Critical Analysis Of The Handmaids Tale - 1229 Words

Paula Hawkins, a well known British author, once said, â€Å"I have lost control over everything, even the places in my head.† In Margaret Atwood’s futuristic dystopia The Handmaid’s Tale, a woman named Offred feels she is losing control over everything in her life. Offred lives in the Republic of Gilead. A group of fundamentalists create the Republic of Gilead after they murder the President of the United States and members of Congress. The fundamentalists use the power to their advantage and restrict women’s freedom. As a result, each woman is assigned a specific duty to perform in society. Offred’s husband and child were taken away from her and she is now forced to live her life as a Handmaid. Offred’s role in society is to produce a child†¦show more content†¦Offred struggles with her new life, stating, â€Å"I want to be held and told my name. I want to be valued, in ways that I am not; I want to be more than valuable. I repeat my former name; to remind myself of what I once could do, how others saw me† (Atwood 97). Offred is emotionally run down. She misses her husband Luke and the way he made her feel. Offred spends most of her days wondering about her husband Luke, and daughter. She wonders if her husband is dead, made it across the Canadian border, or was captured. Although Offred never finds out her husband’s life status, Serena Joy offers to tell Offred some information regarding her daughter. The only catch is Offred must sleep with Nick to conceive a child. Serena s husband, the Commander, is unable to have children, but to maintain societal norms, he must think he is the father of Offred s child. Offred s decision is unconventional and risky, both for herself and Nick. If they are caught, they could be executed. However, her unorthodox decision pays off. Serena Joy obtains a photograph of Offred’s daughter and informs Offred that her daughter is now around eight years old and has been adopted by a family loyal to the regime. Offred learns that her daughter is safe and alive, which offers her relief and hope that she will be reunited with her someday. By agreeing to conceive a childShow MoreRelatedA Critical Analysis Of The Handmaids Tale1340 Words   |  6 PagesA Critical Analysis of â€Å"The Handmaid’s Tale.† In this dystopia novel, it reveals a remarkable new world called Gilead. â€Å"The Handmaid’s Tale,† by Margaret Atwood, explores all these themes about women who are being subjugated to misogyny to a patriarchal society and had many means by which women tried to gain not only their individualism and their own independence. Her purpose of writing this novel is to warn of the price of an overly zealous religious philosophy, one that places women in such a submissiveRead MoreCritical Analysis OfThe Handmaids Tale?1059 Words   |  5 Pages â€Å"In a gentle way, you can shake the world.† -Mahatma Gandhi. In The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood Offred is offered many chances to do good in her world. She was given the chance to makes friends. She was given the option to release important information to help better the society. And she was given the option to become a symbol of rebellion and hope in her world. With all of said options in mind Offred did nothing. Offred could have done more to help better the situation of many people. FromRead MoreThoughts on Feminism and Dystopia in the Handmaid’s Tale Essay1044 Words   |  5 PagesXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX ENGL 252-01 28 November 2012 Thoughts on Feminism and Dystopia in The Handmaid’s Tale The Annotated Bibliography Dopp, Jamie. Subject-Position as Victim-Position in The Handmaids Tale. Studies in Canadian Literature / Études en littà ©rature canadienne [Online], 19.1 (1994): n. page. Web. 27 Nov. 2012 Dopp believes that Dopp believes that the goal of The Handmaid’s Tale is to work against the oppression of women, While he feels that is actually does the opposite.Read MoreThe And The Handmaid s Tale By Margaret Atwood1260 Words   |  6 Pageswell known fundamentalist societies in literature history: Utopia by Sir Thomas More, and The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. Both authors acknowledge that property represents a significant threat to governments that aim to have an equal society where every citizen contributes to the well being of the nation. Thus, property is restricted because it fosters individualism. First, through the analysis of More’s ideal society, one can understand the importance of restricting private property to sustainRead MoreCritical Analysis : The Handmaid s Tale 1129 Words   |  5 PagesLidiah Zipp College English Critical Analysis Don’t Let the Bastards Get You Complacent Philip Zimbardo, an American psychologist said, â€Å"Bullies may be the perpetrators of evil, but it is the evil of passivity of all those who know what is happening and never intervene that perpetuates such abuse,† (â€Å"Philip Zimbardo Quotes†). In Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, a pair Handmaid’s called Offred and Ofglen, and a wife named Serena Joy, clearly exhibit contrasting examples ofRead MoreTheme Of Women In The Handmaids Tale1784 Words   |  8 Pageswomen have been shamed and oppressed in different aspects of life. In The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, the oppression of women continues into the dystopian future. One cannot read The Handmaid’s Tale without seeing the problems of gender separation among roles and treatment in society. Although a feminist story, The Handmaid’s Tale gives some surprisingly sympathetic portrayals of men while those of women can be critical. Men are the most mysterious characters; they are the ones we know leastRead MoreHow Are the Two Female Protagonists Offred from â€Å"the Handmaids Tale† by Magaret Atwood and Celie from â€Å"the Color Purple† by Alice Walker Oppressed by Men, in What Ways Are Their Situations Similar and How Do They Deal4443 Words   |  18 Pagesfrom â€Å"The Handmaid’s Tale† by Magaret Atwood and Celie from â€Å"The Color Purple† by Alice Walker oppressed by men, in what ways are their situations similar and how do they deal with the pressure and abuse?† Abstract The purpose of this essay is to look at how the two protagonist women, Offred from â€Å"The Handmaid’s Tale† and Celie from â€Å"The Color Purple† are treated in literature. This essay aims to answer the question: â€Å"How are the two protagonist women Offred from â€Å"The handmaid’s tale† and CelieRead More Censorship in the Classroom Essay2774 Words   |  12 Pagescensored because of their religious, political, or sexual content. RELIGION anti-Christian: Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier More Scary Stories in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez    New Age religion and witches: Impressions Edited by Jack Booth et. al. The Witches by Roald Dahl Curses, Hexes, and Spells by Daniel Cohen Read MoreEssay on Silent Spring - Rachel Carson30092 Words   |  121 Pages ©2000-2007 BookRags, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The following sections of this BookRags Premium Study Guide is offprint from Gales For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.  ©1998-2002;  ©2002 by Gale