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Current Events In The Handmaid's Tale

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In The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, there are many moments that establish Gilead, the fictional world the novel is set in, as a corrupt society. Gilead is incredibly segregationist, with minorities and women specifically being targeted. It has an incredible lack of reproductive rights for women, and sexual shaming and blame are very prevalent. Margaret Atwood herself stated that she based The Handmaid's Tale only on events that have happened in the past, so aspects of the novel will always exist and can happen again (Atwood Emma Watson interviews). Like Atwood predicted, themes in this novel are still relevant in today's society. Once Gilead replaced the United States, those who would did not conform to the new government's standards were shipped off or killed. This does in fact mirror the past- it is incredibly similar to the way Nazi's gathered up Jewish, queer, and disabled people, and carried out a mass genocide. The Sons of Jacob, who overthrew the government and suspended the …show more content…

The fact that The Handmaid's Tale is based on past events and is still referenceable thirty years later shows the importance of this story. In an piece she wrote on the novel in regard to the current political climate, Atwood stated "In this divisive climate, in which hate for many groups seems on the rise and scorn for democratic institutions is being expressed by extremists of all stripes, it is a certainty that someone, somewhere - many, I would guess - are writing down what is happening as they themselves are experiencing it Or they will remember, and record later, if they can." (atwood on a what it means in age of trump). There might be even more Offreds and books like The Handmaid's Tale in the future. Overall, the themes of segregation, lack of rights, and sexual repression are relatable and can be found frequently in the novel and within the world at

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