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Nature In The Handmaid's Tale

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Margaret Atwood's novel, The Handmaid's Tale, is full of references and examples of puritan and theocratic ideals, but one of the most interesting aspects of this novel is her use of nature. Puritans believed that divination and purity could be found in nature. Atwood uses nature to reflect the human nature of the characters in this work with flower and sky imagery. However in Chapter 13 Night, Atwood utilizes a storm to comment on nature during Offred and Nick's night rendezvous arranged by Serena Joy. As Offred step's outside heading to meet Nick, Atwood writes, "Now there's thunder, the storm's moving closer" (Atwood 260). This is a pivotal scene in the novel because the novel is heading to a close and the world of Gilead is beginning to
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There are many ways in which British imperial policies between 1763 and 1776 intensified colonials’ resistance to British rule and their commitment to republican values. In the year 1763 the Peace of Paris Proclamation was passed, which is where the French alienated to Great Britain some of their West Indian islands, most of their colonies in India and Canada, and all other French territory in North America east of the Mississippi. With this treaty England felt at peace for the first time in years. So with this new found peace the British government decided to turn its attention towards the organization of the empire.

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Margaret wrote it shortly after the US elections of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher in Great Britain. During this time period, the religious conservatives criticized the “sexual revolution” of the 1960’s and 1970’s. This time period influenced The Handmaid’s Tale (Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale).

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A controlling, dehumanizing, and suffocating dystopian world known as Gilead. In this world of The Handmaid’s tale by Margaret Atwood Where we accompany Offred also known as the author. While you see offred struggle in this dystopian like setting you learn more about how ignorance affects one 's life. Through the story we gain more knowledge of the different people that fall victim to they own sense of honor. While you see the mistakes made by different people and the shielding of hiding from reality that is apparent in the novel.

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When Offred finally arrives at the Commanders home, she is assigned a room, exclusively for her. Having her own room is significant for her as for the first time since her indoctrination as a handmaid, Offred finally has something that belongs to her, the individual. By saying “mine”, Atwood intentionally uses active voice in this instance (instead of writing it “It was my own room, which is passive). The structure change by intentionally using active voice shows how possession of something can only come from action, rather than passivity. Offred got this room by becoming a handmaid, which she became as consequence of trying to escape Gilead.

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There were limits but my body was nevertheless lithe, single, solid, one with me. Now the flesh arranges itself differently. I’m a cloud, congealed around a central object, the shape of a pear, which is hard and more real than I am and glows red within its translucent wrapping.” (Atwood 91). This makes the reader believe that Offred has given into the social injustice at Gilead being the oppression of women.

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In face of severe situation, people often feel relief when they think of happier, simpler times in order to alleviate the severity. In the fiction novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, written by Margaret Atwood, a theocracy government controls every aspect of life in order to produce the best result of its plans. At the beginning of chapter 12, Offred takes a required, but luxurious bath because she can take off the burdensome wings and veils. While she bathes, Offred remembers her daughter from the past and a time with her family. Atwood compares Offred’s past and present through imagery, tone, similes, and symbolism combined with parallel structure to highlight the vulnerability of women to their surroundings.

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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.

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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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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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In Margaret Atwood’s novel, ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, Moira is depicted as the symbol for resistance to authority and represents hope to the Handmaids. Atwood presents her as a polar opposite to Offred. She is independent, strong-willed, and outspoken. Conversely, the pair can be argued to be doubles in the fact that they both ‘resist’ to the oppressive Republic in Gilead.

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The novel The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood is a story about a society set in a future world where women’s rights have been revoked. Many values change with this new regime of controlled women and strict laws. Despite the changes in the world it maintains many conservative, religious beliefs while also containing liberal, feminist beliefs simultaneously. Society in the futuristic world of Gilead is structured heavily off of readings from the Bible and traditional views of gender that have been in place for a long time. An example of the Bible being an important part of society is the idea of the Handmaids came from a passage in the Bible about two women, Rachel and Leah.

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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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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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