The Handmaids Tale Essay - 1215 Words

Paula Hawkins, a well-known British author, once said, â€Å"I have lost control over everything, even the places in my head.† In Margaret Atwood’s futuristic dystopia The Handmaid’s Tale, a woman named Offred feels she is losing control over everything in her life. Offred lives in the Republic of Gilead. A group of fundamentalists create the Republic of Gilead after they murder the President of the United States and members of Congress. The fundamentalists use the power to their advantage and restrict women’s freedom. As a result, each woman is assigned a specific duty to perform in society. Offred’s husband and child are taken away from her and she is now forced to live her life as a Handmaid. Offred’s role in society is to produce a child†¦show more content†¦Offred struggles with her new life, stating, â€Å"I want to be held and told my name. I want to be valued, in ways that I am not; I want to be more than valuable. I repeat my former name; to remind myself of what I once could do, how others saw me† (Atwood 97). Offred is emotionally run down. She misses her husband Luke and the way he made her feel. Offred spends most of her days wondering about her husband Luke, and daughter. She wonders if her husband is dead, made it across the Canadian border, or was captured. Although Offred never finds out Luke’s life status, Serena Joy offers to tell Offred some information regarding her daughter. Consequently, Offred must sleep with Nick and conceive a child in spite of receiving the information. As long as the Commander believes he is the father of Offred s child, no problems will arise. Offred s decision is unconventional and risky, both for herself and Nick. If Nick and Offred are caught, they will be executed. However, her unorthodox decision pays off. Serena Joy obtains a photograph of Offred’s daughter and informs Offred that her daughter is now around eight years old and has been ado pted by a family loyal to the regime. Offred is informed that her daughter is alive and in safe care. The new information provides Offred with a sense of relief. By agreeing to conceive a child with Offred, Nick is acting in an unorthodoxShow MoreRelated The Handmaids Tale Essay931 Words   |  4 PagesThe Handmaids Tale Serena Joy is the most powerful female presence in the hierarchy of Gileadean women; she is the central character in the dystopian novel, signifying the foundation for the Gileadean regime. Atwood uses Serena Joy as a symbol for the present dystopian society, justifying why the society of Gilead arose and how its oppression had infiltrated the lives of unsuspecting people. Atwood individualises the character of Serena Joy, as her high status in the society demands powerRead MoreThe Handmaids Tale Essay1591 Words   |  7 PagesUpon reading The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, one notices the tragedy of women losing rights. Imagine the feelings of losing all rights and freedoms; how hard the transition would be from an American society, centered on freedoms, to the society where Offred lives in The Handmaid’s Tale. Thankfully for all Americans, Atwood’s prediction of what society would become in the future was inaccurate. But, not all countries enjoy the same freedoms and luxuries as America does; the treatment of womenRead More The Handmaids Tale Essays1979 Words   |  8 PagesThe Handmaids Tale The Handmaids Tale, written by Margaret Attwood, goes on to explore the consequences that come to be from the reversal of womens rights in a society called Gilead. It is what one can consider a cautionary tale. In the new world of Gilead, a group of conservative religious extremists have taken power, and have turned the sexual revolution upside down. The society of Gilead is founded on what is to be considered a return to traditional values, gender roles and the subjugationRead MoreThe Handmaids Tale Essay968 Words   |  4 PagesIn Margaret Atwood’s ‘The Handmaids Tale’, we hear a transcribed account of one womans posting ‘Offred’ in the Republic of Gilead. A society based around Biblical philosophies as a way to validate inhumane state practises. In a society of declining birth rates, fertile women are chosen to become Handmaids, walking incubators, whose role in life is to reproduce for barren wives of commanders. Older women, gay men, and barren Handmaids are sent to the colonies to clean toxic waste. Fear is powerRead MoreThe Handmaids Tale Essay1732 Words   |  7 PagesBrenda Guillen Professor XXX Class November 8, 2017 Then vs. Now, the Realities of of Atwood’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ in Modern Day America The novel quot;The Handmaid#39;s Talequot; written by Margaret Atwood in 1985 is a fictional novel about Gilead, a place ruled by male religious fundamentalists who rape women labeled as handmaids to bear children for infertile wives. The society encourages the enslavement of women to control their reproductive rights. While Atwood’s novel depicts a fictionalRead MoreThe Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood Essay2490 Words   |  10 PagesIn the days of anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are being given freedom from,† (Atwood 24). The Handmaid’s Tale, written by Margaret Atwood, is a novel set in the near future where societal roles have severely changed. The most notable change is that concerning women. Whereas, in the past, women have been gaining rights and earning more â€Å"freedom to’s†, the women in the society of The Handmaid’s Tale have â€Å"freedom froms†. They have the freedom from being abused and having sexist phrases yelled atRead MoreHandmaids Tale - Manipulation of Power Essay1257 Words   |  6 PagesTHE HANDMAID’S TALE Grade 11 English Analytical Essay Words: 1 245 Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale is a disturbing novel that displays the presence and manipulation of power. This is displayed throughout the novel and is represented significantly in three ways. As the book takes place in the republic of Gilead, the elite in society are placed above every other individual who are not included in their level. Secondly, men are placed at the top of the chain and they significantly overpowerRead More Feminism In The Handmaids Tale Essay1588 Words   |  7 PagesFeminism In The Handmaids Tale      Ã‚  Ã‚   Feminism as we know it began in the mid 1960s as the Womens Liberation Movement. Among its chief tenants is the idea of womens empowerment, the idea that women are capable of doing and should be allowed to do anything men can do. Feminists believe that neither sex is naturally superior. They stand behind the idea that women are inherently just as strong and intelligent as the so-called stronger sex. Many writers have taken up the cause of feminismRead MoreThe Handmaids Tale Men Essay1607 Words   |  7 PagesWomen’s Bodies as Political Instruments and Elimination of Sexual Pleasure: Oppression throughout Society In Margaret Atwood’s, The Handmaid’s Tale, the idea of women’s bodies as political instruments and elimination of sexual pleasure is explored. The republic of Gilead â€Å"depicts a futuristic society in which a brutal patriarchal regime deprives women of power and subjectivity, enslaving them through a sophisticated, ubiquitous apparatus of surveillance† (Cooper 49). Offred is a girl who lives withRead MoreThe Handmaids Tale Men Essay1666 Words   |  7 PagesWomen’s Bodies as Political Instuments and Elimination of Sexual Pleasure: Oppression throughout Society In Margaret Atwood’s, The Handmaid’s Tale, the idea of women’s bodies as political instruments and elimination of sexual pleasure is explored. The republic of Gilead â€Å"depicts a futuristic society in which a brutal patriarchal regime deprives women of power and subjectivity, enslaving them through a sophisticated, ubiquitous apparatus of surveillance† (Cooper 49). Offred is a â€Å"girl† who lives