ipl-logo

Strength In The Handmaid's Tale

489 Words2 Pages

Strength is the word that comes to my mind when describing the book, The Handmaid’s Tale. This theme is seen throughout the book which is seen in Offred the majority of the time. In Gilead strength is what pushes her through each day. I believe that Offred is not the only one who shows strength, but many other women in the story do as well.
Offred has an enormous amount of strength when she is forced to have sex with the commander. “ What he is fucking is the lower part of my body. I do not say making love, because that is not what he’s doing.”(Atwood, 94). This scene shows that Offred has great strength because she is being forced to have sex with a man whom she does not care for. Offred has experienced what it’s like to have sex with someone …show more content…

She is talking to herself about how she must remain calm, and act natural, even though it is the last thing she wishes to do. “I wait. I compose myself. My self is a thing I must now compose, as one composes a speech. What I must present is a made thing, not something born” (Atwood, 66). Offred has been through so much, you would expect her to break at any moment, but she is able to remain calm due to her strength.

One of the most significant times when Offred shows how strong she is, is when she is about to be captured by the Eyes. “Instead I could noose the bedsheet round my neck, hook myself up in the closet, through my weight forward, choke myself off” (Atwood, 292)....”But it’s too late to think about that now, already their feet are on the dusty-rose carpeting of the stairs” (Atwood, 293). Offred debates many ways that she could escape or kill herself, but in the end she realizes that she doesn’t want to die, and that she wants to continue on.

Strength is shown repeatedly throughout The Handmaid’s Tale. Offred is pushed and forced to do things that she would never do, and through it all she is able to come out strong, and in the end, hopefully survive all she has been

Show More
Related
573 Words | 3 Pages

This seems to be a tool to disassociate herself from the text, belittle her agony, and bring the reader closer to the story. In doing this, it implies that she believes this behavior and mindset of “elusive gaping worry” is customary. In the third line, she says “you don’t try to explain it,” because she can’t explain this terrible feeling to herself for she believes that this torture requires no explanation, for “it’s nothing after all.” In this section it is difficult to tell if the “nothing” is referring to her pain or her relationship with the man she just had sex with, but either way the narrator makes it clear that if anything positive was happening, it has

Read More
798 Words | 4 Pages

He is disappointed to see that Ophelia is displaying irrational behavior when she begins to sing “They bore him barefac’d on the bier; Hey non nonny, nonny, hey nonny; And on his grave rains many a tear.” She is so mentally ill that she must be locked in a padded room during the day. At other times, she is in a straight jacket to prevent her from hurting herself. It seems as if nothing can help her mental madness.

Read More
746 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More
678 Words | 3 Pages

This phrase resonates with Offred because in her past life women were free and now the culture is no longer the way it was but has reformed to be under the power of men and it’s kinda hopeful for offred because her mother is right there is a culture not at all what any women would want but their gender has some power. Offred and her good friend Ofglen both are part of the underground system to free themselves. When Ofglen saw the truck coming for her she made the decision to commit suicide. “ She is a flag on a hilltop, showing what can still be done: we too can be saved.” (Atwood 287)

Read More
971 Words | 4 Pages

Offred is suspicious of what the handmaid 's did. She looks at their hands, and a clue is given to her when she sees “black gloves”(Atwood 275). She ponders what they could have possibly done to have warranted such action from the authorities. Her speculation shows how the society of Gilead functions. The government of Gilead wants the handmaids to see that the prisoners are being hanged, as their suspicion is how Gilead gains control of them.

Read More
2035 Words | 9 Pages

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

Read More
1107 Words | 5 Pages

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.

Read More
801 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More
952 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout the novel, Moira’s use of informal language and slang is apparent. This is significant because Moira’s crude vocabulary is dramatically different from how the Handmaids are taught to speak, marking her as a dissenter under the restrictive rule of Gilead. For instance, Moira scoffs that the Red Centre is “a loony bin” in Chapter 13. The use of the colloquial noun ‘loony’ to describe the Red Centre establishes a conversational, almost childish tone of voice. This contrasts from the rather mechanic and automated voice Offred has when she becomes a Handmaid, replying with contrived phrases such as “praise be” to other Handmaids.

Read More
1482 Words | 6 Pages

In The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood demonstrates a quizzical protagonist, Offred, in a dystopian, totalitarian society where fertile women are only a mere vessel for child birth. Every month during Offred’s menstrual cycle her Commander, Fred, and his wife Serena Joy perform detached intercourse while Serena holds Offred’s hands. The handmaids of the Republic of Gilead are not allowed to use their mind for knowledge nor take part in formal society. They are but the vacuous-minded property to their Commanders and their infertile wives. In The Handmaid’s Tale, Offred discloses the day to day moments and her commicalOffred had once lived in a world where she was her own person with a job and a home with a family of her own but now she lives under unfortunate circumstances that disable her from being a true, soulful human.

Read More
1504 Words | 7 Pages

“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.

Read More
928 Words | 4 Pages

At the same time, the Historical Notes reveal that other records of those who lived in Gilead also exist (346). Though Offred has never participated in a coordinated regime subversive activity, her story, along with those of other survivors, now form a polyphony of resistance. Storytelling in The Handmaid’s Tale performs various functions: it is Offred’s way of resistance, her survival strategy, her intellectual pastime, and a testimony to the future. By telling herself stories she escapes into memories, shape and change her experience, and substitute the lacking communication. She uses storytelling to preserve herself, to validate her existence, to prove her life matters.

Read More
1462 Words | 6 Pages

Despite being stripped of her identity and forced into a subservient role as a Handmaid, Offred remains determined to survive and find her daughter. This is evident when Offred says, "I'll say anything they like, I'll incriminate anyone. Just don't send me to the colonies. I'll do anything," (Atwood 72). This willingness to do whatever it takes to survive demonstrates Offred's resilience in the face of Gilead's oppressive conditions.

Read More
1587 Words | 7 Pages

Furthermore, Offred does not act defensively due to her submissive personality, which allows people with power to harm her. However, even though Offred is held back from showing her true identity, she acknowledges that she’s the only one who can change herself. Another quote states, “Pick up that disgusting thing and get to your room. Just like the other one. A slut.

Read More
1101 Words | 5 Pages

Imagine a nation in which its government commands by a religion where women are separated into different titles and must conceive children for their commander. Their rights from before this regime, and anything deemed unholy by the government, are a thing of the past. This situation is the one represent in the Republic of Gilead, where the rules of society and its traditions are not taken lightly if broken. In the novel The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood shows that an oppressive government leads to the inevitable neglect and remiss of the rules through Offred’s characterization, irony, and flashbacks. Offred 's character development can show that her actions change .

Read More

More about Strength In The Handmaid's Tale

Related Topics

Open Document