Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale Essay - 1246 Words

Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale In The Handmaids Tale, Margaret Atwood tells a saddening story about a not-to-distant future where toxic chemicals and abuses of the human body have resulted in many men and women alike becoming sterile. The main character, Offred, gives a first person encounter about her subservient life as a handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, a republic formed after a bloody coup against the United States government. She and her fellow handmaids are fertile women that the leaders of Gilead, the Commanders, enslave to ensure their power and the population of the Republic. While the laws governing women and others who are not in control of Gilead seem oppressive, outlandish and ridiculous, they are merely a†¦show more content†¦Even a great forefather of modern science like Galileo could not escape the grasp of the Inquisition. Thousands upon thousands of people were tortured into confessions of heresy and then relinquished of their sins by being executed in Gods name. Those who had artificially converted to Catholicism were hunted down and tried for their sins against the Catholic Church. For most, this meant a seemingly endless series of extreme tortures and a brutal death to release them of their past sins against The Catholic Church. The Handmaids Tale brings the haunting memories of the Inquisition back to life with scenes of doctors who had performed abortions prior to the Republics birth that are publicly executed for their sins against humanity. Traveling across the Atlantic to the land of freedom, the early American colonists brought all of the oppressive religious baggage with them. While many people were gaining freedoms they never had before, some women, such as those executed as the result of the Salem Witch Trials, were not so fortunate. For the next several hundred years, women continue to serve the needs of the men in power of the growing colonies. Progress is made over many centuries between the birth of the United States and the Republic of Gilead. With a quick assassination of the President of the United States and all of Congress, the United States isShow MoreRelatedEssay on Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale1419 Words   |  6 PagesMargaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale Love of God replaces love of humanity in Margaret Atwood’s, The Handmaid’s Tale. Offred’s recollections of her past life, especially of her husband, are ones filled with passion and happiness as she remembers his tenderness towards her. Much more emphasis is put on the physical human form in her memories; she often remembers lying with her husband while she wears little or no clothing. Appreciation of the human form is an essential component of loving humanityRead More Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale Essay962 Words   |  4 PagesMargaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale The Historical Notes are important in the way we perceive the novel as they answer many important questions raised by the novel and also enhance some of the novels main themes. The first question it answers is the one raised at the end of the novel; that is whether Offred is stepping up into the,darkness, or the, light. The reader finds out that Offred escaped Gilead, presumably into Canada, with the help of the,Underground Femaleroad. TheRead MoreEssay on The Dystopia in Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale1098 Words   |  5 PagesThe Dystopia in Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale Offred is a Handmaid in what used to be the United States, now the theocratic Republic of Gilead. In order to create Gileads idea of a more perfect society, they have reverted to taking the Book of Genesis at its word. Women no longer have any privileges; they cannot work, have their own bank accounts, or own anything. The also are not allowed to read or even chose who they want to marry. Women are taught that they should be subservientRead More Representation of Colors in Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale1774 Words   |  8 PagesRepresentation of Colors in Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale Imagine if you can, living in a world that tells you what you are to wear, where to live, as well as your position and value to society. In Margaret Atwoods novel, The Handmaids Tale, she shows us the Republic of Gilead does just that. Offred, the main character, is a Handmaid, whose usefulness is her ovaries. Handmaids are ordered to live in a house with a Commander, his wife, and once a month attempt to become pregnant byRead MoreEssay on Feminism in Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale1096 Words   |  5 PagesFeminism in Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale In The Handmaids Tale, Margaret Atwood explores the role that women play in society and the consequences of a countryà ­s value system. She reveals that values held in the United States are a threat to the livelihood and status of women. As one critic writes, â€Å"the author has concluded that present social trends are dangerous to individual welfare† (Prescott 151).   The novel is set in the near future in Gilead, formerly the U.S., at a time whenRead MoreEssay on Feminist Ideas in Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale1199 Words   |  5 PagesFeminist Ideas in Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale For this essay, we focused strictly on critics reactions to Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale. For the most part, we found two separate opinions about The Handmaids Tale, concerning feminism. One opinion is that it is a feminist novel, and the opposing opinion that it is not. Feminism: A doctrine advocating social, political, and economic rights for women equal to those of men as recorded in Websters Dictionary. This topic is prevalentRead MoreFeminism Lost in Margaret Atwood’s A Handmaid’s Tale Essay1527 Words   |  7 PagesIn Margaret Atwood’s A Handmaid’s Tale, the human spirit has evolved to such a point that it cannot be subdued by complacency. Atwood shows Gilead as an extremist state with strong religious connotations. We see the outcome of the reversal of women’s rights and a totalitarian government which is based on reproduction. Not only is the government oppressive, but we see the female roles support and enable the oppression of ot her female characters. â€Å"This is an open ended text,†¦conscious of the possibilitiesRead MoreEssay Romantic Love in Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale1385 Words   |  6 PagesRomantic Love in Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale In her novel The Handmaids Tale, Margaret Atwood addresses the concept of different expression of romantic love through the eyes of Offred, a woman who has lost almost all her freedom to a repressive, dystopic society. Throughout her struggle against oppression and guilt, Offreds view evolves, and it is through this process that Atwood demonstrates the nature of love as it develops under the most austere of circumstances. The firstRead More Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale: Novel and Film Essay2075 Words   |  9 PagesMargaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale: Novel and Film The Handmaids Tale, a science-fiction novel written by Margaret Atwood, focuses on womens rights and what could happen to them in the future. This novel was later made into a movie in 1990. As with most cases of books made into movies, there are some similarities and differences between the novel and the film. Overall the film tends to stay on the same track as the book with a few minor details changed, and only two major differences. Read MoreThe Satire of Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale Essay example497 Words   |  2 PagesThe Handmaids Tale has been described as a scathing satire and a dire warning! Which elements of our own society is Margaret atwood satirising and how does her satire work ? Atwood tries to open our eyes by satirising our society with a brilliant contrasting novel. Dystopian in every way, the reader encounters a world in which modern values of our society seem/ are replaceable. Showing the worst of all possible outcomes, she demonstrates that our primarily heartless, just economical thinking