ipl-logo

Handmaid's Tale Analysis

804 Words4 Pages

The Handmaid’s Tale is based in a futuristic world and it contains a strictly enforced control. This system is called The Republic of Gilead. All must follow the rules set in Gilead and not dare to over step them. The laws are due to the decreasing number of fertile women and based on biblical teachings. Both men and women 's roles in this novel are significant with their responsibilities and actions. In this novel, handmaids are controlled in every aspect of life. Barely any freedom is given to the handmaids. The system has different roles for women, depending if they were fertile. The main role was a handmaid, who were the fertile women given to commanders. The commanders had wives; however, handmaids are created to complete the Christian …show more content…

When the Republic of Gilead is in progress of being created, the women were brainwashed to believe they are a problem in our world. Offred explains how a young girl told the story of her being raped in her childhood. An Aunt, the ones who help raise and teach the Handmaids the new role in life, ask the girl a unbelievable question. Then, the Aunt ask “But whose fault was it?” In a normal society the answer will always be the rapist; however, in the Republic of Gilead, it is the girl’s fault. Rape is never caused by the victim, no matter their appearance. A victim will be face many mental and emotional issues after this incident; therefore, who would wish this upon themselves? After the monthly ceremony, if a woman fails to get pregnant, she is blamed. Eventually, if she is unable to conceive a child, she is taken away and sent to the colonies with unwomen. After all the Handmaid is put through, the male is never blamed or questioned in the process. What if the man is infertile and is unable to have children? Maybe the doctor is right, is the Commander sterile? The women are taught that sterile men do not exist anymore. In this system, men are never questioned because it is believed that man has always been viewed as the superior

Show More
Related

Barbara Anello Long Son Pagoda Analysis

696 Words | 3 Pages

Analyzing Barbara J. Anello’s Long Son Pagoda American photographer, Barbara J. Anello, has traveled to Southeast Asia documenting the historical aspects of traditional art and culture. Anello’s collection, “Photographs of Southeast Asia and Morocco”, focuses on the domestic architecture of rural areas and cultures. Anello’s photograph Long Son Pagoda was taken in Na Trang, Vietnam on March 3, 2008.

Read More

Similarities Between The Handmaid's Tale And 1984

906 Words | 4 Pages

By executing an alledged rapist, the mentally conditioned handmaids feel they help with solving the issue of sexual violence. This boosts their faith in the system that controls them. The handmaids suffered rape, there is no doubt of this; ironically the commanders bear responsibility for the raping, not the patriarch. This misdirection of blame, seemingly unbelievable, is Margaret Atwood’s nod to the Orwellian concept of doublethink; an important tactic that in this case plays a supporting role to that of the false flag tactic. The variation in method used by Gilead shows the versatility of false flag operations, a versatility that gives different types of governments the opportunity to employ it in different

Read More

The Handmaid's Tale And The Bloody Chamber Analysis

1647 Words | 7 Pages

Both texts ‘The Handmaids Tale’ and ‘The Bloody Chamber’ were written during the second wave of feminism which centralised the issue of ownership over women’s sexuality and reproductive rights and as a result, the oral contraceptive was created. As powerfully stated by Ariel Levy, ‘If we are really going to be sexually liberated, we need to make room for a range of options as wide as the variety of human desire.’ Margaret Atwood and Angela Carter both celebrate female sexuality as empowering to challenge the constraints of social pressure on attitudes of women. Both writers aim to expose the impact of patriarchy as it represses female sexual desire and aim to control it thus challenge contemporary perspectives of women by revealing the oppression

Read More

What Is The Abuse Of Power In The Handmaid's Tale

921 Words | 4 Pages

Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale is a dystopian novel which bases itself on the idea of recovering a society suffering from an alarmingly low birth rate. The women within the story have said to been rendered infertile. As a result, the fertile women are forced into becoming ‘Handmaids’ to bear children for the upper class. Within the newly established society, classes are segregated through distinct ranks and exploited through limiting circumstances and consequences. The theocratic nation also makes use of religion to manipulate the public and to justify their actions.

Read More

Symbolism In How To Read Literature Like A Professor

643 Words | 3 Pages

The Handmaids must submit to their Commanders as they hold the dominant role. The Handmaids are also sacrificing their bodies and fertility to their Commander and his wife in order to give them a child. They have all been renamed with names that signify the Commanders they serve: Offred, Ofglen, Ofcharles, Ofwarren, etc. These names show the Commanders’ possession of the Handmaids. In The Handmaid’s Tale, sex symbolizes the Handmaid’s sacrifice and submission and the Commanders domination and control over the Handmaids in

Read More

The Religion Influences In The Handmaid's Tale

1562 Words | 7 Pages

The Religion Influences in The Handmaid’s Tale Word Count: 1563 This purpose of this essay is to establish and explain connections between the Christian Religion and ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’. It is not attempting to point out flaws or discriminate against the religion. Margret Atwood’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ is a dystopian novel, that centres around the themes of corruption, oppression, and theocracy. Told in the first person, the novel follows the female ‘Offred’ in her daily life/activities and past experiences in the newly founded “Republic of Gilead”.

Read More

Racism And Classism In The Handmaid's Tale

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

Symbolism In The Handmaid's Tale

1410 Words | 6 Pages

Symbolism can be defined as the use of symbols that an author uses to suggest more than the literal meaning of the object .Symbolism often allows the reader to understand the text better and connect with the story on a different level. In The Handmaid’s Tale, symbolism can be seen in various parts of the novel. One of the most common type of symbolism that can be identified in the text is through the use of colours. One of the most obvious symbols in the novel is the uniform that every Handmaid is supposed to wear.

Read More

Role Of Religion In The Handmaid's Tale

1837 Words | 8 Pages

This essay will discuss how The Handmaid 's Tale by Margaret Atwood and Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler represent religion. The Handmaid’s tale In the handmaid’s tale, The republic of Gilead is a fundamentalist Christian theocracy, meaning there is no separation between the state and religion. Gilead is built on the biblical idea that men are more important than women. The bible also has an important role in the naming of objects, buildings and people.

Read More

Rebellion In The Handmaids Tale

978 Words | 4 Pages

Rebellion; the action or process of resisting authority, control, or convention. The Handmaid’s Tale written by Margaret Atwood is a novel. The novel takes place in Gilead a dystopian society. Everyone in Gilead has an important role to play within the society, however, it seems as if none of the characters seem content with their role, due to the restrictions they face. In the novel, the lack of freedom leads to rebellion as shown by the characterization, interior dialogue, flashbacks, and foreshadowing.

Read More

Similarities Between Frankenstein And The Handmaid's Tale

1593 Words | 7 Pages

The suffocating society of Gilead is presented where individualism is completely taken away from them, and what it means to be human has been completely eroded away from what we know today. To be human today means, to be honest, affectionate, caring, understanding and to have passions. However, being too passionate for something only leads to chaos as seen through Victor 's overpowering desire for knowledge that led to chaotic results. Offred 's identity and individualism have been completely stripped away from her as he legal rights, name and clothes have been destroyed. She 's just another cog in a machine as she is labeled as a handmaid, only valued for her "viable ovaries".

Read More

Dehumanization In The Handmaid's Tale

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.

Read More

Gender Roles In Margaret Atwood's The Handmaids Tale

1035 Words | 5 Pages

To begin with, the Handmaids are unfortunate women whose existence depends on their fertility. They lose all of their personal possessions, families, memories, and finally identities. They are renamed according to their relation to men and they must wear the same uniform, as they are objects

Read More

Oppression Of Women In The Handmaid's Tale By Margaret Atwood

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.

Read More

Political Issues In The Handmaid's Tale

988 Words | 4 Pages

The subjugation of women is evident in the Gilead system as each Commander is given a handmaid whose name is “Of” the Commander’s name. Handmaids have no identity of their own and are similar to sex slaves at the mercy of

Read More

More about Handmaid's Tale Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document