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The Handmaid's Tale: Warning To Women And Society

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Matthew Sarnowski Ms. Manuppelli World Literature 20 June 2023 The Handmaid’s Tale Essay The Handmaid’s Tale by Margret Atwood is a strong warning to women and society in the present day. Even though her novel is set in the future, one can see slight reflections of society today. People often do not realize how the radicalization and the division can lead to places like Gilead, but when things such as the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and the gaining popularity of christian extremist groups. Women can take a great warning from Atwood due to how women are treated, and the fact that they are still oppressed today, even in the year of 2023. The Handmaid’s Tale can be seen as a dire warning due to the lack of freedom women are allowed, the fact …show more content…

The handmaids were taken over by the higher ups in Gilead to create children, no other purpose. Due to this, ty were not allowed to have their own thoughts about the society and what was happening to them. Freedom was not common and the Handmaids took advantage of it at any time they could. Laughing is a fundamental part of simply being a human. It brings people joy. In this society, there is a lack of that. After Offred recalls a documentary about nazi mistresses, she begins to laugh uncontrollably, “It could be fatal. I cram both hand over my mouth as if I’m not about to be sick, drop to my knees, the laughter boiling like lava in my throat”(Atwood 146). Offred is deprived of the simple emotional expression of laughing and this leads to her little outburst. The freedom from which she has lost is balled up inside of her and is something that she just has to let out. Atwood is criticizing the fact that people in society will go to dramatic lengths to stop someone from seeing who they really are. Offred is a prime example of this. Her freedom is so deprived that she has to have some sort of relief or exertion of some sort of emotion. People often criticize women for having no emotion, but it would seemingly be worse to live in the society presented where there is none allowed. How Offred suddenly ost her freedom has been boiling …show more content…

The women of Gilead were taken over one day and not allowed to women money, or have a job. They were taken over. The day this happened, Moira explained “They’ve frozen them, she said. Mine too. The collective's too. Any account with a F on it instead of an M”(Atwood 178). The people who ran Gilead took over these women and all of them. It started with the constitution being nullified. Similaris can pop up in the society of the United States due to people in power or that used to be in power abusing it and not being faithful to the document that is the fundamental of the US democracy. By Atwood giving the audience the way in which the women were colonized, she allows the society to know what to look for and what is coming next. The audience can see clearly how the colonization occurred, leading to a better understanding of what has happened in that past, but also being able to connect Gilead and the United States. Colonizers of people also try and stop the gaining of knowledge which can be perceived as power. Reading can be seen as a gaining of knowledge which the Handmaid’s are deprived of. Offred tell the audience “but we cannot read”(Atwood 87). The simple task of reading a book can enthrall the reader with knowledge. Knowledge can lead to power, which can lead to more people thinking they have power in society. The Handmaids were being used only for their resources by their

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