Freedom In Handmaid's Tale

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. Imagine living in a world where everyone had the freedom to do

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.

(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)

„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.

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. Women have different roles and titles in this new society and some are based on their physical attributes.

(Atwood, 194). 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

(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.

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. Commanders play a significant role in each household.

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.

Compared to other countries, America is a land of freedom and endless rights. For example one of the rights are freedom of speech, why not express that feeling of power? It 's understandable that people do not want to serve on a jury, because of time not well spent in their opinions. As a

Freedom is a serious thing; we cannot take it for granted. When you do not cherish it, you forget freedom’s importance such as in the example of The Wave. The First Amendment of our Constitution protects our basic human rights so that we can learn and grow for ourselves. Freedom is a most precious gift - truly a blessing not to be taken for granted. It enables us to do everyday things and act according to our own conscience, thus we must not forget the meaning, importance, and blessing that is called

When asked what they thought it was to be an American, most people would reply with an answer about how, as an American, they had the right to be free. Whether it be the freedom to practice any religion (just like the pilgrims fought for), or it be the freedom to speak freely without fear of an oppressive government. When the pilgrims achieved this freedom, they set forth the idea that an American, at their very core, had the right to be free. Without this value, the landscape of modern society, as well as what it means to be an American, might look very different. In short: the pilgrims had a monumental effect on today 's American government.

The constitution is still important today because without it, what would become of our government? It’s relevant because people still believe we have to obey by it. People believe in their rights as an American and without the Constitution, American’s rights would not be protected and the government wouldn’t be able to function. Although there is quite the debate on the constitution. Some believe that it is outdated and that we shouldn’t have to follow it and others believe that it is apart of our history and

By definition, freedom is essentially the right to choose ;by action, it is something wanted but not always achieved .Freedom is the oxygen of the soul (Mashe Dayon ) and it seems to be feigned for and more important to those whom freedom is denied. This is shown in both literary works”The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass “and “Why the Caged Bird Sings”. From both of Frederick Douglass and Maya Angelou’s writing it(freedom) is important and longed for ,but how the depravity of it affects the enslaved is where Douglass and Angelou deviate from their similarities. In the piece “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” ,Frederick talks about the hardship and toil he’d gone through and spoke mostly upon the effort he put in the search for freedom ,from hiding books for mental freedom and hiding himself `for physical freedom ,HE shows more tenacity than we,who have freedom ourselves who don’t have much limitation and yet do