Freedom In Handmaid's Tale

In today’s society, if you live in America, you have some type of freedom. Even though we have laws and rules, we still have freedom to do things. Why do we have laws and rules? The reason we have laws and rules is to protect us and keep us safe from danger. Imagine a world where there are no laws and rules.

It is narrated by the protagonist, Offred who is a handmaid forced into sexual servitude. Facing a plunging birth rate, the fundamentalist regime treats women as property of the state. Handmaids are the few of the remaining fertile women and their sole purpose is to help the government into re-populating their society, where a lot of people are left sterile. The Handmaid’s Tale deals with the theme of women in subjugation to misogyny in a patriarchal society, primarily. It shows the struggle that women have to go through in that society, as a Handmaid or as not being able to be one.

While Mama “represents the traditional prescribed domestic role assigned to the women of her generation”, her daughter-in-law Ruth Younger represents “a generation in transition”. (Guzzio) She values the traditional role of a housewife and mother; however, she is faced with the decision of terminating her pregnancy in order to provide a better life for the child she already has. Including this topic is a very bold feminist move from Hansberry, since in the 1950’s abortions were illegal. This was “one of the first American plays to address abortion”, which Ruth sees as a way to keep the family together. (Bloom) This scene “reveals Ruth 's independence, expressing her right to choose and to assert control, yet it also depicts the desperation of a working-class woman who cannot afford to have another child.” (Bloom) Mama greatly opposes Ruth getting an abortion.

„Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life, but define yourself” (“goodreads”). This quote by Harvey Fierstein emphasises the importance of having the freedom to define one’s own identity. A fundamental right in our society nowadays and since we are moving towards a more and more individualistic culture very crucial.

I believe we as Americans tend to scream and shout about freedom of speech and freedom of expression only until someone decides to use those same freedoms to say something or express themselves in a way that offends our own views and beliefs. It’s never right to suppress anyones speech regardless of what they are saying. That is the great thing about this Country. The freedom of expression forms the basis of other rights and allows them to thrive. Being half African American and half Caucasian brings a lot of issues to my attention.

How hard does a woman’s life have to be that she wouldn’t even want to look at her body. Not because she doesn’t like it, but because it makes her lose her identity and value because the environment in which she lives classified her as something she doesn’t want to be just because of her body. In the book “The Handmaid’s Tale” the author, Margaret Atwood portrays women in a futuristic society that in a way revolves around women. Not the feminist way that women would want however, but these women are told and obligated to be happy for what they have. The society the book is written in see women as property even though they have an important role in this book.

In the end all the methods used to protect women only reinforced the discrimination, and Handmaids are depicted as baby machines. All this class struggle leads to one answer, in this society freedom is all about what you are forced to achieve to serve the nation. Individuals do not settle their objectives, but the government that force them to accomplish them because they are morally correct. Women are expected to do their job, their “uses”, since it is for the wealth of the

Those differences are not easily dismissed… however those differences do not condone gender discrimination in society, and certainly not in the workplace.” (Malkin, 2005) Women mostly have unequal access to health services and education, face glass ceiling at work place. Social customs that force or encourage girls into early child bearing and teenage marriages have dangerous and direct consequences for their health. There are much high levels of brutality and violence against women almost in all nations around the world. This could be among their families where it is treated a normal custom. Violence, in the span of armed conflict, is used to humiliate the rivals and also to undermine resistance and

The Handmaid’s roles in this novel are significant; however, their freedom and rights are viewed inferior towards men. Handmaids are controlled in every aspect of their life. Handmaids could almost be considered cooperative hostages. The system has different roles for women, depending on their fertility in the reproductive field. The majority of women in Gilead are Handmaids; which are the fertile women given to the Commanders.

Information is power only when it is unequally divided between individuals. This is only one of many human rights violated by the regime of Gilead. They closed down every university and prohibited women from reading, nor were they allowed to speak freely. The Handmaids also weren't able to watch the news, tough the news in itself, wasn’t guaranteed to give knowledge since it was unknown how corrupted they were. Some scenes, or even all of them, were played by actors and weren’t currently in existence.