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Examples Of Dystopia In The Handmaid's Tale

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Often times throughout fictional literacy works, authors will create an imaginary and futuristic universe. This universe can be either be a utopia or a dystopia. When an author decides to set their literacy work in a dystopia universe, that universe is under the illusion that a perfect society is maintained throughout a totalitarian control. Under a totalitarian control, people are often dehumanized and lead a very fearful life. There is no individual freedom whatsoever, just the government’s control in every aspect of life. Author, Margret Atwood decided to go with this type of horrific, imaginary universe when creating Gilead in her famed novel, “The Handmaid’s Tale”. When a dystopian universe such as Gilead takes place, there will eventually …show more content…

That’s not necessarily true for the Commander of Offred though. The first act of disobedience that the Commander shows is when he is in the doorway of Offred’s room, “I can see now, it’s the Commander, he isn’t supposed to be here. He hears me coming, turns, hesitates, walks forward. Towards me. He is violating customs” (Atwood 49). Though the Commander is very aware of the rules in Gilead, he still is being defiant by being outside of Offred’s bedroom door. The Commander goes on to rebel against the rules when he asks for Offred to play a board game with him that is against the law for all women to be playing: “Now it’s forbidden, for us. Now it’s dangerous. Now it’s indecent. Now it’s something he can’t do with his Wife. Now it’s desirable. Now he’s compromised himself” (Atwood 138-139). The Commander shows the biggest act of rebellion when he takes Offred out of the house: “I know without being told that what he’s proposing is risky, for him but especially for me” (Atwood 231). Even though he is a Commander and does not have strict rules like the Handmaid’s, he still acts of disobedience to authority. He explains why to Offred saying, “…everyone’s human, after all” (Atwood 237). The Commander’s position in society and his act of defiance against the rules shows that no matter what, there will be rebellion in some

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Nevertheless he was pressed into acceptance. He soon found himself in trouble. The colonel found himself in trouble. The colonel gave an improper command, and the strict discipline of West Point forbade any improvisation, so Jackson’s company marched off the parade ground and straight through the town. The lieutenant’s explanation was illuminating and characteristic: He was obeying orders(Vandiver).

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There are bigger wheels rotating than just your circles here. We are not talking about local politics but of Imperial politics. Emperor is not without enemies and in this case you would be aiding them by taking action.” “That in itself sounds like treason to me. You expect me to let a criminal run free just because it is convenient to your political plays?”

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When people's credo changes there has to be something or someone that affected them to make them change their credo. For example someone can be affected emotionally in their lives that will change in how they believe in something or someone. A good example of this is Jemima finch who has various credos throughout the book, that change while he he starts to mature and after the case of Tom Robinson who lost his case just for being black. At the beginning of the book Jem is young and has no idea about racism, which growing up was normal to call a black person a “Niger” which he didn't see that it was bad when father would tell him not to use that word.

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940 Words | 4 Pages

These words suggest that anything that needs to be done to go against this unjust law, no matter what it takes, should be done. King, on the other hand, uses the word “disobey”. The word disobey implies that King does not mean that he wants a revolution or a rebellion at all. King was very religious and had a gentle way of speaking. He wanted to fix the corrupt laws, but he wanted to do it calmly and respectfully.

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431 Words | 2 Pages

The Commander has total control of the people under him and how his people carry out their lives. This type of control is also shown through the novel 1984. The idea of a totalitarian government has become a trend in multiple books and makes us think about how our government controls our everyday lives. Aspects of our society today is controlled

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880 Words | 4 Pages

His role is to bring chaos to the established order, to break the rules and cross

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801 Words | 4 Pages

Furthermore, one act of rebellion was when she goes to the Commander’s office and he says, “‘I’d like you to play a game of Scrabble with me’” (Atwood 138). Not only is Offred breaking the rules by being with the Commander, she also

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783 Words | 4 Pages

“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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1620 Words | 7 Pages

Throughout history, women have often been subjected to prejudice and an inferior status to men. Due to sexist ideologies of men believing that women are not capable of controlling their own lives, women have often been reduced to the status of property. This concept is prominent in many pieces of literature to demonstrate the struggles women have to go through in a predominantly, male structured world. In the novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood, the author illustrates a woman’s battle in an extreme society ruled by men to express the misogyny occurring in the time period when it was written, 1894. Benet’s Reader’s Encyclopedia summarizes Atwood’s story as one that “depicts one woman’s chilling struggle to survive in a society ruled by misogynistic fascism, by which women are reduced to the condition of property.”

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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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cultural constructs of femininity, identity, and the extent of government control. The story explores the affects social and political trends have on society. The Handmaid’s Tale evaluates gender roles and the subjugation of women. Atwood’s use of aphorisms, symbolism, and allusions urges readers to examine the juxtaposition of cruelty and vulnerability in femininity.

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711 Words | 3 Pages

The Commander takes Offred to Jezebel, treating it as a date. The Commander starts showing off to a group of men and Offred knows he’s breaking the rules. His obvious actions are seen by Offred as noted in this quote, “He is breaking the rules, under their noses, thumbing his nose at them, getting away with it.. when he thinks no one is looking he winks at me” (Atwood 236). The Commander draws attention to himself by showing his mastery of the world. His power allows him to do anything he desires and that’s what he’s doing with Offred.

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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.

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1060 Words | 5 Pages

Yet, the officer who rejected a faced off was subject to peers alienation that made the consent of the king little compassion which eventually forced him to hand in a resignation of commission. This means that the officer is convictable of disregard in appeal a clarification from the challenger. It is notable that the act of denying a confrontation is viewed as an allegedly cowardly behaviour among military officers regardless of their

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