumanized.

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1251 Words | 6 Pages

The Handmaid 's Tale is one of Margaret Atwood most famous novels written during the spring of 1984, when the Berlin wall was still standing. Atwood creates a dystopia, which mostly consists of gender gap and oppression. The Handmaid 's Tale effectively portrays the United States as the modern-day totalitarian society of Gilead, which was illustrated as perfect by using the book of Genesis. Although the authors ideas are inherently and completely fictional, several concepts throughout his book have common links to the past and present society which the author herself calls a speculative fiction. The author uses a totalitarian system which includes aspects of Soviet system, to describe, deprivation, repression and terror with the use of

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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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91 Words | 1 Pages

approach to the text, could lead a person to accuse, God, Jesus, The Bible and its authors of misogyny. The fact is that the Bible’s inclusive treatment of women presents them as neither inferior nor superior to men, but as equals. God created man and women in his image, he created Eve to be helpmate not a stepping stool. Furthermore, God gave women the greatest gift of all which is to give life to the One who gives life, salvation, joy, and hope to many in the past and the future.

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988 Words | 4 Pages

In The Handmaid’s Tale, the novel critiques gender inequality and autocratic authority. The hierarchical class of men consists of Commanders, Angels, and Guardians. In particular, the Commanders are the highest-ranking social group in Gileadean society. The Commanders are represented as powerful men. They have leadership roles, autocratic governance, and are oppressors controlling the Gilead regime.

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