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Theme of religion in the handmaid's tale
The handmaid's tale loss of individuality and identity
The handmaid's tale loss of individuality and identity
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In many ways, history can solely reinvent itself. Women's representation in modern times has shown development ever since, but there are still elements that contribute to societal misconceptions toward women. Margaret Atwood, the best-selling author of The Handmaid’s Tale, expresses the evolution and the possible fates to which women are subject. Through The Handmaid’s Tale, Atwood portrays a representation of current anti-feminist viewpoints by reflecting current perspectives of pro-life stances, as well as recurring oppressions against women's economic growth and rights.
Conformity in the Handmaid’s Tale A Japanese proverb says, “the nail that sticks out gets hammered down”. As seen in several historical events such as the Salem Witch Trials or the Holocaust, this concept illustrates the idea that nonconformity will get punished or suppressed. During the Holocaust, Adolf Hitler’s populist regime led to subservience out of fear because resistance was too dangerous.
In The Rapture of Canaan, a religion that tells her what she can and can’t do causes Ninah to battle with who she is apart from the girl her culture tells her she should be. Ninah finds herself “saying [her] “ABC’s” during prayer, thinking that periodic trips to the altar makes a good impression” (Reynolds 237). Ninah is unable to make religion something personal because the religion she’s been taught, she believes to be insane. She has trouble knowing right from wrong because from a young age, she’s been told everything is a sin, which she now knows isn’t exactly true. This leads to her becoming pregnant because she is unable to interpret what the Bible is really saying, apart from the lies her Grandfather has spun.
In the book The Handmaid’s Tale a new society is created and put into standards. These people strengthen and maintain power of the society. The people in the society have little to no say in the society and have to conform to the society even know that they don’t agree to the rules. Offred’s surroundings control her as she has to follow the Gileadean society because there is no possibility of appealing against it because she has fear of appealing and that there will be big consequences if she breaks the rules and Offred conforms to the Gileadean society because if she doesn’t there will be consequences. Offred has little to no freedom or rights but she can’t really do anything about it.
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.
Imagine a country where rights were revoked. The withstanding government has long been destroyed and as a result, citizens are now labeled by economic status, age, and able bodiedness. The clothes you are required to wear show your status in society. No longer are you judged by the content of your character, but by the ability to reproduce. Believing in a religion other than Christianity is fatal.
Regina Carla L. Silva 2015-01293 The Handmaid’s Tale The novel is set in the Republic of Gilead which is formerly the United States of America. The name comes from a place from the Bible. It is a totalitarian, theocratic government.
The name Handwife refers to the Old Testament, specifically Genesis 30:1-3. The fact that almost all the names given to the people in Gilead refer to the Bible suggests that the regime justifies the roles people have in society with certain events in the Bible.(Breuer) The place where the Handmaids are trained and
She questions whether the man is an agent of the Eyes, here to catch her saying something bad about the current government. She can “feel their bright black eyes, the way they lean a little forward to catch our answers” (Bronte 29). Offred feels pressure by the gaze of the tourists. She cannot tell who she can trust and decides to lie, answering the interpreter's question by stating that yes, the handmaidens are very happy in Gilead. Obviously Offred has been affected by the constant surveillance, she lies in order to protect herself against the consequences that the other handmaiden’s have endured.
Their relationship gave Offred a better understanding of what was occurring outside of the Commander's home within Gilead. Moreover, this led Offred into grasping that there was an “us” and a “we”, meaning that within their stern society, there was a unified group of the marginalized. This is represented by the group of handmaids in the bottom left corner of the collage, which shows the “we” that Offred mentioned, a community of
“Power doesn’t corrupt people, people corrupt power.”- William Gaddis. People take advantage of power when it is entrusted to them because of their own greed, which as a result lead to societal deterioration. In the story, “The Handmaid’s Tale,” by Margaret Atwood, the higher-ups from Gilead abuse the power that is given to them, ruining the life of the citizens in the society. This was the cause for the need of higher birth rates and fixing conflicts in the world, but this was handled immorally.
The novel has created a society in which the only two important beliefs in a society are the ability to procreate and a strict belief in God. As mentioned above, Gilead was depicted as perfect by using the book of Genesis. The Handmaid 's tale holds several biblical references , some are obvious than others but most of them have been altered. The most important in a state of opinion would be. “It’s the usual story, the usual stories.
Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, argues that women are instruments of the patriarchy, that women know this, and that women allow the system of oppression to live on. Her fictions ask, “What stories do women tell about themselves? What happens when their stories run counter to literary conventions or society’s expectations?” (Lecker 1). The Handmaid’s Tale is told through the protagonist, Offred, and allows readers to follow through her life as a handmaid while looking back on how life used to be prior to the societal changes.
Mark Twain once said, “There is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable.” Have you noticed that when something is forbidden or dangerous, it becomes more attractive? It is a result of man’s desire to learn about the unknown, so when something is forbidden, it immediately catches our attention and seems to coax the beholder into giving in to it. Mark Twain conveys this message in his quote. In The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, the actions of Offred the Commander and Serena demonstrate through their characterizations and memories in a dystopian society how temptation leads to irrational decisions.
It projects a patriarchy of elite white men who repress the majority of the population through sexist and racist policies. In this puritanical state, Commanders are political leaders and lawmakers who support and contribute to the rise of Gilead. Each Commander possesses a big house, a Wife, Marthas, a driver, and a Handmaid, epitomizing wealth and power. The Gilead society uses Biblical allusions to justify the role of the Commanders. During the Women’s Prayvaganzas, the Commander expresses, “For Adam was first formed, then Eve” (221) where Eve was made as a helper and to complement Adam as a servant rather than function as an equal.
