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The Handmaid's Tale By Margaret Atwood

1298 Words6 Pages

Women are beings of creation, the individuals given the burden and gift of fabrication. This obligation is powerful, yet it has been taken hostage by men. Men took power through force and have kept it, spanning from biblical times to our modern society. And with this power, men have used it to harm other women, usually for their own pleasure. Women throughout history have been sexualized, raped, abused, and killed, just for being women. This is what makes The Handmaid’s Tale so poignant: Everything that happened in the novel was based on real historical events. Using historical events surrounding the mistreatment of women, Atwood crafts a story that sheds light on society’s past and current actions towards women. The state of the handmaids in Gilead is similar to the treatment of enslaved women in America. It tells a …show more content…

Just like the other one. A slut. You’ll end up the same” (Atwood 287). Atwood purposefully builds Offred’s assigned household like one where enslaved people work and live among their enslavers. By alluding to slavery in America, Atwood makes her story more poignant and eye-opening to readers who at least know a little about the treatment of women throughout history. Native American women and their families had their children taken from them and placed in “fit” white homes, a situation kindred to how Offred’s child was taken from her. In The Handmaid’s Tale, Offred’s old life comes back to her in flashes and we are able to understand the trauma she went through. One of these situations is when her daughter was taken from her after they tried to escape Gilead. She specifically remembers what members of Gilead said to her about her daughter. They taunt that, “She’s in good hands.With people who are fit. You are unfit, but you want the best for her. Don’t you?” (Atwood

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