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Literary devices in the handmaid's tale
Literary devices in the handmaid's tale
Handmaid's tale literary analysis
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The novel, The Handmaid's Tale, centers on a woman named Offred. She is abused of her body when she gets constantly raped in order to provide a child from her Commander and his wife. It burdens her life daily. Many literary elements are revealed through the novel such as symbolism ….. That come together to affect the story, and the reader.
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.
The story begins with Offred, a handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. After a revolution, the area changed into a religious-strict society where men reign powerful and the women have been stripped of all rights or reduced to mere property in the eyes of the Commanders. When Offred is in the gymnasium, she dreams of being free again. They are watched by two “aunts”, both armed with cattle prods. They are allowed to go out for walls only twice a day and only in pairs of two.
Conflict can be described as the struggle between two opposing forces, whether the forces being person vs person, person vs self or person vs society. Good examples of conflict can be found in almost any book. Margaret Atwood’s novel, the Handmaid’s Tale is a source of all three types of conflicts. The Handmaid’s Tale is about a society where females are given specific duties and are restricted from reading, writing, talking to others and looking at themselves in mirrors. The protagonist, Offred whom is also the narrator in the novel faces conflicts with herself, with other people, and the society that she lives in.
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.
The book The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood is a literary masterpiece containing many symbols hidden in everything from the flowers to the clothes worn by the characters. These symbols are used to represent the purpose of the characters in Gilead, the setting of the book. The flower is a symbol for the sole reproductive role of the handmaids and the colors are used to symbolize how the characters are meant to behave, red meaning fertile, white for purity, green for service, and blue for sadness.
In The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood there are several important events that take place in the story. To start off, in the beginning the narrator gives a background explanation of the place she stays at. Also introduces the Aunts that wear brown and patrol them with electric cattle prod. Also about the guards that wear green and are the only ones that could have guns.
The message Atwood wants the reader to receive is a warning, that the freedoms we consider rights and take for granted could be taken away from us at any moment. In The Handmaid’s Tale Offred was just an ordinary person like anyone else. She took her freedoms for granted too, it was an ordinary day when she had gone to buy some cigarettes from the corner store. However, it wasn’t an ordinary day, it was the day the society of Gilead began to rise. When Offred went to go pay for her cigarettes, the man punched in her numbers one by one.
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.
The Republic of Gilead is ostensibly founded on Christian principles. Cars and shops are named after events, places and people in the Bible and the Aunts apparently quote the Bible frequently to support their ideas. Yet the whole state is founded on hypocrisy: The biblical quotations spouted by the Aunts are twisted, misquoted or selectively incomplete, just like the cushions in Offred's room where only ‘Faith' remains and ‘Hope' and ‘Charity' (love) have been removed The new state's name presents a false idea of its values. It calls itself Gilead, after a mountain mentioned in Genesis 31:22, on which was taken an oath to let God be the judge in human affairs and disputes.
Often, we see a society’s cultural values reflected in its citizens. For example, the United States values equality, a standard that is shared in all facets including gender. The opposite is true of Gilead, a fictional society in Emily Bronte’s The Handmaid’s Tale. The novel’s main character, Offred, is subjected to degrading treatment simply because she is a woman. It becomes apparent that this repeated degradation has affected the protagonist’s mind.
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.
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.
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. Go up the stairs and knock, he's expecting you.
Psychiatrists Being a psychiatrist means you’ll be working in the medical field. Psychiatrists focus on patients who have different mental issues. They research and identify emotional patterns. They will also test for patterns in behavior that will help identify or predict something that might be going wrong. Some work conditions you would have to get used to would be; spending most of your shift on your feet and be able to work with violent, uncooperative patients.
