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Handmaid's Tale Essay

697 Words3 Pages

Society can both be really great and progress forward, but at times society can turn for the worst and progress backwards. In Margaret Atwood’s Fictional book The Handmaid’s Tale. The main character Offred in the Republic of Gilead as a handmaid. In the book the purpose of a handmaid is to reproduce and bear children for older, wealthier men whose wives cannot have children. In addition to being a handmaid Offred and all the women of Gilead are not allowed to read, write, own money, or dress immodest. Men, however, have more power being able to read, write and are able to own themselves. Handmaids in Gilead are women who were convicted of a crime and are able to bear children. Although the handmaids are convicted of crimes they are treated like slaves. In an excerpt from the book Offred says “ we aren’t allowed out, except for our walks… which was enclosed now by a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire” (Atwood 4). Here Offred describes what it was like when she had first started living with the other girls and aunts. While living here she …show more content…

Men hold nearly all the power according to Aunt, Lydia who tells Offred and the other girls “God made them that way but He did not make you that way. He made you different. It’s up to you to set boundaries”(Atwood 45). The way Aunt Lydia said that phrase sounds like men are allowed to really do anything they want without boundaries or harsh punishment. Meanwhile women on the other hand have to lay boundaries for themselves and only be limited to their husbands or in the handmaid 's case their commanders. Although society can be good in many ways such as today’s society but it can also be very bad and not progress forward but instead backwards. The Handmaid’s Tale has shown many examples of a corrupt and bad society where women are back to being downgraded such as they were before a really long time

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