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The Handmaid's Tale By Margaret Atwood

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In The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood, the main character, Offred, often has flashbacks and dwells on her past. These common recollections compare the differences in her life now and before the republic of Gilead was established. Her past experiences influence her current day to day life. Thoughts of her mother, the freedoms women used to have, and the longing for her husband Luke and her daughter directly affect how Offred’s actions, attitudes, and values progress throughout the novel, and make her hopeful, but full of regret and longing. A point in the novel where we see the regret Offred has is when the readers learn more about her mother. Offred recalls her mother as a sort of hippie who was always protesting and rallying for women's rights. It can be inferred that the women’s rights campaigns Offred talked about was foreshadowing the segregation that was to come. …show more content…

She often compares the rights she has now, which are close to none, with the lives women used to leave. Many of her flashbacks display happier times, which increase the mood of the novel for a split second. When reality comes back crashing down on Offred, her and the readers are reminded that these women are living in hell on earth, and they would do anything they could to go back to how things used to be. These memories affect Offred’s actions and attitudes negatively. They make her more depressed and make it harder for her to keep what little hope she has left. When analyzing The Handmaid’s Tale, as a whole, these past and present comparisons add reinforcement to the idea of taking action about societal issues, such as feminism, freedom, and individuality The comparisons add a sort of fear into the reader’s minds. Atwood s revealing how everything we take for granted could be gone in a split second. The little bit of hope Offred still has comes from her longing and love for her daughter and her husband

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Throughout the novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, the protagonist Offred expresses how exposed beliefs and practices by the Gilead government affect the lives of Handmaids, relaying

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Outward conformity along with inward questioning, that is what the main character, presented in Margaret Artwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, has to undertake in order to survive in a theocratic society. Stepping out of line in any way risks your life, so in a place where freedom of speech and basic human right’s no longer apply, Offered must comply with whatever rules they have in place and pretend to agree with the system, but in the inside, she cannot help but think about her past life, her husband, her daughter, before everything began. Flashbacks are integrated in the novel to not only compare the old society with the new one, but to also demonstrate this fake conformity Offred has to display to others and her internal struggle with giving up on escaping the Republic or just accepting her fate and playing by

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In the novel The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, the protagonist, Offred, expresses her wish that her “story [is] different,” that it is “happier,” or at least “more active, less hesitant, less distracted” than it is ultimately portrayed (267). However, as her story is told, these characteristics are evident in the way she talks and acts, especially around those with authority. Hesitant to express her true thoughts and feelings, and distracted by memories from her previous life, Offred attempts to piece together her role in the society that has taken her freedom. The result is a compilation of moments, of memories, both from her present, her past, and even speculation about her future.

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“Is it so bad, for him, that he’d take the risk of coming to my room at night?” (Atwood 99). The women in this society aren’t the only ones with little to no rights or freedoms. Here, Offred is referring to Nick, who works for the Commander as well. The idea of inferiority and superiority plays a role because he may not be treated with respect and he might not have as many rights and therefore he sneaks into her room because his life may be bad

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In all forms of media, there are an immense amount of techniques an author makes use of to create vivid and meaningful experiences for their readers. Through the use of metaphor and symbolism, writers can evoke emotions, set the tone and convey complex themes and ideas otherwise impossible. Margaret Atwood’s crowning achievement The Handmaid’s Tale has become an iconic piece of feminist literature, exploring the horrors of a totalitarian society where women are reduced to their reproductive capabilities. It is a dark mirror, reflecting at us a distorted version of our world, a warning of the dangers of oppression and the power of resistance. It is evident that Atwood had a clear purpose when writing this novel: to expose the fragility of our

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Savonne Andrews Ms.Milliner EEs21QH-02 10/19/16 The novel The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood is a story which showcases an oppressed society named Gilead. Gilead’s society is a result of a war the United States participated in causing the country to regress to into a religious less free society. Throughout this book the biggest theme is the weakness of women within Gilead’s society.

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Atwood clearly emphasizes this point through the inclusion of Offred 's inner thoughts; which in turn, help to illuminate to the reader the process of this deterioration. Atwood also shows how the Republic of Gilead uses totalitarianism tactics, which parallel those used in North Korea, in order to remain in control. In The Handmaid’s tale, a dystopian novel, Margaret Atwood uses imagery and allusion throughout the novel to illustrate how the republic of Gilead uses techniques to deteriorate one 's mind in order to maintain their power. Throughout the dystopian country

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In face of severe situation, people often feel relief when they think of happier, simpler times in order to alleviate the severity. In the fiction novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, written by Margaret Atwood, a theocracy government controls every aspect of life in order to produce the best result of its plans. At the beginning of chapter 12, Offred takes a required, but luxurious bath because she can take off the burdensome wings and veils. While she bathes, Offred remembers her daughter from the past and a time with her family. Atwood compares Offred’s past and present through imagery, tone, similes, and symbolism combined with parallel structure to highlight the vulnerability of women to their surroundings.

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Davidson characterizes The Handmaid’s Tale as a work of speculative fiction, saying that Gilead “eerily resembles our present” (Davidson 4), but she also characterizes the novel as an allegory for past, present, and future regimes based in misogyny and racism. She includes parts of Atwood’s speech to back up her claim. “There is nothing in The Handmaid’s Tale, with the exception of one scene, that has not happened at some point in history. [...] I transposed to a different time and place, but the motifs are all historical motifs” (Atwood). By using events that have happened in the past, Atwood injects a sense of realism into her dystopia.

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Margaret Atwood’s, The Handmaid’s Tale, takes place in a post-feminist, dystopian world that personifies negative feelings towards the 1980s feminist movement and radically projects them onto civilization, producing the severe subjugation of women that quickly transitions into their dehumanization and loss of identity. Atwood uses the strong juxtaposition of oppression and power in order to warn civilization of the dangers surrounding idealistic thoughts regarding society. While Atwood’s story is one that takes place in a dystopia, she adds a very realistic undertone that makes readers feel as though any events portrayed in her novel could happen in the near future. Nothing in this realm is fabricated, not technology, or law, or even history

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In the novel The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, Offred has a continuous search for justice for her daughter, in a society in which her idea of justice is starts as one concept and changes to one that she never expected. Margaret Atwood writes Offred as a character who was at once strong-willed, and who would stop at nothing to get what she wanted. Her strength is dimmed at first, when her daughter and husband are first taken from her. Her strength, however comes back in full force when she finds the opportunity to get justice for her daughter. Offred uses the motivation of her daughter to spur a rebellious side of her that disappeared when the new leaders came into power.

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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.

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One’s power can be abused due to indolence; it ruins the lowest social class. In the handmaid 's tale, the Handmaids are treated poorly, making the person no longer themselves. The reader learns that Offred is being told what to do and has no say for her opinion, since it is against the law to go against the government. According to the handmaid’s tale, "You go out through the door and turn right. There 's another door, it 's open.

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In the poem, Frost finds two roads in a forest. He chooses the road not taken by others because it is grassy. Since the setting of the poem is a forest, the audience can know that nature is the main topic providing a lesson. The author obviously mentions the answer to the guiding question. He starts the poem with the encounter with two roads: one has been taken by others, the other wasn’t.

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Rebellion in The Handmaid’s Tale Imagine not being able to do what you used to do because some actions are forbidden in this new society. In the Handmaid's Tale, Gilead is a dystopian society where people are limited to certain actions. Throughout the story, Offred’s actions are rebellious because she has broken so many rules. Atwood demonstrates that restricted expression leads to rebellion by showing the Commanders and Offred’s affair developing throughout time and the actions of both characters.

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