The Handmaid's Tale

First of all, Margaret Atwood is well known for writing fiction with strong female characters that critics categorize her as feminist. Her initial works, ”The Edible Woman”, “Dancing Girls”, “The Robber Bride”, and “The Handmaid’s Tale” are some of examples of her works that are categorize as feminist. Those novels of strong woman describe, “The main characters variously indulge in self-invention, self-mythologising, role-playing, and self-division, while identity is presented as unstable and duplicitous throughout the novels” (McCarthy 3). Atwood has that unique style to describe her characters. She elucidates the woman as their own self to invent their life and their environment through the entire novel. Atwood has a twisted technique for giving her work a jubilant name when the words describe the opposite. One example of that is her short story collection, “Dancing Girls”, Atwood, “bears a surprisingly joyful title for a series of narratives shot through with anxiety and fear, with images of death, deformity, lifelessness and contained rage” (Murray 1). Atwood has an incredible way to write stories where the characters go through gruesome obstacles or experiences that define

Through the setting of the novel, Atwood examines a woman’s role and contribution to society. Throughout history, oppressive regimes

A woman’s power and privileges depend on which societal class she is in. In Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale each group of women are each represented in a different way. The three classes of women from the novel are the Handmaids, the Marthas and the Wives. The ways in which the women are portrayed reflect their societal power and their privileges that they bestow.

The reading contributes to my emerging understanding of the novel as it addresses the Historical Notes where Margaret Atwood forces her audience to explore the concept of truth. In relation to the rise of conservatism and the feminist backlash during the 1970s-1980s the novel explores how significant perspective can be in analysis and interpretation. It is my emerging understanding that truth is ambiguous because there are many factors to be considered before a conclusion can be made. Furthermore the reading also supports my understanding that truth can be purposely distorted in order to subjugate individuals and maintain control.

Dystopian literature feeds off the fears present in the human psyche. The genre latches onto the concerns people hold about humanity’s state, and amplifies them to create eerie, cautionary tales. “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood and “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley both play on worries held by society on the topic of female sexual expression and control of women’s bodies. The societies in these novels differ greatly on this topic, but both represent real fears held not only by the people living during the time periods of each respective novel’s creation, but also that affect the world we live in today. To compare these novels whilst considering the topic of women, it is important to look at how the societies exercise control over

Margret Atwood’s ‘The Handmaids Tale’ is a dystopian novel focusing on the totalitarian state of Gilead. Although the state of Gilead can be superficially seen as patriarchal where men are the only oppressors, considering the context from the time when the novel was written, we can see Atwood’s concerns for the future. The novel describes the life story of protagonist Offred through her first person narrative and use of flashbacks and Atwood primarily portrays gender roles through her use of language and symbolism throughout the novel, which reiterate the oppressive and authoritarian state that the handmaids are obliged to live in. Similarly, Atwood portrays largely negative attitudes towards hierarchy through the use of techniques such as

Once upon a time there was a magnificent prince that lived among a small village. This small village was definitely not a place for a royal prince like himself, but he was a humble prince. This was a one of a kind prince he was noble, caring, sweet, compassionate, loyal, and not to mention extremely attractive. No one new he was of such royalty in this little village because everyone was so self centered they didn’t pay any special attention to him. Even though this prince was of such great royalty he was still content with living in a small village.

Neuman then compares The Handmaid’s Tale to Atwood’s first novel, The Edible Woman. Using these two novels, Neuman discusses feminism as a whole, as well as Atwood’s then-and-now perspective on feminism. Neuman uses empowerment in stating how Offred ultimately overcame society’s push for conformation and

The first episode of “The Handmaid’s Tale” is fairly relatable to the actual book. The episode projected the book with valid informations. The show helped the viewers understand the situation that is going on. However, I think that the beginning may be a bit confusing for viewers that has not read the book. The first scene was Offred trying to escape with her family.

We crept behind like inchworms across a leaf and shivered in the soggy air, listening to the trolls seethe and howl.

Alexia stayed home everyday tending to the house and sewing clothes for her family. She sewed so many clothes that she could fill her house with them in no time. Her crocheting needles and her sewing needles were made out of solid gold and the gold would rub off and make the clothes spectacular. When her husband came home one day. He saw the garments coming out the windows, out the door and coming out of the chimney. He fought his way through blouses, suits, pajamas, skirts and pants. When he found his wife, he told her that she would have to sell her clothes at the market and the family would make do with what ever she had left. The next day she took all of the clothes down to the market place to sell them and while she was there she would sew more clothes to

Conventions of a prose text may, to some extent, control reader response to themes within the text but the reader’s context may also influence the way the text is read. It is particularly evident in Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale that by examining the experience of women within the world it is evident that women are more repressed.

In Dan Geddes criticism of “a Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood He elaborates more on the feministic view of the story. Focusing on themes like pornography and the institution of marriage which are most controversial with feminism writers. “ Her ideas are something that most non-radical right women can agree upon.” Geddes writes explaining that Atwood does not take a specific side on views but challenges controversial topics. Geddes see’s Atwood's novel compelling when it comes to being unique and interesting as a social narrative but falls short as a gripping narrative. He feels It will make readers question what it would be like if they were Offred’s dystopia. “ Offred describes her repressive atmosphere so vividly, that we are as a grateful

Once upon a time in a far away kingdom there lived a King and his beautiful Queen. They ruled the land with fairness and justness, however the king despised magic and anyone with the ability for we believed it corrupted the land. Anyone caught using magic would be banished from the kingdom never to return. Now, the queen could not bear children, try as she might, and the king became desperate. It was then he decided to seek the help of the one thing he despised most, magic, to help his wife conceive. He heard about a witch by the name of Igraine in the neighboring lands who could perform such a task, so he gathered his supplies and went to her. He traveled for many days and nights until finally he arrived at a dense forest with lush, green

In many plays in Literature women can be portrayed as weak or unimportant. Readers get the opinion that women are to be seen not heard by the men that surround them. Many works of literature help readers explore important social issues of the time. Woman Right’s is something that was a major issue in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Many works of literature express this time and the struggles women had to go through to be treated fairly. Women were often treated as property in these times, rather than being treated as an equal to her husband. This works of literature help readers understand the things of the time period. The author uses characters to depict a story that shows the reader exactly what times were like