How Does Margaret Atwood Use Power In The Handmaid's Tale
Language is the most powerful tools in connecting between the author and the readers. In The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood uses word choice and sentence structure to expose that the shocking cultures of Gilead society are built upon foundations of sexism. Additionally, with the use of double entendre, Atwood emphasizes the theme throughout the novel: the presence of power. Atwood shows Gilead society is a corrupted place where people seek to break the rules and to show power through the action between the Commander and Offred. In chapter 36, “The Commander has hold of my right hand, as if we’re teenagers at the movies” (Atwood, 232), the word “hold” implies two meanings which the Commander is holding Offred’s hand out of love or the Commander is holding of Offred as in power. In Gilead society, touching is forbidden for the Handmaid and the Commander. Despite knowing the rule, they still against the societal laws. This action shows that both characters rebel because they want to be happy and to be loved in the strict society. Also, instead of using holding hands, Atwood specifically uses “has hold” to display the authority that he has over Offred. The use of double entendre in the word “hold” is not only showing the readers that the Commander has feelings for Offred, but also wanting to have control over her. In Gilead society, power not …show more content…
From the action “hold” to the uniform that the Commander and Offred wear, both represent for the power that people in Gilead want to control, have authority over something for their own. The use of language as a means to execute and to gain power is one of the central themes in The Handmaid’s Tale. Atwood has succeeded using the power of the language to criticize how extremist the Gilead society can make individuals become
Outward Conformity In The Handmaid's Tale
639 Words | 3 PagesOutward 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
Ethos And Pathos In Margaret Sanger's Speech
1351 Words | 6 PagesSanger uses metaphors as her main rhetorical device. For example when she talks about the hardships that women have faced through the centuries, “Throughout the ages, every attempt woman has made to strike off the shackles of slavery has been met with the argument that such an act would result in the downfall of her morality” (Paragraph.1). In this example she uses “shackles of slavery” to define the hold men have had on women’s freedom to think and speak up for themselves. She also uses repetition, an example, the use of the word women throughout the speech.
An Analysis Of Gwendolyn Brooks 'A Bronzeville Mother Loiters In Mississippi'
852 Words | 4 Pages“She did not speak. When the Hand came down and away, and she could look at her child” (92-93). The Hand is a representation of the force that the Fine Prince utilized against the Dark Villain. The Hand is also a way to show the aggression that the maid mild knows the Fine Prince is capable of. He is using his hands and white masculinity as a means for justifying the atrocities that he commits, and she lacks the privilege to speak.
Control In The Handmaids Tale
971 Words | 4 PagesIn The Handmaid’s Tale, the effects of suspicion on a society, on handmaid’s, are clearly visible; it can also be seen that the government’s method of control leads to the creation of a dystopia. The Handmaid’s Tale proves that a society built on fear and shaped by suspicion achieves near total control of the population by the ruling class, the government of Gilead in this case. In chapter 42, Aunt Lydia describes how they will no longer announce the crimes that the prisoners have committed at the Salvagings. Once Offred learns this she states, “Now we are left to our own devices, speculation” (Atwood 275). Therefore, through Offered, the reader is able to see how the handmaid 's will now have suspicions of what the prisoners did to get hanged, since they are no longer being told.
The Hunger Games Vs Handmaid's Tale Essay
480 Words | 2 PagesIn both societies, the districts and categories have specific jobs and are identified by a color or style of clothing. There is a sense of being watched in both Panem and Gilead. In “The Handmaid’s Tale” this surveillance is called ‘The Eye’ but in “The
Use Of Figurative Language In The Handmaid's Tale
1108 Words | 5 PagesIn the novel The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, the protagonist, Offred, expresses her wish that her “story [is] different,” that it is “happier,” or at least “more active, less hesitant, less distracted” than it is ultimately portrayed (267). However, as her story is told, these characteristics are evident in the way she talks and acts, especially around those with authority. Hesitant to express her true thoughts and feelings, and distracted by memories from her previous life, Offred attempts to piece together her role in the society that has taken her freedom. The result is a compilation of moments, of memories, both from her present, her past, and even speculation about her future.
Control Of Women In The Handmaids Tale
678 Words | 3 PagesThis phrase resonates with Offred because in her past life women were free and now the culture is no longer the way it was but has reformed to be under the power of men and it’s kinda hopeful for offred because her mother is right there is a culture not at all what any women would want but their gender has some power. Offred and her good friend Ofglen both are part of the underground system to free themselves. When Ofglen saw the truck coming for her she made the decision to commit suicide. “ She is a flag on a hilltop, showing what can still be done: we too can be saved.” (Atwood 287)
Theocratic Government In The Handmaid's Tale
1203 Words | 5 PagesRegina Carla L. Silva 2015-01293 The Handmaid’s Tale The novel is set in the Republic of Gilead which is formerly the United States of America. The name comes from a place from the Bible. It is a totalitarian, theocratic government.
Isolation In The Handmaid's Tale
957 Words | 4 PagesAtwood 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
Political Issues In The Handmaid's Tale
988 Words | 4 PagesIn the 1980s, United States was experiencing the rise of conservatism. Under the presidency of Ronald Reagan, conservative religious groups were gaining popularity. In response to the social and political landscape, Canadian author Margaret Atwood published a fictional novel The Handmaid’s Tale in 1986; a genre of dystopian novels. The storyline projects an imaginary futuristic world where society lives under oppression and illusion of a utopian society maintained through totalitarian control. Dystopian novels often focus on current social government trends and show an exaggeration of what happens if the trends are taken too far.
Power And Power In The Handmaid's Tale By Margaret Atwood
1587 Words | 7 PagesOne’s power can be abused due to indolence; it ruins the lowest social class. In the handmaid 's tale, the Handmaids are treated poorly, making the person no longer themselves. The reader learns that Offred is being told what to do and has no say for her opinion, since it is against the law to go against the government. According to the handmaid’s tale, "You go out through the door and turn right. There 's another door, it 's open.
Justice In The Handmaid's Tale
571 Words | 3 PagesIn 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.
Examples Of Rebellion In The Handmaid's Tale
711 Words | 3 PagesRebellion 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.
Passivity In Handmaid's Tale
741 Words | 3 PagesIn the book A Handmaid’s Tale passivity is a common theme throughout Offred’s journey as a handmaid. In this context, passivity is allowing others to do things to you without complaining or pushing back to protect oneself and to keep oneself safe from harm or cruel treatment. There are several instances in which Offred is forced to be passive in order to please the people who have Offreds life in their hands. In the position that Offred is in as a handmaid, she is expected to do as her commander and the wife of her commander instructs her to do, and if she does not comply to these orders, no matter how unusual or unfair, she faces severe punishment or even death in the worst of cases. Just like Offred there are several other women who are forced to call Gilead home that must be passive in order to stay alive.
Strength In The Handmaid's Tale
489 Words | 2 Pages”But it’s too late to think about that now, already their feet are on the dusty-rose carpeting of the stairs” (Atwood, 293). Offred debates many ways that she could escape or kill herself, but in the end she realizes that she doesn’t want to die, and that she wants to continue on. Strength is shown repeatedly throughout The Handmaid’s Tale. Offred is pushed and forced to do things that she would never do, and through it all she is able to come out strong, and in the end, hopefully survive all she has been
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