Freedom In The Handmaid's Tale By Margaret Atwood

It 's like what Aunt Lydia said about “freedom to and freedom from” Pre Gilead, it was protection from [everything below is not yet editted] •“A Matriarchal Gilead”: how disunity forms through restriction (first talk about their restrictions and why it is that way, then talk about how the women are set up in this matriarchal/caste system; eg; domestic work, handmaids and commanders wives and marthas) ◦at that point we can try to pick apart who the real enemy, at first sight, in the handmaid 's tale, it might be men, but they can easily be victims themselves •“Handmaids: Superior or inferior?” ◦EXPLOITED but at the same time, idealized into weakness. ◦“the salvaging” sex is a primary way of organizing humans because it is so easily recognized; superior and inferior groups, in the handmaid 's tale, allow for cheap or unorthodox distributions of labor, in which the society depends on to function. ◦

In The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, the Republic of Gilead actively represses women by forcing them into very narrowly defined, ultra-conservative gender roles. This totalitarian government strips women of all rights and protections, and imposes severe punishments for defiance. Pollution and disease had caused severe infertility in this society, drastically reducing birth rates. In an effort to reverse a drastic population decline, this thoroughly misogynistic and power-hungry regime, takes full control over the human reproductive process. Furthermore, the leadership uses various dehumanizing methods to achieve complete subservience of women to men.

Every aspect of society works not only to gain control over those of low social standing, but also show a significantly great amount of prejudice against women. In this way, the societies enforce their patriarchy onto its citizens, allowing modern time readers to draw contrasts between their own societies and the ones in the novels that oppose ideas of freedom through indoctrination, using education as a form of empowerment and violence to evoke fear. Men are only regarded the monarchs of society once women have been demeaned. This is evidenced through Attwood’s use of animalistic language to display the false power the Commander holds over Offred. Upon their first meeting, Offred states that she thought ‘he might be toying, some cat-and-mouse routine, but now [she] thinks that his motives and desires weren’t obvious even to him’.

They are controlled by society, they are told what they can do, see, hear, know, say, etc. For example, in the novel Guy’s wife (Mildred) believes EVERYTHING she sees on her television, she is brainwashed by the government she lives among as well as the other civilians. In the novel Mildred begs Montag to burn his books because society has told her that books are bad and threatening to their happiness. This happens because people follow a pack,

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.

Medea was treated unfairly in the patriarchal society that she lived in and due to the circumstances she was forced to abide by, she sought to achieve her own form of justice. Women were mistreated and regarded as inferior to men. In fact, Medea mentioned how women were like foreigners forced to abide by their husband’s laws and remain subservient. Essentially, women were treated as outsiders and were thought to need constant protection from male figures. So, when the King of Corinth kicked her and her children out of Corinth and Jason left them, she wanted revenge since she felt she had been wronged.

Imagine a nation in which its government commands by a religion where women are separated into different titles and must conceive children for their commander. Their rights from before this regime, and anything deemed unholy by the government, are a thing of the past. This situation is the one represent in the Republic of Gilead, where the rules of society and its traditions are not taken lightly if broken. In the novel The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood shows that an oppressive government leads to the inevitable neglect and remiss of the rules through Offred’s characterization, irony, and flashbacks. Offred 's character development can show that her actions change .

The in forcing of strict laws made it easy for people to lose their individuality because it starts to take away the uniqueness from an individual. Equality 7-2521 looking at Liberty 5-3000 stated “For men are forbidden to take notice of women are forbidden to take notice of men”(Rand, pg. 38). This is an example of strict laws because it shows how controlling the government is over the society. The strict laws shows how much power the government has over the people. Not only is the in forcing of strict laws made it harder to have individuality, but also the brain washing of their citizens.

Women were expected to cook, take care of their children and maintain the household, but not much more. These standards created by societal boundaries caused women to feel insignificant, as if they had no say in anything. Thus, women wanted to be given equal rights that other individuals at the had. Doc A states, “we insist that they have immediate admission to all the rights and privileges which belong to them as citizens of the United States” (Cult of Domesticity, Doc.

This quote from the passage “I want a Wife” is a perfect example of the expectations women were faced with. In “I want a wife” by Judy Brady she does an excellent job describing how women were portrayed in the eyes of society; as robots. No thoughts for themselves or opinions, just mindless tasks to complete and services to provide without hesitation. Women had to fulfill every need, but their own, therefore, could not do the things that they would have wanted to do. It was difficult for women because not only did they have to heed the needs of their husband and children, but if they did not they would be judged like Edna in the book The Awakening.

The government made it a for the citizens to have a certain basic right for them. People would be mistreated the women would be treated as equal as men which was hard. Women were nothing during this war. Slave’s treated like they weren’t worth anything which made things.

She saw that women were conditioned to believe there was nothing wrong with their life and as such “they had to be made aware of how they were being shackled [by society], and roused to mutiny” (Shaw 38) to gain any rights. Planned Parenthood was a major step in the right direction for the Women’s Rights movement, removing it and its services that gave women so much freedom would destroy any progress

In the excerpt, Polly points out that women are punished for doing their "God-given duty," which, according to the community, is to reproduce. Polly argues that while women are tried, fined, and publicly humiliated for having children out of wedlock, men remain unconvicted for going against nature, meaning they do not marry or have children. This is an instance of a double standard that Polly points out because although bachelors are truly the ones that should be blamed for the abnormality of their actions, women are the ones who face the consequences for having children, whom are needed in

Revenge At It’s Best “Revenge is a dish best served cold.”- Anonymous. As a matter of fact, the person who stated this quote just described the whole reason why the witchcraft trials started. Revenge is like a bug that you can’t get rid of that comes back continuously.

The subhuman treatment of women is articulated, “To accept an openly acknowledged role for women in the public sector was to invite extraordinary hostility and ridicule” (Kerber 3). It was seen as a societal norm to ignore the works of women, and allot solely motherly chores. Rather than the belief that women are not capable, the author argues that it is tradition for women to be kept in the shadows for political issues. The author describes the ideal Republican Mother as one who sets up the future for her sons rather than her own future. Reflecting on the role of women today, it is evident that they have developed from being underestimated to key contributors within