The Novel The Handmaid Tale - 1345 Words

Imagine knowing that a group of people are attempting to take full control of society and the way to live life, but there is nothing that can be done to stop them from accomplishing it. That’s exactly what has been occurring to societies around the world for centuries: Hitler in Germany, Stalin in Russia, and Idi Amin in Uganda, but still continues due to a leader or Regime’s clever techniques to gradually attain power in society without the acknowledgement of citizens. Similarly, in the dystopian novel â€Å"The Handmaids Tale,† a staged terrorist attack kills the President, which leads to the government being taken over by the Republic of Gilead, who ultimately transforms the state of Gilead into a women’s nightmare. The women in the novel are forced to be sex slaves in society, in order to produce babies for the infertile men in the state of Gilead, where fertility rates are significantly low. However, the Republic of Gilead forces citizens to follow th eir theocratic ideology through misleading the entire population with their clever techniques to accomplish their goal of having full power and eventually form a totalitarian society. Thus, in â€Å"The Handmaids Tale,† by Margaret Atwood, misinterpreted references to the bible’s scriptures and manipulative techniques are used by the Regime of Gilead to form a totalitarian society. The Republic of Gilead uses misinterpreted references from the bible, in order to support their misleading ideology and manipulate citizens toShow MoreRelatedThe Novel The Handmaid s Tale 1191 Words   |  5 Pagesof words in her dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale in a very indirect and devious way making her novel a treasure hunt in search of these key words for the understanding of the novel. The novel takes place in Gilead, a very dark future of the United States, governed by a theocratic government which oppresses women by making them â€Å"handmaids† in the name of reli gion to cure the infertility of the population. The double entendre diction which exists throughout the whole novel adds subliminal hints onRead MoreHow Does Margaret Atwood Establish and Develop a Dystopian Narrative in Her Novel ‚Äà ²the Handmaid‚Äà ´s Tale‚Äà ´?2152 Words   |  9 PagesThroughout Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale an imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded state is created through the use of multiple themes and narrative techniques. In a dystopia, we can usually find a society that has become all kinds of wrong, in direct contrast to a utopia, or a perfect society. Like many totalitarian states, the Republic of Gilead starts out as an envisioned utopia by a select few: a remade worldRead MoreDon t Get Me Wrong Margret Atwood1311 Words   |  6 Pagesfamiliar world of the speculative fiction novels of Margret Atwood best known for The Handmaids Tale and Oryx and Crake ,Which lead to the discovery that these tales of a dystopian world and one of love and adventure seem to hit a little too close to home and bring out emotions that may have been dormant. There is no doubt that she is a brilliant writer, but the question that runs through my mind is, which one is superior. Some say that The Handmaid’s tale was all around controversial and that OryxRead MoreThe Portrayal of Differences in Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw and The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood903 Words   |  4 Pagesthat throughout both texts difference can be found portrayed in different ways. The texts I will be focussing on are Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw and The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood. Whether it be the difference in class between Eliza Doolittle her father and her mentors Mr Henry Higgins and Colonel Pickering or in the case of the Handmaids tale of Offred status in class in comparison to the Commander and his wife. Difference ca n also be noticed by the different occupations and titles denotedRead MoreThe Handmaids Tale By Margaret Atwood And Catching Fire By Suzanne Collins1522 Words   |  7 Pagesoxforddictionaries.com).The text, The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins deal with the main idea of societal restraint. Both authors portray a protagonist who is living in a totalitarian society. The protagonists in both novels have harsh limitations which they must abide to. The authors use setting, oppression, and symbolism as restraint for societal control. Setting is a demonstration of restraint because in both novels the city/district has a barrier, whichRead MoreThe Handmaid s Tale By Margaret Atwood1249 Words   |  5 PagesDystopian Research Essay: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood In the words of Erika Gottlieb With control of the past comes domination of the future. A dystopia reflects and discusses major tendencies in contemporary society. The Handmaid s Tale is a dystopian novel written by Margaret Atwood in 1985. The novel follows its protagonist Offred as she lives in a society focused on physical and spiritual oppression of the female identity. Within The Handmaid s Tale it is evident that through the explorationRead MoreThe Handmaids Tale By Margaret Atwood986 Words   |  4 PagesMargaret Atwood’s, The Handmaids Tale, is a story of a dystopian society set in the land of Gilead. The premise of The Handmaids Tale is the creation a masculine dominated civilization in which not only are the rights of women oppressed, but the basic rights of humanity. Everything, even and up to sex, has been desensitized, which destroys the concept of family, as men have sex with and impregnate handmaids, not their wives, as a means of conception and reproduction. W hile the officials of the RepublicRead MoreHandmaids tale1446 Words   |  6 PagesETS 192 October 3rd, 2013 Hierarchy in The HandMaid s Tale Margaret Atwood s The Handmaid s Tale is a interesting novel that will have you confused but also have you bitting your nails with intrigue. So many questions might go in your head, at the same time; Atwood wrote this novel so her readers can have curiosity, even after reading the last word of the last paragraph of the last page of the book. One of the main topics of this novel is the effect on society when a women s fate is takenRead MoreThe Handmaid s Tale, By Margaret Atwood1629 Words   |  7 Pages Atwood s novel, The Handmaid s Tale depicts a not too futuristic society of Gilead, a society that overthrows the U.S. Government and institutes a totalitarian regime that seems to persecute women specifically. Told from the main character s point of view, Offred, explains the Gilead regime and its patriarchal views on some women, known as the handmaids, to a purely procreational function. The story is set the present tense in Gilead but frequently shifts to flashbacks in her time at the RedRead MoreThe Handmaids Tale Gender Inequality Essay1067 Words   |  5 PagesHandmaid’s Tale and Women in Modern Day Society Picture being in a world where women no longer have the freedom to purchase items, instead all of their money can be found in their husband’s account. This is the life of the Handmaids; their lives reflect those of slaves because they can’t go anywhere alone, have no money of their own, and live in constant fear of being sent to the Colonies. Small parts of gender equality can be seen in today’s society. The overall theme of The Handmaid’s Tale is gender