The Handmaid's Tale Literary Analysis

Thus, this act of Particicution inconspicuously differentiates the raping of a Handmaid when it is done by a Commander and when it is done by anyone else. Lucy M. Friebert, in her article “Control and Creativity: The Politics of Risks in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale”, notes that “at the Particicutions the Handmaids ritually dismember any man accused of rape. The Aunts supply the rhetoric that arouses the women to savagery”. This barbarity facilitated by the Aunts, shows that their power may be comparable to that of the Commanders in terms of the amount of power they hold over women. In addition, it is significant to note that the Commanders and the Aunts are the only people allowed to read or write.

This quotation illuminates Gertrude’s act of incest which can be classified as an aspect of adultery. Hamlet’s views of marriage are potentially destroyed because of Gertrude’s remarriage and women in general as he states to Ophelia: “Of if thou wilt needs marry, marry a fool; for wise men know well enough what monsters you make of them” (3.1.138-140). Although Gertrude is to blame for Hamlet’s negative outlook on marriage, his misogynistic attitude comes to light as he classifies all women (including Ophelia) as cheaters and liars. Moreover, Hamlet confronts Gertrude for her incestuous and adulterous crimes and speaks: “Nay, but to live / In the rank sweat of an enseamèd bed, / Stewed in corruption, honeying and making love” (3.4.91-94). Hamlet is speaking his dagger-like words to Gertrude which confirms of her adulterous acts and Gertrude responds: “O Hamlet, speak no more.

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. ◦The idea of feminism is arguably the central focus of our entire unit- female empowerment and equality, the differentiation between societal roles and the demeaning of the woman’s ability-generally, women 's rights and the advocacy of maintaining them in social, political, and economic

In the Handmaidens Tale women are a minority. In a world where women are seldom fertile, but nonetheless preyed upon and mistreated, life is shown as a horrible burden upon the female part of society. Methods are utilized by the author to employ this, but the moreover important aspect of my critical response is to understand what Atwood means to bring across. My thesis statement in turn being; The Handmaidens Tails wants to show the aspects of feminism and female rights, which are slowly beginning to be taken for granted in the modern day. In the totalitarian and theocratic state of Gilead, Woman who are fertile and thus still retain the ability to reproduce, are assigned to a Commander – A high ranking military official of the Gilead society.

Towards the end of The Crucible, Proctor shames himself and confesses of having affair with Abigail. Abigail denies John’s words and says “If I must answer that, I will leave and I will not come back again” (pg. 1207) because she knows that if she confesses now all the work she has put on the line will be done all for nothing, and will make her look more like a fool than she ever was. This quote indicates that Abigail Williams is a selfish antagonist because she is lying about something that is clearly noticeable. Some people may argue that Abigail isn’t the only one to blame, as in there are many others to blame for the loss of many lives.

The Handmaid’s Tale is a story about power, control, and sexuality. Although it is just a book, and to some people, it might seem like sexual inequality could never happen, this has happened and it is still happening in most countries. Sexual inequality sets unfair standards in society and needs to change. This can clearly be seen through the effects of power, control, and sexuality that is withheld from women. In the Handmaid's Tale, the government has taken every possible step to overpower women, both mentally and physically.

The maids plead and pray for their horrid lives to change because they are simply slaves, and others control their lives: “Oh gods and oh prophets, please alter my life,/And let a young hero take me for his wife!/But no hero comes to me, early or late-/Hard work is my destiny, death is my fate!”(52). The Odyssey shows the maids as people who deserve to be punished. However, Atwood in her novel shows how the maids are victims, and that it is the others who deserve to be punished. This urges the audience to have sympathy for them. The Penelopiad shows how the maids are living terrible lives, even though they don’t deserve to be.

Her main target to incriminate was Goody Proctor, but she had to delicately choose people before Goody Proctor. “I saw Goody Booth with the devil” (Act 1) She’s starting to build up her lies to increase her credibility with the court and the village. Each victim she blames strengthens her position of being innocent. To have her fiction be more convincing she threatens the girls tangled in this to lie with her. “I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you’ (Act 1) Exposing how far she will go and how manipulative she is with the girls knowing Abigail would not hesitate to falsely accuse them too and is now controlling them.

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 Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood is a novel that is set in the future in a republican society known as Gilead. The Gilead Society gives a different perspective of how women are represented by different rankings of social classes. Each social group holds a different amount of power or a little amount of power, to none at all. The Aunts which are one of the highest ranking women within the novel,The aunts intentionally have names that are related to household products that are well known by women, this causes the Aunts to be more familiar with the Handmaid’s. The Aunts are masterminds behind brainwashing the handmaids into thinking of what’s expected of them within the Gilead society.

The guilt is causing Lady Macbeth to go insane because she is aware “All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. Oh, Oh, Oh!” (V.i line 42-43). Then again in the beginning of the play she thought washing her hands would erase the murder, but now her conscience keeps remaining her of the sin she committed and the murder is permanently

Houston is a hot spot for traffickers to find their next victim to add to the list of women they have taken away from home and force them to work. The mental abuse that women receive is just terrible to know that you might die at any time. Being used for only sex is what the victim feels like the only thing she is useful for. In her mind all the person can do is thinking to themselves that life is horrible and not worth living and start to slip into a state of depression. While in that state of depression the women feel like there is no one to help them, and there are right.

McCormick made the point that running away is not as much of an option because of the threats of being beaten if one chooses that option. When Lakshimi first arrives at the brothel she fights back when a customer tries to rape her. Mumtaz does not like this so she beats her to the point where her entire body was scared. Lakshimi is scared to run away because she was told that Mumtaz’s goons will catch her and bring her back to Mumtaz to get beaten again. Lakshimi compares Mumtaz to a monster when she says “Only a monster can do what [Mumtaz] does to innocent girls,” (McCormick 231).The protagonist has been in the brothel the longest and she’s seen girls get kicked to fend for themselves or kill themselves, but she is “... afraid to imagine a life outside this place,” (McCormick 208).

Sue Ellen Browder draws the reader into not only the story which is very persuasive, but for the universal story that has effectively become a monumental foundation for modern culture. The right to life has been replaced by the right to die, and every aspect of the degradation of human life from natural conception to natural death can be attributed hardcore feminist political impetus from the 1960s. Sue Ellen Browder conversion story that softens the blow of some of the more shocking parts of the book, and also returns the reader to the main message of hope and redemption suffering, which are virtues opposed feminism. Subverted is a timely book that invites new questions to old problems. Instead of continuing the encouragement of progressive women 's rights, Browder showed that we reflect on the gift of authentic femininity as antithetical to radical feminism.

Another element in this novel is Melinda’s inner conflict, man vs. self. What Melinda has been through greatly affected her everyday life. She struggles with depression, dislikes her appearance, and feels ashamed of herself for something that isn 't her fault: “I want to confess everything, hand over the guilt and mistake and anger to someone else...even if I dump the memory, it will stay with me, staining me” (Anderson 51). Andy Evans, the senior who raped her, made her feel worthless. This situation is much like the one in the novel The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins.