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Restriction In The Handmaid's Tale By Margaret Atwood

623 Words3 Pages

Motif: Restriction in Gilead Theme Statement: Restriction in Gilead can make society feel confined and fearful. Thesis: In Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, the restriction of the people in Gilead is used as a motif to display confinement and a sense of fear through stealing, committing suicide, and threatening top-tier figures. Quote/Reasoning #1: Restriction of the people in Gilead can lead to fear and feeling helpless. Along with being confined to her room at night, Offred feels the need to steal something heads to the kitchen, and says, “What I would like to steal is a knife, from the kitchen, but I’m not ready for that” (Atwood 69). Offred has been wanting to steal something for a while but fears that someone will notice and punish her for her actions. She wants to steal something that wouldn’t be noticed such as a daffodil and save it for the handmaid that comes in after her. On the other side, she thinks of stealing a knife for protection and a way to …show more content…

For example, in the book the Commander tells Offred of the handmaid that stayed before her and says, “She hanged herself, he says: thoughtfully, not sadly. That’s why we had the light fixture removed. In your room” (Atwood 131). Offred is asking what the Latin phrase Nolite te bastardes carborundorum means and why it was sketched into the inside of her closet. Committing suicide shows how much pressure and unhappiness one is feeling. The jobs of a handmaid and the living conditions that they are put in are the epitome of the bare minimum. They are confined into such a small space with nothing but a bed and bathroom with an empty closet. Windows open barely halfway, there is no light fixture, and they can’t even own a comb. Having such little control over their life puts fear and pressure to uphold their duties and sometimes they simply cannot handle it

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