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Identity In The Handmaids Tale

836 Words4 Pages

One of the key components of speculative fiction often revolves around the silencing of voices, particularly of oppressed and marginalised people. Consequently, oral history, as evidenced by Offred’s narrative, becomes the most prominent way in which people’s voices can be heard and the questionable practices of dystopian society exposed. The Handmaid’s Tale effectively explores how the repressive environment in which the handmaids find themselves offers them little freedom, stripping them of identity and, with no means to record their testimony in writing, compromising the veracity of their experiences. While all members of Gileadean society suffer from a lack of freedom, the handmaids are the ones whose lives are most significantly restricted. …show more content…

The ultimate loss of identity is evident through the loss of name for handmaids shown as “My name isn't Offred, I have another name, which nobody uses now because it's forbidden. I tell myself it doesn't matter, your name is like your telephone number, useful only to others; but what I tell myself is wrong, it does matter.” Their unique individual names are replaced with OF followed by the first name of the commander they work for. This shows that handmaids are seen as a possessive item of the commander. Throughout the text, we are given the ultimate loss of identity as we are never told Offred’s real name which demolishes her individuality. As Offred deserted a bland meal, she hurried home to Commander Warren’s home. At the side of Ofwarren, whose labour pains precede Aunt Elizabeth's assisted delivery of baby Angela, Offred witnesses one of the more pleasant moments in an otherwise bleak series of scenarios. As the Handmaids chant encouragement, the Wives leave their banqueting and prepare Warren's Wife for the Birthing Stool, through which Ofwarren's child is born. This scene shows us the lack of care for a handmaid, as no emotion is shown to the birth giver, however she is still scene as a handmaid and this was one of her duties. In contrast to the loss of identity, Moira, who is seen at Jezebel’s, has a sense of self is maintained throughout

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The author also uses rhetorical questions such as “Why tempt her to friendship?” to emphasize the lack of even the possibility of a meaningful connection between Offred and the Marthas. This use of figurative language highlights the inescapable suffering and isolation that Offred encounters while interacting with others, and achieves a hollow, detached tone. In factual recollections of the events occurring, diction and syntax are also crucial in the construction of this isolated, resigned tone While describing exchanges between herself and the rest of the household, Offred uses short, precise sentences, void of intricate words or complex structure.

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Conflict can be described as the struggle between two opposing forces, whether the forces being person vs person, person vs self or person vs society. Good examples of conflict can be found in almost any book. Margaret Atwood’s novel, the Handmaid’s Tale is a source of all three types of conflicts. The Handmaid’s Tale is about a society where females are given specific duties and are restricted from reading, writing, talking to others and looking at themselves in mirrors. The protagonist, Offred whom is also the narrator in the novel faces conflicts with herself, with other people, and the society that she lives in.

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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”.

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Handmaid's Tale Identity

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The American science fiction and fantasy author Richard Grant once said that “the value of identity of course is that so often with it comes purpose.” In both The Awakening by Kate Chopin and The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, the main protagonists search for their identities through the context of their daily lives. In correlation with the preceding quotation, in The Awakening, after a vacation opens her eyes to all that she has been missing in her life, she becomes desperate to find herself outside of the mother-woman while in The Handmaid’s Tale, the narrator must decide which parts of her identity she wants to hold on to and who she is in the trying times of the Gileadean society. The two novels demonstrate the journey of these women

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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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Offred initially feels a sense of loss due to her position as a fertile woman since the independence and individuality she once enjoyed has since been stripped from her by the Republic of Gilead. It is only through rebellion that Offred is able to slowly regain her sense of self and reject the role that Gilead forces her into. By rebellion, however, it is often more dangerous for the perpetrators than to the government’s grip on the people. Offred’s societal role as a handmaid in Gilead forces her to first obey, then causes her to question, which finally allows her to realize her

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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.

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United States Vs South Korea Essay

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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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