Women In The Handmaid's Tale By Margaret Atwood

Throughout history, the desire for power has lead once peaceful societies to war. The necessity to be in control of one's surroundings has ended with unnecessary bloodshed. Typically these battles occur over some sort of prize such as money, but when there is nothing to be gained other than one’s freedom, the same principals apply. In the novel, “The Handmaid’s Tale”, by Margaret Atwood, the desire for power in the form of freedom is the main conquest which all characters face, and how they overcome adversity to gain such power is what defines their character.

Kelley martin Senior English Ms. Nelson 9 April 2018 Oppression in the Handmaid's Tale Many people don’t realize how much control the government has in society. They create rules and laws for people in high hopes that everyone will be the same. The Government in America's society is more laid back and not as strict as in the Handmaid's Tale. Because the Government has so much power to brainwash and oppress the society to forget their past lives, the handmaids are forced to be used as a fertility label which keeps them from gaining any authentic power over how they choose to live their lives.

Margaret Atwood is the author of both Lady Oracle and The Handmaid’s Tale. Both of these novels follow the conventions of the oppression of women. Lady Oracle is the narrative in which Joan Foster, the first-person narrator, tells the story of her life. Spanning the time period of the early 1940s through 1970s, Joan’s story describes her growing up in Toronto, becoming an author of gothic romances, marrying and faking her suicide to escape the complicated turmoil of her life. The Handmaid’s Tale takes place in a city what used to be in the United States, now called the Republic of Gilead. In this alternative future state, the democratic government has been overthrown and replaced by an authoritarian one. In this book, the narrator, Offred, acts as the reader’s eyes and ears. People who have read this novel see Gilead as she sees it; they interpret it as she interprets it; and their only knowledge of it comes from the information she gives to them. Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and Lady Oracle both portray the theme of the roles of women in society. This will be discussed by analyzing and contrasting the conflicts that Offred and Joan are faced with, and how they react to these conflicts.

Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale is a warning to the world that by classifying women by their fertility and stripping them of their rights, one can easily create a terrifying dystopia where all fabrics of society suffer the erosive consequences of female subjugation.

Throughout history, women have been shamed and oppressed in different aspects of life. In The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, the oppression of women continues into the dystopian future. One cannot read The Handmaid’s Tale without seeing the problems of gender separation among roles and treatment in society. Although a feminist story, The Handmaid’s Tale gives some surprisingly sympathetic portrayals of men while those of women can be critical. Men are the most mysterious characters; they are the ones we know least about and the ones that Offred can provide the least insight into beyond patriarchal society, dominant male figures, and sexual predators. Few male characters have more than functional roles of the patriarchal state. Most

In Margaret Atwood’s, The Handmaid’s Tale, women are subjected to unimaginable oppression. Almost every aspect of their lives is controlled; they are not allowed to read, write, or even speak freely. Any type of expression would be dangerous to the order of the Gilead’s strict society, but the handmaids are conditioned to believe that they are safer and better off living there. However, not everyone is convinced that the Gileadean society is how it portrays itself to be. Through storytelling, past memories, and rebellion, the handmaid Offred is able to escape the reality of Gilead and cease to completely submit to its repressive culture.

The concept that women are not on the same level as men has always been a notion throughout society. Since existence, the prominent barrier between the two genders has been apparent. Atwood’s novel “The Handmaids Tale” vividly manifests the idea of sexism and inequality that women are exposed to and by doing so, her depiction of a dystopian society cleverly criticizes the behavior towards women in the present day. Although Atwood exaggerates these issues throughout the book, she undeniably demonstrates what could be the result of inequality in the future making the reader question the imbalance between male and females in today’s society. It is virtually impossible to read this eye-opening novel without becoming aware of these issues.

In the Republic of Gilead, handmaids compose one level of the female social order, distinguished from other women as potential breeders. However, the title of handmaid comes with other duties as well, one of which is demonstrated by Offred as she leaves her commander’s house daily to obtain fresh food from local markets. According to Gilead law, the handmaids must go to the markets in pairs, and it is during one of these dichotomized outings that Offred observes her new walking partner, Ofglen. The initial observation that Offred makes about Ofglen’s physical appearance, primarily her distinction of the handmaid’s red colored habit, symbolizes the dehumanization of women by the government. Offred remarks the similarities in the costumes worn

The body is something we cherish for it is ours alone; we may do with it what we like. However that is not the case for women of Gilead. Each female is given a distinct role in which she must partake: The handmaids’ duties are to reproduce and the Marthas’ work as domestics. If one refuses to cooperate they are named “Unwoman” and are eliminated. The women are treated thus

In the novel The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, set in a futuristic state, women are portrayed as voiceless belongings viewed only as childbearing vessels. Atwood characterizes women as both physically and psychologically oppressed by the totalitarian male leaders through Handmaid characters such as Offred, Ofwarren, and Ofglen. The novel clearly displays the dehumanizing effects of the ideology, the biological reductionism, and manipulation of language through the testimony of the eyewitness’ recollections. The portrayal of women in this novel is conveyed through Offred’s characterizations and descriptions of women in this society.

In the book “ The handmaid’s tale”, the women are treated very unfairly and are used to birth children for the shortage of war. They’re given little respect by the men and they have no freedom. In the republic of gilead the women are separated in different groups which have different jobs. Some groups of women are envied by other groups of women and develop hate for the

In the thought - provoking novel by Margaret Atwood, the domination and the unjust governing of women by men is palpable. Freedom for women is restricted, because of the new Christian government’s extreme policies and the ideas of this Christian government are presented through Offred’s first person narrative. Through politics, Atwood uses The Handmaid’s Tale as a social commentary on freedom for women. The handmaids are no longer free to think for themselves and are “used… as an instrument… a means of transportation or an implement” (Atwood 73). In addition, slavery which was abolished by the thirteenth Amendment reoccurs again.

After the elite rose to power in Gilead, women were used simply for their reproductive capabilities. In “The Handmaid’s Tale” the author uses characterization, foreshadowing, and symbolism to showcase the political and social issues of the Republic of Gilead. In this state, it is made clear that women are taught values so that they are only concerned with bearing children. It is made to be their number one priority, and it engulfs their true self.

Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel The Handmaid’s Tale explores the experience of a woman called Offred in an American Northeast society named Gilead that’s dominated by the religious right. This society was formed with the intentions of creating a peaceful and perfect way of life, and although there are some true believers in the system, Offred feels confused and unhappy in her role in Gilead as a Handmaiden. Although there are feminist undertones in The Handmaiden’s Tale, the constant objectification of women and their singular role in Gilead society proves this book to ultimately not have a feminist message.

In The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood, focuses on the darker interconnections between politics and sex. The characters she creates are representatives mainly portraying characters though thoughts, statements and actions. In the society of Gilead women are forced to comply with the state's rules in order to produce children; these are their stories.