Identity In The Handmaids Tale

In The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, there are many moments that establish Gilead, the fictional world the novel is set in, as a corrupt society. Gilead is incredibly segregationist, with minorities and women specifically being targeted. It has an incredible lack of reproductive rights for women, and sexual shaming and blame are very prevalent. Margaret Atwood herself stated that she based The Handmaid's Tale only on events that have happened in the past, so aspects of the novel will always exist and can happen again (Atwood Emma Watson interviews). Like Atwood predicted, themes in this novel are still relevant in today's society.

Both men and women have become oppressed for the sake of the country. Offred is a handmaid given the task to procreate with a Commander. She is one of many of the women who are basically imprisoned into labels and must abide by many limiting laws. She is given multiple options to break the rules by people who, even though they are blessed, also try to break the rules. The lowest and most burdened class to the highest and blessed class break the rules of this new regime.

She did not know the spells or the magic, so gave Joan all she had of care and courtesy and hard work.” (Pg. 59, 3rd paragraph) Also, she doesn’t give up and overcome obstacles. Even though Alyce runs away because she failed to help Emma Blunt give birth, she regains her confidence when the rich merchant’s wife was laboring at the inn. In the book, it states, “Alyce backed out of the cottage, then turned and ran up the path to the road, she didn’t know why or where. Behind her in that cottage was disappointment and failure.

The author Dorothy W. Hartman provide research of study done on the role of women in both urban middle class and of immigrant women. Hartman illustrate that both type women were tied to household duties and taking care of children. Hartman acknowledge that in the mid 1800’s, that “Cult of Domesticity” arose in society believed and stated that women’s role is simply to mothers and a wives. Women had little contact with others and little relief from everyday tasks other than household responsibilities. Under the subtitle labeled Keeping the Home, the author refers to an article written by Catherine Beecher that states “ a really good housekeeper is almost unhappy… she nearly ruins her own health and life” (The Household, January 1884).

Since times immemorial, women have been the target of oppression and are forced to lead a controlled life.The Hippocratic male dominated society has hardly left any stone unturned in opposing the concept of empowerment of women. The Handmaid’s Tale written by Margaret Atwood is a detailed illustration of the helplessness and miseries of the major character who finds herself in painful compulsive situations leading her to lose her identity.

Madame Ratignole is always giving Edna counsel and warning her. When Edna moves into her new home alone and becomes close to Arobin, Ratignole “advise[s] [her] to be a little careful while she [is] living there alone” and tells her that Arobin’s “ attentions alone are enough to ruin a woman’s reputation” [96]. Ultimately, Edna ignores her about almost everything. Ratignole has little influence on Edna’s decision making and Edna makes choices that she would never make, both of these facts show their dissimilarity. Edna’s relationship with Mademoiselle Reisz is different.

When Curley's Wife is first mentioned in the book, you wonder if we will ever learn her name and the answer is no. So immediately your thinking how cliche it is to not give the only woman in the book a name. Steinbeck most likely did this to emphasize the disrespect for women during this time. Women were expected to stay in the house to clean, cook, and take care of kids with no help from their husbands. Steinbeck shows this in the story when Curley's Wife is talking to Candy, Lennie and Crooks in the loft.

Both Uopia and Dystopia are opposite terms, one means perfection and the other means that everything is terrible. as many writers, critics and philosophers give different definitions for them, and many books have written about them to show that the society as it is or how it should be. The dystopian stories are regularly stories around survival. Dystopian tales stress the feelings of the frailty of the people in the face of oppression. Merriam Webster also defined dystopia as "a

The forgotten are not truly forgotten they have only departed the mind and the lack of recollection has created an illusion of no prior existence. Thus, important events in history are made subjective and trivial through the perception of their lack of significance in the eyes of others as they refuse to recall past events. “They wanted nothing more than to forget what had happened to them (Chapter 10 page 192).” Therefore, personal advancement and the progression of a society is hindered as the truth is veiled as non-existent. In the book Ghosts in the Fog Samantha Seiple portrays a correspondent environment to such a degree that she stresses the importance of recollection and truth. While creating a vivid depiction of the haunting consequences of war Seiple reminds people that hiding the truth has its own consequences, through which people devise a precursor that brings about change in a society and those who gave their lives fighting are made to be “ghosts in a fog.” On the battlefield vulnerability is a factor of life attained through the comportment of being naive as the soldiers were defenseless against enemies.

Susie, in heaven, recounts the moment her grandmother enters the house, and she “[drags] the light back in” (Sebold 100). Her sudden presence dissipates the sombre mood that has lingered in the family, and curtails the family’s sorrow while mourning Susie’s death. On one occasion, Grandma Lynn suggests that Abigail needs help and insists on giving her a makeover. Ingeniously, she manages to