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The Handmaid's Tale 5 Paragraph Essay

516 Words3 Pages

Ankita Singh Ms. Beca ENG4U1-02 15 January 2018 The Handmaid’s Tale Literary Paragraph Throughout the novel The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, it is evident that being a man in Gilead is just as hard as being a woman in Gilead. Although most may disagree with this statement, many examples from the novel can be shown to prove this statement. Firstly, it is hard to be a man in Gilead because men are not allowed to act upon romantic feelings and have relationships. Men cannot show any signs of feelings towards another individual because if they do it could result in consequences. They cannot even go as far as to wink at an individual. Offred, a Handmaid, a found herself in this situation with Nick, a Guardian, and when she sees Nick wink …show more content…

Secondly, being a man in Gilead is difficult because men become sad and lonely. They do not have many things that they can do or people that they can be with or talk to and because of this, they sometimes have to break the rules. It is even visibly noticeable to Offred, who secretly visits the Commander, that he is sad when she mentions: “He was so sad” (176). This remark came after the Commander tells Offred that he wants her to kiss him. He also tells her that he wants her to kiss him as if she meant it. This connects to the first point about how men are not allowed to engage in relationships or anything that has to do with love. This rule results in the Commander needing to ask this of Offred even though it is not allowed, but since he is sad and lonely, he does it anyway. Finally, being a man is as tough as being a woman in Gilead because men do not have a purpose. The Commander begins to tell Offred how, “The problem wasn’t only with the women… The main problem was with the men… There was nothing for them to do… I’m not talking about sex… That was part of it, the sex was too easy. There was nothing to work for, nothing to fight for” (263). He tries to get Offred to understand

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