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Examples Of Resistance In The Handmaids Tale

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ThroNoah Arbesfeld Professor Jani EL6540 May 13, 2024 Forms of Resistance in The Handmaid’s Tale In Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, the captive women in the repressive, patriarchal society of Gilead are stripped of their humanity in an attempt to remove a sense of agency and autonomy over their individual lives. In response, the women utilize small forms of resistance in order to regain the humanity that the government seeks to remove from the fertile women that are forced to repopulate the country against their will. Throughout the novel, the Handmaids, particularly the protagonists Offred, utilize various forms of resistance within the confines of their repression, regaining humanity while avoiding the violent consequences for …show more content…

Furthermore, Offred prioritizes her own well-being with the decision to steal butter as a substitute for lotion, an illicit act that grants her a momentary sense of humanity. In addition, Offred performs resistance through her willingness to play the game Scrabble, an act in defiance of the patriarchy as women are forbidden from reading in Gilead. Moreover, Offred makes the autonomous decision to engage in consensual sex, an act of resistance that allows her to regain agency over her body. Finally, the match that Offred keeps underneath her mattress symbolizes her agency, as she retains the ability to start a fire and keep the fantasy of burning down the Commander’s home, highlighting the importance of feeling in control as a form of resistance in the oppressive society. Throughout The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood depicts small acts of resistance as a method to undermine the ability for a patriarchal society to remove agency and autonomy from the women in captivity, allowing the women to regain their humanity by fighting back against the oppressive laws of

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(Atwood 187). Although Handmaids experience oppression by the Gilead regime, Atwood emphasizes the importance of unity and collaboration in the face of difficulties. The government of Gilead presents how hypocritical their society is toward women’s rights since the government uses a form of manipulation to make the Handmaid’s circumstances more tolerable. Additionally, Offred expresses how women do not have a right to their bodies because of the power others have over them as Offred states “I am abject” (Atwood 331). Offred expresses the removal of her individuality, autonomy, and basic human rights.

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Rebellion Caused by Power “I enjoy the power; power of a dog bone, passive but there.” (25) The power a character feels they have changes how they present themselves. The confidence they gain from attention and strength becomes the confidence used to rebel. Power used for and against someone can cause them to be distraught and make a dangerous choice for multiple parties involved.

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Sabrina Porco Unique Dynamics Toward a Unified Freedom in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. “No two persons ever read the same book.” (https://ca.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/quotes-about-different-perspectives) Edmund Wilson captures the essence of human interpretations and actions, showing how one’s experience may be similar to another but it is the way of the mind that differentiates the outcome it is viewed. In Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, this idea is presented within the characters of Offred and Moira. Collectively, they inhibit the oppressive world of Gilead and endure the horrific acts of the regime.

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A patriarchal horror where women are forced into certain roles, Offred tells her story of how her life became a nightmare. Margaret Atwood’s, The Handmaid’s Tale, is a science fiction novel . The novel is based on Offred, a handmaid, who tells her life in the new society, Gilead. The novel reveals that a patriarchal society leads to oppression of women as shown through the characterization of Moira, plot elements, and the formation of Gilead.

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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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‘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.

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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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She knows that there are laws, but she is so desperate that she is willing to break them by suggesting this to Offred, “Maybe you should try it another way”(Atwood 204). She encourages Offred to break the law and have sexual intercourse with another man and plant it as the commander’s child. Her desperation make her take desperate actions and how she achieves to rebel against the government. The Commander the one above all and on top of the official classification of Gilead-Men. He has power and in control of the household.

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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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Some of these methods include destroying identity through classification, objectification, and indoctrination. Most women of Gilead are sufficiently repressed that they seem to accept their assigned roles, at least outwardly resigned to their fate. Atwood uses gender roles in The Handmaid’s Tale to show the lengths to which misogynistic totalitarian governments will go, to protect their dictatorships. The Republic of Gilead is a hierarchical society which requires complete submission of women to men. By taking away women’s paid jobs, confiscating their property, draining their bank accounts, and giving them no recourse, the male leadership leaves women in a fully dependent and subservient position.

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Offred does not claim her story to be completely true, leaving a room for ambiguity and doubt. In a search for accuracy, she constantly changes her stories, twists and recreates them in a new way. For instance, thinking about her husband Luke, she imagines him being dead, imprisoned, and escaped and believe in “all three versions of Luke, at one and the same time”(121). Another example is her description of her encounter with Nick in several completely different ways and the further confession that “it didn’t happen that way either” (317). Offred admits her story is a reconstruction, because “it’s impossible to say a thing exactly the way it was” (158).

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This year is the 30th anniversary of the publication of Margaret Atwood 's dystopian classic, The Handmaid 's Tale. The novel is told from a first person account of a young woman, Offred. In an age of declining births, she is forced to become a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, the imagined future in the United States. The Handmaids are to provide children by the substitution of infertile women of a higher social status. Through the creation of different characteristics of female characters – ones who are submissive yet rebellious, and like to take advantage of their power - Margaret Atwood portray themes of love, theocracy, rebellion, and gender roles.

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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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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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Rebellion in The Handmaid’s Tale Imagine not being able to do what you used to do because some actions are forbidden in this new society. In the Handmaid's Tale, Gilead is a dystopian society where people are limited to certain actions. Throughout the story, Offred’s actions are rebellious because she has broken so many rules. Atwood demonstrates that restricted expression leads to rebellion by showing the Commanders and Offred’s affair developing throughout time and the actions of both characters.

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