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The Handmaid's Tale By Margaret Atwood

2023 Words9 Pages

Both “The Handmaid's Tale” novel and series aim to comment on and criticize the misogynistic views in American society. “The Handmaid's Tale” book was published in the spring of 1985 and is speculated to be set in the 2000s, while the series first began to be shown during the spring of 2017, being fixed in the mid-2020s. Both the series and text of “The Handmaid's Tale” narrate a dystopia created by Canadian author Margaret Atwood, which takes place in the modern world in the United States. The setting is in modern-day Massachusetts in the Republic of Gilead, a patriarchal, totalitarian theocracy that has overthrown the American government. Offred, who serves as the story's lead protagonist and narrator, is one of the Handmaids, who are women …show more content…

In the text, however, race plays a relatively significant role in Gilead. The book mentions the Bible, citing “The Children of Ham.” According to Worth Books, the phrase references those of African descent or darker skin. “The African American population being relocated to remote areas (Worth Books 30).” Race is significant in “The Handmaid’s Tale” because Atwood aims to convey segregation and eugenics in the universe of “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Because of unwanted ethnic features, the book hints that minorities were banned from the Gileadean society, which explains why racial minorities are only mentioned once (Atwood 106). The book aims to criticize the discrimination against people of color in America, while the series focuses more on seeking the diversification of the …show more content…

By presenting a dystopian future in which these oppressive systems have been taken to their extreme, the story highlights the urgent need for change in American society. It forces the viewers and readers to immerse themselves in America's history of racism and sexism. “The Handmaid's Tale” is a powerful critique of America's historical and ongoing use of discrimination against women of color and women as a whole. This portrayal of a society in which women have a disadvantage is a reminder of how women have been oppressed throughout

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