Identity In The Handmaids Tale
One of the key components of speculative fiction often revolves around the silencing of voices, particularly of oppressed and marginalised people. Consequently, oral history, as evidenced by Offred’s narrative, becomes the most prominent way in which people’s voices can be heard and the questionable practices of dystopian society exposed. The Handmaid’s Tale effectively explores how the repressive environment in which the handmaids find themselves offers them little freedom, stripping them of identity and, with no means to record their testimony in writing, compromising the veracity of their experiences. While all members of Gileadean society suffer from a lack of freedom, the handmaids are the ones whose lives are most significantly restricted. …show more content…
The ultimate loss of identity is evident through the loss of name for handmaids shown as “My name isn't Offred, I have another name, which nobody uses now because it's forbidden. I tell myself it doesn't matter, your name is like your telephone number, useful only to others; but what I tell myself is wrong, it does matter.” Their unique individual names are replaced with OF followed by the first name of the commander they work for. This shows that handmaids are seen as a possessive item of the commander. Throughout the text, we are given the ultimate loss of identity as we are never told Offred’s real name which demolishes her individuality. As Offred deserted a bland meal, she hurried home to Commander Warren’s home. At the side of Ofwarren, whose labour pains precede Aunt Elizabeth's assisted delivery of baby Angela, Offred witnesses one of the more pleasant moments in an otherwise bleak series of scenarios. As the Handmaids chant encouragement, the Wives leave their banqueting and prepare Warren's Wife for the Birthing Stool, through which Ofwarren's child is born. This scene shows us the lack of care for a handmaid, as no emotion is shown to the birth giver, however she is still scene as a handmaid and this was one of her duties. In contrast to the loss of identity, Moira, who is seen at Jezebel’s, has a sense of self is maintained throughout
Motifs In The Handmaid's Tale
1107 Words | 5 PagesOften, we see a society’s cultural values reflected in its citizens. For example, the United States values equality, a standard that is shared in all facets including gender. The opposite is true of Gilead, a fictional society in Emily Bronte’s The Handmaid’s Tale. The novel’s main character, Offred, is subjected to degrading treatment simply because she is a woman. It becomes apparent that this repeated degradation has affected the protagonist’s mind.
Racism And Classism In The Handmaid's Tale
746 Words | 3 PagesWhat would become of the world, if our current societal flaws, such as sexism, racism, and classism were ingrained and executed at a systematic level? This is exactly what The Handmaid’s Tale set out to explore. The novel, which claims to be speculative fiction, is set in the theocratic Republic of Gilead (formerly the USA), where birth rates are rapidly declining and women have been marginalized by the patriarchal regime, forbidden to read, write or love and valued only if they are able to procreate. They are separated into classes, including Wives, Marthas, Aunts, Unwomen, and Handmaids, distinguishable only by the color of their clothing. The Handmaids are renamed by combining ‘of’ and the name of the Commander that they have been assigned to, stripping them of any individuality.
Use Of Figurative Language In The Handmaid's Tale
1108 Words | 5 PagesThe author also uses rhetorical questions such as “Why tempt her to friendship?” to emphasize the lack of even the possibility of a meaningful connection between Offred and the Marthas. This use of figurative language highlights the inescapable suffering and isolation that Offred encounters while interacting with others, and achieves a hollow, detached tone. In factual recollections of the events occurring, diction and syntax are also crucial in the construction of this isolated, resigned tone While describing exchanges between herself and the rest of the household, Offred uses short, precise sentences, void of intricate words or complex structure.
Control Of Women In The Handmaids Tale
678 Words | 3 PagesIn the Handmaid 's Tale power is used to control the women and sort them into certain gender roles. Each women in the society of Gilead is assigned a certain job that is stereotypical of a woman 's job such as cooking, sex, and reproduction. These women are the lowest class in Gilead and have no control. The men have superior power of the women but the women such as Ofgeln and Offred gain control in power in their lives. Men have an upper hand in the control of these women.
The Religion Influences In The Handmaid's Tale
1562 Words | 7 PagesThe Religion Influences in The Handmaid’s Tale Word Count: 1563 This purpose of this essay is to establish and explain connections between the Christian Religion and ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’. It is not attempting to point out flaws or discriminate against the religion. Margret Atwood’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ is a dystopian novel, that centres around the themes of corruption, oppression, and theocracy. Told in the first person, the novel follows the female ‘Offred’ in her daily life/activities and past experiences in the newly founded “Republic of Gilead”.
Conflict In The Handmaids Tale
1436 Words | 6 PagesConflict can be described as the struggle between two opposing forces, whether the forces being person vs person, person vs self or person vs society. Good examples of conflict can be found in almost any book. Margaret Atwood’s novel, the Handmaid’s Tale is a source of all three types of conflicts. The Handmaid’s Tale is about a society where females are given specific duties and are restricted from reading, writing, talking to others and looking at themselves in mirrors. The protagonist, Offred whom is also the narrator in the novel faces conflicts with herself, with other people, and the society that she lives in.
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.
Symbolism In The Handmaid's Tale
1410 Words | 6 PagesIt 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.
Rebellion In The Handmaids Tale
978 Words | 4 PagesRebellion; the action or process of resisting authority, control, or convention. The Handmaid’s Tale written by Margaret Atwood is a novel. The novel takes place in Gilead a dystopian society. Everyone in Gilead has an important role to play within the society, however, it seems as if none of the characters seem content with their role, due to the restrictions they face. In the novel, the lack of freedom leads to rebellion as shown by the characterization, interior dialogue, flashbacks, and foreshadowing.
Theme Of Marxism In The Handmaid's Tale
2035 Words | 9 PagesOffred initially feels a sense of loss due to her position as a fertile woman since the independence and individuality she once enjoyed has since been stripped from her by the Republic of Gilead. It is only through rebellion that Offred is able to slowly regain her sense of self and reject the role that Gilead forces her into. By rebellion, however, it is often more dangerous for the perpetrators than to the government’s grip on the people. Offred’s societal role as a handmaid in Gilead forces her to first obey, then causes her to question, which finally allows her to realize her
Gender Roles In Margaret Atwood's The Handmaids Tale
1035 Words | 5 PagesThis year is the 30th anniversary of the publication of Margaret Atwood 's dystopian classic, The Handmaid 's Tale. The novel is told from a first person account of a young woman, Offred. In an age of declining births, she is forced to become a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, the imagined future in the United States. The Handmaids are to provide children by the substitution of infertile women of a higher social status. Through the creation of different characteristics of female characters – ones who are submissive yet rebellious, and like to take advantage of their power - Margaret Atwood portray themes of love, theocracy, rebellion, and gender roles.
Theme Of Identity In The Handmaid's Tale
802 Words | 4 PagesThe majority of people ask the same question at some point in their life; who am I? The concept of identity is something many wrestle with their whole lives. Other individuals are confident of who they are. The Handmaid’s Tale follows a society that is stripped of individuality and identity. This question can no longer be asked because it cannot be answered.
Rebellion In The Handmaid's Tale
801 Words | 4 PagesThere are two ways people will react to when their freedom is taken away. They will either accept it or rebel against it, which is what a lot of the female characters in Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale accomplished. Shown through Offred’s repetition of certain events, Moira’s tone of being a fighter, and Serena Joy’s desperation, the reader can see that lack of freedom leads to rebellion. Offred, the novel’s narrator, now lives in a world where women are powerless. She has had her freedom taken away, and at times follows the rules, but ends up rebelling in many powerful ways.
The Handmaid's Tale Analysis
952 Words | 4 PagesThroughout the novel, Moira’s use of informal language and slang is apparent. This is significant because Moira’s crude vocabulary is dramatically different from how the Handmaids are taught to speak, marking her as a dissenter under the restrictive rule of Gilead. For instance, Moira scoffs that the Red Centre is “a loony bin” in Chapter 13. The use of the colloquial noun ‘loony’ to describe the Red Centre establishes a conversational, almost childish tone of voice. This contrasts from the rather mechanic and automated voice Offred has when she becomes a Handmaid, replying with contrived phrases such as “praise be” to other Handmaids.
Handmaid's Tale Identity
871 Words | 4 PagesThe American science fiction and fantasy author Richard Grant once said that “the value of identity of course is that so often with it comes purpose.” In both The Awakening by Kate Chopin and The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, the main protagonists search for their identities through the context of their daily lives. In correlation with the preceding quotation, in The Awakening, after a vacation opens her eyes to all that she has been missing in her life, she becomes desperate to find herself outside of the mother-woman while in The Handmaid’s Tale, the narrator must decide which parts of her identity she wants to hold on to and who she is in the trying times of the Gileadean society. The two novels demonstrate the journey of these women
More about Identity In The Handmaids Tale
Motifs In The Handmaid's Tale
1107 Words | 5 PagesRacism And Classism In The Handmaid's Tale
746 Words | 3 PagesUse Of Figurative Language In The Handmaid's Tale
1108 Words | 5 PagesControl Of Women In The Handmaids Tale
678 Words | 3 PagesThe Religion Influences In The Handmaid's Tale
1562 Words | 7 PagesConflict In The Handmaids Tale
1436 Words | 6 PagesExamples Of Rebellion In The Handmaid's Tale
711 Words | 3 PagesSymbolism In The Handmaid's Tale
1410 Words | 6 PagesRebellion In The Handmaids Tale
978 Words | 4 PagesTheme Of Marxism In The Handmaid's Tale
2035 Words | 9 PagesGender Roles In Margaret Atwood's The Handmaids Tale
1035 Words | 5 PagesTheme Of Identity In The Handmaid's Tale
802 Words | 4 PagesRebellion In The Handmaid's Tale
801 Words | 4 PagesThe Handmaid's Tale Analysis
952 Words | 4 PagesHandmaid's Tale Identity
871 Words | 4 Pages