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Theme Of Religion In The Handmaid's Tale

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The Handmaid’s Tale is a novel written by Margaret Atwood in the 1980’s. It is about a main character named Offred who is a Handmaid, the narrative follows through her life in Gilead. It regularly goes back in time to before being a Handmaid. There are very strict rules that a Handmaid has to follow. They have very little rights, if they even have any. This is further illustrated in the role of religion and how it plays out in the novel. Margaret Atwood used many references to religion as a whole, such as using passages from the bible, mentioning Quakers, and priests. There are many similarities between Handmaids and nuns starting with that they both have similar clothing that they are required to wear, both Handmaids and nuns live in a type …show more content…

For nuns, they believe that there are “there is a double consequence to sin” (Catholic Bridge). The most tame of the two is called Venial Sin, which is “unhealthy attachments to creatures which must be purified either here on earth or after we die” (Catholic Bridge). Lastly, there is Grave or Mortal Sin which “deprives us from the communion of God. This results in eternal punishment-hell” (Catholic Bible). Now if a Handmaid does a crime (which could literally be anything) then they have a strong possibility that they would get killed. In chapter 42 of The Handmaid’s Tale, there is a district ‘Salvaging’ which is a recorded event where they hang women (or men) for their crimes. It is in front of everyone, Aunts, Wives, Daughters, and Handmaids. In this particular section there is one Aunt and two Handmaids. Atwood didn’t go into detail of the crimes that they had committed. In Chapter 6 we are introduced to The Wall, which is where criminals are executed for their crimes, to show the citizens the consequences of what could happen to them. At one point on the Wall hung a Catholic priest, and a man who was caught as being gay. It is quite obvious that being a Handmaid is quite literally a living hell, Atwood used this to express that women (and other minorities) don’t have the same rights that many others to make

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404 Words | 2 Pages

and I limp’”(67). The character of Marissa is an accurate example of why women would join convents in Medieval Europe. To join a convent or monastery, one must make a vow of chastity. When the pretty girls arrived and the young boys were attracted to them and tried to resist temptation, “The advent of the two young women made the younger monks restless and distracted, and it was best to get them out of sight” (74). Monasteries were under Latin rule and the rules made the nuns and monks take a vow of chastity, poverty and obedience

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856 Words | 4 Pages

One of the factors used by the characters in the two novels for their survival is conformity. An example of conformity that plays an important role in the two novels is clothing. In The Handmaid’s Tale, the classifications of each individual are conformed by different clothing. The Handmaids wear red dresses, Marthas wear green, Wives wear blue, Ecowives wear stripes dresses of the three colours, and Commanders and the Angels wear black clothing. According to Offred from The Handmaid's Tale, “The wings too are prescribed issue; they are to keep us from seeing, but also from being seen” (Atwood 9).

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164 Words | 1 Pages

Women were expected to be housewives and mothers. Married women weren’t allowed to own property or have jobs. Many women were accusing other women. Jealousy factor on widows who were able to own property and have jobs from women who didn’t. Men felt that they were able to turn back to God before they were drawn in by the devil.

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269 Words | 2 Pages

Does Margaret Atwood portrayal of the Judeo-Christian ideals in The Handmaid’s Tale amplify the assertion that females are evil and thereby igniting a prestigious framework for men? Throughout the unbalanced gender status developed in Gilead, was this way of life developed because of the interaction between Adam and Eve’s? Could Eve’s act of picking up the apple from the forbidden tree stand as the reason why such an inequity is present and why Gilead society is formed the way it is? If so, is Gilead society a form of punishment for all future females due to Eve’s act in tempting Adam to sin? Did Atwood account for utilizing Eve’s mistake in allowing Gilead to justify that in keeping handmaids isolated, it will lessen the possibility of more

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643 Words | 3 Pages

The Handmaids must submit to their Commanders as they hold the dominant role. The Handmaids are also sacrificing their bodies and fertility to their Commander and his wife in order to give them a child. They have all been renamed with names that signify the Commanders they serve: Offred, Ofglen, Ofcharles, Ofwarren, etc. These names show the Commanders’ possession of the Handmaids. In The Handmaid’s Tale, sex symbolizes the Handmaid’s sacrifice and submission and the Commanders domination and control over the Handmaids in

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1562 Words | 7 Pages

The Religion Influences in The Handmaid’s Tale Word Count: 1563 This purpose of this essay is to establish and explain connections between the Christian Religion and ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’. It is not attempting to point out flaws or discriminate against the religion. Margret Atwood’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ is a dystopian novel, that centres around the themes of corruption, oppression, and theocracy. Told in the first person, the novel follows the female ‘Offred’ in her daily life/activities and past experiences in the newly founded “Republic of Gilead”.

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1410 Words | 6 Pages

Symbolism can be defined as the use of symbols that an author uses to suggest more than the literal meaning of the object .Symbolism often allows the reader to understand the text better and connect with the story on a different level. In The Handmaid’s Tale, symbolism can be seen in various parts of the novel. One of the most common type of symbolism that can be identified in the text is through the use of colours. One of the most obvious symbols in the novel is the uniform that every Handmaid is supposed to wear.

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2035 Words | 9 Pages

Works of literature often portray ideas relating to Marxist theory, this is why in a dystopian society, class distinctions dominate the social climate, using Marxist ideologies as a tool to define the lives of the narrator and those around her. In Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, ideologies from Marxist theory dominate the society in which Offred, the narrator, lives in, evidenced by the strict class systems and limited interaction between them. In writing the novel, Atwood makes a point to create a world that could exist using technology and ideas already accessible in today’s society, meaning the events that take place in The Handmaid’s Tale could happen in present day. Offred lives in a reality where class distinctions dominate society, and women, especially fertile women. These women are displaced downwards, although there are those women who attempt to resist the grip of society.

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1837 Words | 8 Pages

This essay will discuss how The Handmaid 's Tale by Margaret Atwood and Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler represent religion. The Handmaid’s tale In the handmaid’s tale, The republic of Gilead is a fundamentalist Christian theocracy, meaning there is no separation between the state and religion. Gilead is built on the biblical idea that men are more important than women. The bible also has an important role in the naming of objects, buildings and people.

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978 Words | 4 Pages

Rebellion; the action or process of resisting authority, control, or convention. The Handmaid’s Tale written by Margaret Atwood is a novel. The novel takes place in Gilead a dystopian society. Everyone in Gilead has an important role to play within the society, however, it seems as if none of the characters seem content with their role, due to the restrictions they face. In the novel, the lack of freedom leads to rebellion as shown by the characterization, interior dialogue, flashbacks, and foreshadowing.

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783 Words | 4 Pages

This ceremony is used as a way to reproduce, and is portrayed as a huge deal. As described by Offred, who is the main character, her “arms are raised; she [Serena Joy] holds my hands, each of mine in hers.” (Atwood 109). This signifies that the two women are “one flesh, one being” (109). The society that Offred is a part of believes that if the women are holding hands while the Handmaid is inseminated, then the Commander’s wife is the one that is being impregnated.

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1251 Words | 6 Pages

(Atwood 88) This verse was read to the Handmaid 's everyday at breakfast and before the ceremony just to drill it in their minds, even though most of them know those were not the right textual evidence from the Bible. The police are called “Guardians of the Faith” which suggest that they are guarding the beliefs of Gilead. Another biblical allusion depicted would be the Angels, so they are called. But they were simply Guards.

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857 Words | 4 Pages

Margaret Atwood has seamlessly woven a tapestry of feminist elements - mainly regarding gender oppression - within her works. With that, using two of Atwood’s texts, The Handmaid’s Tale and The Year of The Flood, as the foundation for our literary research, we will be focusing on the commodification of the female flesh in both similar dystopian contexts. Commodification refers to the action or process of treating an object, or a person, as a raw material or product that can be bought and sold, or even treated as an object of which sovereignty can be held over by one. In both works, women are victimized and treated as sexual beings whose bodies and physical expressions can be freely used by the men who have power over them against their will. The two texts illustrate how society brings about the oppression of women and this exacerbates the commodification of women.

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1008 Words | 5 Pages

Throughout the novel, aphorisms play a large role in depicting the role of women as subservient to their male counterparts. By altering distinct aphorisms from the Bible and then locking it away from women, the male leaders of Gilead use the Bible to impose their rules and views. These modified sayings are instrumental in the effort of the subjugation and indoctrination of Handmaid’s. Although Offred resists conforming to such brainwashing, her constant references to Aunt Lydia's precepts are indication of the success of such tactics. One saying in particular, “Modesty is invisibility” (Atwood 28), is so indoctrinated in Offred that she conforms to the doctrines and rules of Gilead without hesitation.

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988 Words | 4 Pages

The subjugation of women is evident in the Gilead system as each Commander is given a handmaid whose name is “Of” the Commander’s name. Handmaids have no identity of their own and are similar to sex slaves at the mercy of

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