Oppression And Rebellion In The Handmaid's Tale
Fife High School
“The Handmaid’s Tale”
Margaret Atwood’s unique interpretation of Oppression and Rebellion
Brooke Mittelstaedt
Advanced Placement Literature and Composition Period 5
Mr. Giddings
19 May 2023
The Republic of Gilead, which was previously a democratic system, is depicted in Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" as having evolved into a totalitarian state. Due to the declining birth rate, the fundamentalist government that rules the new order of "Gilead" treats women like property and uses them to produce more human beings. The hierarchy calls these women “handmaids” to justify their so-called Biblical beliefs. Societal change creates themes that deal with fertility, gender inequality, gender
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‘He’s been with us a long time. He’s loyal. I could fix it with him’” (Atwood 205). Serena dangled the prize of a picture of Offred’s daughter for the price of bearing Nick’s child. Offred would never have imagined this exchange for her daughter back to have caused her and Nick having blossomed into a full-fledged affair. She is awakened and in love with Nick. Eventually, she ends up pregnant with Nick’s baby. Serena and Offred opt to tell the Commander that the baby is his. Offred needed her to start a relationship with Nick. Offred was able to survive in this culture because of interpersonal relationships. Given her feelings of gratitude for Nick, Offred believes she can trust him. She says it's "impossible to think that anyone whom I feel such gratitude could betray me." (Atwood 270). Offred has the emotional connection she needs to survive because of her faith in him. She is relying solely on herself to determine where her safety …show more content…
In order to discover more about Gilead and the system, Offred decides to put her life in danger for the knowledge. She craves knowledge. The worst thing for her is that she doesn’t know the actual truth. Since one cannot count any resistance without knowledge of an alternative, keeping people ignorant is a crucial tool for the administration. Resistance is founded on a cause, which is based on an accepted truth in and of itself. Since the majority of the characters don’t know Gilead, they are unable to defy this law and must instead follow it. If Offred is aware of the system and has the ability to passively employ this power, she will be able to fight and plan her own demonstration against Gilead. Understanding evidently switches the roles in society, causing Offred to gain greater control over the Commander. Since the new world Gilead’s inception, Offred had no other choice but to rebel against the oppressive government in order to take her rights back, ultimately concluding that people’s actions are a direct reflection of the conditions they are under and knowledge is the tool that builds the desire to
Abuse In The Handmaids Tale
746 Words | 3 Pagesthe President of the United States and all of Congress, the United States is shaken at the center. Wars take after, and demolition follows. Out of the lethal waste dumps rises the Republic of Gilead. The forces that be, in the place where there is Gilead bring back the abuse of ladies that is a sign of severe religions and their social orders. This abuse is supported by people with significant influence as a way to guarantee the survival of mankind and the conservation of the beliefs of Gilead.
Examples Of Dialectical Journal For The Great Gatsby
2158 Words | 9 PagesNick found out then and he noticed what was going on. She was very happy when she saw him. She was very sexual and full of life. She was very enthusiastic and loved the fact that she was seeing him.
Corruption In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald
431 Words | 2 PagesOnce he had Daisy, Nick was only relevant in times of need for instance when Nick was needed as a cover-up to meet Daisy. Going after the one you love is no crime, but to keep chasing a married woman makes him selfish
Idealism In The Handmaid's Tale
918 Words | 4 PagesAdditionally, gileadean women don't have the right to literacy, prompting signs to be purely photos and reading and writing to be strictly prohibited. By robbing this basic right from the women of Gilead, the Commanders can further their manipulation and control of their subordinates as it is substantially easier to indoctrinate
Similarities Between 1984 And The Handmaid's Tale
1288 Words | 6 PagesShe is additional brainwashed through the education she received from the handmaid's teachers which they call the Aunts. They use propaganda through a bible that has been rewritten to satisfy the wants of the government or society. This allows the aunts to use manipulation through religion. Power is shown through all of these methods and warns the reader of similar affairs that could happen soon. Margaret Atwood’s superfluous attention to power through symbolistic religion helps cation the reader about issues with religion, government, and education.
Examples Of Manipulation In The Great Gatsby
1030 Words | 5 PagesHe is revealed to have another woman with a suspicious phone call during Nick's visit to the home. This behaviour is repeated throughout
Examples Of Carelessness In The Great Gatsby
635 Words | 3 PagesNick’s view towards Daisy made him be more hurt that his own cousin was careless and always preferred her careless husband that's why they’d made such a couple. ” I couldn't forgive him or like him, but I saw that what he had done was, to him, entirely justified. It was all very careless and confused.
Analysis Of The Judeo-Christian Ideals In The Handmaid's Tale
269 Words | 2 PagesDoes Margaret Atwood portrayal of the Judeo-Christian ideals in The Handmaid’s Tale amplify the assertion that females are evil and thereby igniting a prestigious framework for men? Throughout the unbalanced gender status developed in Gilead, was this way of life developed because of the interaction between Adam and Eve’s? Could Eve’s act of picking up the apple from the forbidden tree stand as the reason why such an inequity is present and why Gilead society is formed the way it is? If so, is Gilead society a form of punishment for all future females due to Eve’s act in tempting Adam to sin? Did Atwood account for utilizing Eve’s mistake in allowing Gilead to justify that in keeping handmaids isolated, it will lessen the possibility of more
Violence In The Handmaid's Tale
995 Words | 4 PagesThe dystopian novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, is about a new Christian theocracy that took over the government in the United States by creating a new society named the Republic of Gilead. This new society was created due to a nuclear fertility crisis, and their main goal is to heavily control women’s reproductive freedoms in order to increase the population. The protagonist, Offred, is a handmaid whose main role in society is to breed healthy children. In order to maintain control over the women in Gilead, the society uses acts of cruelty and violence to force the women to conform into their respective roles. In the dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood presents sexual violence, the removal of knowledge, and public hangings in order
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.
Identity In The Handmaids Tale
836 Words | 4 PagesOne 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.
Examples Of Satire In The Handmaid's Tale
1472 Words | 6 PagesAtwood connects the political events to show how Gilead gained control and keeps their control by establishing fear into the women. Gilead stays in control by limiting speech to religious references, keeping the women from talking about the oppression they are suffering. Additionally, women are blamed for the social issues that were present in a pre-Gilead society such as rape, abortion and adultery. Women get the blame for the issues and men do not suffer consequences since it is in their nature to cheat. Atwood uses allusions to the Old Testament and historical events to satirize the oppression of women in political, religious and social
Political Issues In The Handmaid's Tale
988 Words | 4 PagesIn The Handmaid’s Tale, the novel critiques gender inequality and autocratic authority. The hierarchical class of men consists of Commanders, Angels, and Guardians. In particular, the Commanders are the highest-ranking social group in Gileadean society. The Commanders are represented as powerful men. They have leadership roles, autocratic governance, and are oppressors controlling the Gilead regime.
Oppression Of Women In The Handmaid's Tale By Margaret Atwood
996 Words | 4 PagesIn this written text, the emphasis will be on Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale and as well as the way Atwood portrays women and how it can be argued to show the oppression of women. The main purpose is to analyze the way women are treated throughout this book and depict why they are represented this way in the society in Gilead. Then, comparatively, observe the men’s domination over women and how they govern this society. In The Handmaid’s Tale, women are stripped of their rights, suffer many inequalities and are objectified, controlled by men and only valued for their reproductive qualities. The Gilead society is divided in multiple social group.
How The Handmaid's Tale By Margaret Atwood Dehumanize Women
981 Words | 4 PagesSome of these methods include destroying identity through classification, objectification, and indoctrination. Most women of Gilead are sufficiently repressed that they seem to accept their assigned roles, at least outwardly resigned to their fate. Atwood uses gender roles in The Handmaid’s Tale to show the lengths to which misogynistic totalitarian governments will go, to protect their dictatorships. The Republic of Gilead is a hierarchical society which requires complete submission of women to men. By taking away women’s paid jobs, confiscating their property, draining their bank accounts, and giving them no recourse, the male leadership leaves women in a fully dependent and subservient position.
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