ipl-logo

The Handmaid's Tale By Margaret Atwood

1560 Words7 Pages

The Handmaid’s tale by Margaret Atwood is lined with symbolism and situations that can easily be translated to shared realities. A person can turn to any page and land on issues of sexual discrimination, feminism, power, rape culture, victim blaming, religious oppression and the list goes on. Through out this paper some of the topics will be addressed as they cross into our everyday reality be it with purpose or just because that is always how it has been. It is important to know that the setting of this book takes place in the dystopian society of Gilead. A religious driven patriarchal society. Reminiscent of some of the history in the United States where men were the leaders and in charge of all things relating to how society was directed …show more content…

Atwood seems to have made all of them, even Nick and Luke clouded with evil. They all oppressed women in some way. Luke didn’t seem to think it was so bad that Offred’s money was given to him as the takeover began. The commanders, Angels, Eyes and other men in the Gilead hierarchy were clearly demonized and Nick was portrayed similarly to Luke in that somethings were OK such as the relationship but what type of relationship was it really? Was it purely sexual or was there actual emotion as he put her in the hands of Mayday? Because of this continuing overtone throughout the book one could surmise that this is probably a reason that Atwood is often questioned about being a feminist. It also comes across as a clear bias against men in power positions. Works Cited Abendroth, A.-K., Melzer, S., Kalev, A., & Tomaskovich-Devey, D. (2017, January). Women at Work: Women's Access to Power and the Gender Earnings Gap. ILR Review. doi:10.1177/0019793916668530 Countries With A Theocratic Government Today. (2017, April 25). Retrieved from http://www.worldatlas.com/articles/countries-with-theocratic-governments-today.html Lambert, C. A. (2017, July 18). What the Handmaids Tale Can Teach Us about Cohersed Women: Subjugation in the Home Today. Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/mind-games/201707/what-the-handmaids-tale-can-teach-us-about-coerced-women Speed, D., & Fowler, K. (2017). Empowerment or Dependency? The Religion/Religiosity–Mastery Relationship. Canadian Psychology, 58(4), 333 - 344. Retrieved December 7,

Show More
Related
1065 Words | 5 Pages

Gilead’s True Commanders: The Handmaids Despite the many ways to interpret Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, there’s no denying that the chain of command in Gilead can seem quite fluid when it comes to who is in control (and who has the more at stake). Though the handmaids seem like they should be most afraid, it is actually the Commanders who have more reasons to be fearful, and the handmaids who have genuine power. If all handmaids realized their capabilities, mutinies like that of Mayday would be even more successful.

Read More
746 Words | 3 Pages

Junie Jolifils Ms.Milliner EES21QH-04 October 18, 2016 Novel Based Essay In the book “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood reveals the life of a Handmaid and women in Gilead. Many people lost their freedom because because the regime was reestablished so it would be less corrupt. Everything changed for women, from the way they dressed to the name they identified as.

Read More
500 Words | 2 Pages

Don't you hate it when someone tries to help you out, but instead they make things worse. In Margaret Atwood's novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, we learn about the relationship between the Commander and Offred and how even though they live in the same house the Commander believes that Offred’s life is much better than what it actually is. The different relationships and events that occur in the novel shows that ignorance really is bliss and that ignorance can cause separation between social classes and genders. Gender roles and social classes lead to ignorance as shown in the relationship between the novel’s characters, the Commander and Offred.

Read More
349 Words | 2 Pages

“Nobody dies from lack of sex. It’s lack of love we die frome.” Offred recognizes this reality in The Handmaid's Tale, written by Margaret Atwood. It is in human nature to need compassion and connections with other people. In The Handmaid's Tale a new society referred to as Gilead is formed where many unreasonable restrictions are added, including restrictions on the boundaries of relationships.

Read More
1519 Words | 7 Pages

Margaret Atwood's novel The Handmaid's Tale explores the themes of resistance and conformity through Offred’s perspective, a handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. The Republic of Gilead is a totalitarian regime that subjugates women to a life of servitude. Atwood depicts the themes of both resistance and conformity through different depictions of characters seen throughout the novel, such as Aunt Lydia’s conformity as opposed to Moira’s evident efforts to resist. These themes emphasize the importance of individual resistance and the dangers of blind conformity. As the novel progresses, Offred grapples with the tensions between conformity and rebellion and the decisions she must make to protect herself.

Read More
538 Words | 3 Pages

In Gilead, women cannot read or write. This is perfect for men who want a submissive woman. The less women know, the less likely they are to fight back. Not only this, but women cannot record their history either. The quote, “Maybe I don’t really want to know what’s going on”.

Read More
65 Words | 1 Pages

Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale is a novel about the domination and governing of women by men. This new society, The Republic of Gilead, is described by Offred. She is a Handmaid which is a kind of breeding tool for the republic. The ideas of this Christian government are presented through Offred’s throughout the novel. There are also flashbacks that show us society before Gilead.

Read More
1322 Words | 6 Pages

Daisy Lv Ms. Jamieson English 12-1 26 February 2018 Nineteen Eighty-Four Versus The Handmaid’s Tale: Is There a Difference? “It is possible to dehumanize man completely (Fromm 318)?”

Read More
981 Words | 4 Pages

Some of these methods include destroying identity through classification, objectification, and indoctrination. Most women of Gilead are sufficiently repressed that they seem to accept their assigned roles, at least outwardly resigned to their fate. Atwood uses gender roles in The Handmaid’s Tale to show the lengths to which misogynistic totalitarian governments will go, to protect their dictatorships. The Republic of Gilead is a hierarchical society which requires complete submission of women to men. By taking away women’s paid jobs, confiscating their property, draining their bank accounts, and giving them no recourse, the male leadership leaves women in a fully dependent and subservient position.

Read More
1364 Words | 6 Pages

Aunt Lydia’s more relevant quote in The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, is the two freedoms, who gives the reader an accurate insight of the Gilead society. This quote exposes the contrast between the freedom before and after the settlement of the Republic of Gilead, and the mentality of the brainwashed nation. It is well known that the Gileadean era is a dystopia, but the reader must study deeper into both societies –Gileadean and pre-Gileadean- to understand which one is really worse. Before the appearing of the Republic of Gilead, freedom was seen as a person’s desire, however, on the Gileadean era, freedom is a collective idea. On the current community, freedom is settled by laws based on moral and social values, but ignoring the

Read More
890 Words | 4 Pages

The structure of Gilead is rigid, specifically designed to oppress and reinforce dominance. Throughout Offred’s perspective of events, it is always difficult to define who the main leaders of the society are. Because of this setup, those in top power can rule as they please without fear of anyone committing assassinations or rebellions. How could a person attack something or someone they do not know? Despite the lack of a main formal authority, the world of the Gilead have maintained the structure of their social system, enforcing importance based on one’s fertility.

Read More
1035 Words | 5 Pages

This year is the 30th anniversary of the publication of Margaret Atwood 's dystopian classic, The Handmaid 's Tale. The novel is told from a first person account of a young woman, Offred. In an age of declining births, she is forced to become a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, the imagined future in the United States. The Handmaids are to provide children by the substitution of infertile women of a higher social status. Through the creation of different characteristics of female characters – ones who are submissive yet rebellious, and like to take advantage of their power - Margaret Atwood portray themes of love, theocracy, rebellion, and gender roles.

Read More
996 Words | 4 Pages

In this written text, the emphasis will be on Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale and as well as the way Atwood portrays women and how it can be argued to show the oppression of women. The main purpose is to analyze the way women are treated throughout this book and depict why they are represented this way in the society in Gilead. Then, comparatively, observe the men’s domination over women and how they govern this society. In The Handmaid’s Tale, women are stripped of their rights, suffer many inequalities and are objectified, controlled by men and only valued for their reproductive qualities. The Gilead society is divided in multiple social group.

Read More
1122 Words | 5 Pages

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.

Read More
988 Words | 4 Pages

In The Handmaid’s Tale, the novel critiques gender inequality and autocratic authority. The hierarchical class of men consists of Commanders, Angels, and Guardians. In particular, the Commanders are the highest-ranking social group in Gileadean society. The Commanders are represented as powerful men. They have leadership roles, autocratic governance, and are oppressors controlling the Gilead regime.

Read More

More about The Handmaid's Tale By Margaret Atwood

Related Topics

Open Document