ipl-logo

Escape In The Handmaids Tale

813 Words4 Pages

Imagine having no option other than breaking the government laws to survive. In the novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, written by Margaret Atwood in the new society, Republic of Gilead, a strict government is established. Offred is ultimately trying to survive with the new laws that were implemented. Therefore, the quest for survival leads to breaking laws as expressed through the tone of Offred, foreshadowing Offred and her daughter attempted escape, and plot twist of Serena Joy. In the novel, Offred is considered a trustworthy person, but throughout the novel, she loses “trust” ordinarily it is emphasized by the tone that she describes her stories because she is trying to survive by breaking laws. For instance, the doctor was doing an Offred’s …show more content…

Furthermore, Nick finds Offred in the sitting room and he indicates “He wants to so see you” in which Offred responds “The commander, it must be. See me? What …show more content…

During Luke and Offred attempting to escape with their daughter, they were running through the wood and “I can see her, going away from me...holding out her arms to me, being carried away”(Atwood 75). The narrator previously mentions her daughter getting stolen in the market. The disappearance is being foreshadowed since she got her taken for a moment. Nick at the end is trying to help Offred survive therefore he states “It’s all right. It’s Mayday. Go with them”(Atwood 293). Ofglen had told her about Mayday, to only use it if she had to. When they come for Offred Nick tells her it is them, so she abides and goes which indicates it was some sort of rescue since it is the first time she heard it being used. Through the foreshadowing, the quest for survival leads to breaking laws by Offred attempting to escape, but her daughter got captured and used “Mayday” to obey and leave the

Show More
Related

  • Idealism In The Handmaid's Tale

    918 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Commander also has the power to break the rules that govern men and women, forcing Offred to do what he wants regardless of the possibility of her punishment. The Commander takes Offred to Jezebels, a prostitution hub, actively putting her in danger without consequences of his own, all of the blame being shifted onto Offred. Furthermore, the Commander gets to indulge in aspects of life deemed illegal, like board games, magazines, and infertility without consequences. However, if Offred is found to be participating in these acts with the Commander, as he repeatedly requests, then she will be sent away and possibly hung for public speculation. The Commander's indulgence and biased perspective of the world as a result of his idealism, results in putting Offred's life in danger.

    Read More

  • Outward Conformity In The Handmaid's Tale

    639 Words  | 3 Pages

    Outward conformity along with inward questioning, that is what the main character, presented in Margaret Artwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, has to undertake in order to survive in a theocratic society. Stepping out of line in any way risks your life, so in a place where freedom of speech and basic human right’s no longer apply, Offered must comply with whatever rules they have in place and pretend to agree with the system, but in the inside, she cannot help but think about her past life, her husband, her daughter, before everything began. Flashbacks are integrated in the novel to not only compare the old society with the new one, but to also demonstrate this fake conformity Offred has to display to others and her internal struggle with giving up on escaping the Republic or just accepting her fate and playing by

    Read More

  • Violence In The Handmaid's Tale

    995 Words  | 4 Pages

    The dystopian novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, is about a new Christian theocracy that took over the government in the United States by creating a new society named the Republic of Gilead. This new society was created due to a nuclear fertility crisis, and their main goal is to heavily control women’s reproductive freedoms in order to increase the population. The protagonist, Offred, is a handmaid whose main role in society is to breed healthy children. In order to maintain control over the women in Gilead, the society uses acts of cruelty and violence to force the women to conform into their respective roles. In the dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood presents sexual violence, the removal of knowledge, and public hangings in order

    Read More

  • Torture In The Handmaid's Tale

    347 Words  | 2 Pages

    Torture in Handmaid's Tale and Prisoner of Tehran In both novels, the display of the effects of torture on Marina and Offred is used by the authors to reveal that torture can be used, to an extent, to input fear in people in order to gain control. Both characters live in communities where torture is routinely used to punish people to ensure all citizens obey the rules. In the Handmaid's Tale, the Republic of Gilead scare the Handmaids by inputting the idea that they will be sent to the Colonies if they misbehave. They also remind all the citizens of the consequences by placing evidence of torture and execution on the Wall.

    Read More

  • Great Gatsby Dialectical Journal

    947 Words  | 4 Pages

    He tries his best to be quiet and make it seem like no one is there, but then Nick makes a move trying to get out of the house and then something drops in the closet. Tom and Daisy both look over in his direction and Tom heads to the closet to see what happened. Nick petrified that he would get caught and he does not know what would happen. Nick tries to hide under a few jackets in the dark in the closet and tries not to move one muscle. Tom opens the closet door and looks to see what happened.

    Read More

  • Control In The Handmaids Tale

    971 Words  | 4 Pages

    Offred is suspicious of what the handmaid 's did. She looks at their hands, and a clue is given to her when she sees “black gloves”(Atwood 275). She ponders what they could have possibly done to have warranted such action from the authorities. Her speculation shows how the society of Gilead functions. The government of Gilead wants the handmaids to see that the prisoners are being hanged, as their suspicion is how Gilead gains control of them.

    Read More

  • Control Of Women In The Handmaids Tale

    678 Words  | 3 Pages

    “You wanted a women 's culture. Well, now there is one. It isn’t what you meant, but it exists. Be thankful for small mercies.” (Atwood 124) Offred is looking back on her past life to a story her mother once told her.

    Read More

  • Isolation In The Handmaid's Tale

    957 Words  | 4 Pages

    Atwood clearly emphasizes this point through the inclusion of Offred 's inner thoughts; which in turn, help to illuminate to the reader the process of this deterioration. Atwood also shows how the Republic of Gilead uses totalitarianism tactics, which parallel those used in North Korea, in order to remain in control. In The Handmaid’s tale, a dystopian novel, Margaret Atwood uses imagery and allusion throughout the novel to illustrate how the republic of Gilead uses techniques to deteriorate one 's mind in order to maintain their power. Throughout the dystopian country

    Read More

  • Conflict In The Handmaids Tale

    1436 Words  | 6 Pages

    Conflict can be described as the struggle between two opposing forces, whether the forces being person vs person, person vs self or person vs society. Good examples of conflict can be found in almost any book. Margaret Atwood’s novel, the Handmaid’s Tale is a source of all three types of conflicts. The Handmaid’s Tale is about a society where females are given specific duties and are restricted from reading, writing, talking to others and looking at themselves in mirrors. The protagonist, Offred whom is also the narrator in the novel faces conflicts with herself, with other people, and the society that she lives in.

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis In Everything Everything, By Nicola Yoon

    1091 Words  | 5 Pages

    It goes on to say, “ Olly : Jesus, Where have you been. Are you ok? Maddy: Yes.

    Read More

  • Power And Power In The Handmaid's Tale By Margaret Atwood

    1587 Words  | 7 Pages

    Go up the stairs and knock, he 's expecting you. No one will see you. I 'll sit here." Offred has been given a command by Serena Joy to meet Nick late at night which breaks the law. She has to follow Serena’s step by step procedure, however she also needs to listen to the laws that were made by the government.

    Read More

  • Justice In The Handmaid's Tale

    571 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the novel The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, Offred has a continuous search for justice for her daughter, in a society in which her idea of justice is starts as one concept and changes to one that she never expected. Margaret Atwood writes Offred as a character who was at once strong-willed, and who would stop at nothing to get what she wanted. Her strength is dimmed at first, when her daughter and husband are first taken from her. Her strength, however comes back in full force when she finds the opportunity to get justice for her daughter. Offred uses the motivation of her daughter to spur a rebellious side of her that disappeared when the new leaders came into power.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Rebellion In The Handmaid's Tale

    711 Words  | 3 Pages

    Rebellion in The Handmaid’s Tale Imagine not being able to do what you used to do because some actions are forbidden in this new society. In the Handmaid's Tale, Gilead is a dystopian society where people are limited to certain actions. Throughout the story, Offred’s actions are rebellious because she has broken so many rules. Atwood demonstrates that restricted expression leads to rebellion by showing the Commanders and Offred’s affair developing throughout time and the actions of both characters.

    Read More

  • Rebellion In The Handmaids Tale

    978 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the novel, the main character Offred tells her tale as a handmaid and, how her and the other characters rebel towards the oppressive government. Offred, the only source of information, therefore the reader only knows what she tells them.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Marxism In The Handmaid's Tale

    2035 Words  | 9 Pages

    Offred initially feels a sense of loss due to her position as a fertile woman since the independence and individuality she once enjoyed has since been stripped from her by the Republic of Gilead. It is only through rebellion that Offred is able to slowly regain her sense of self and reject the role that Gilead forces her into. By rebellion, however, it is often more dangerous for the perpetrators than to the government’s grip on the people. Offred’s societal role as a handmaid in Gilead forces her to first obey, then causes her to question, which finally allows her to realize her

    Read More

More about Escape In The Handmaids Tale

Open Document