Free Handmaid's Tale Essays: An Analysis

651 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: the handmaids tale essays

The Handmaid's Tale

The novel, The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood focuses on the choices made by the society of Gilead in which the preservation and security of mankind is more highly regarded than freedom or happiness. This society has undergone many physical changes that have led to extreme psychological ramifications. I think that Ms. Atwood believes that the possibility of our society becoming as that of Gilead is very evident in the choices that we make today and from what has occured in the past. Our actions will inevitably catch up to us when we are most vulnerable.

"We are for breeding purposes..There is supposed to be nothing entertaining about us, no room is to be permitted for the flowering of secret lusts..We are two-legged wombs, that's all: sacred vessels, ambulatory chalices (p. 176)."

In the society of Gilead, the most highly valued aspect of life is giving birth to a healthy child without deformities. Gilead was the aftermath of a nuclear world war (or some type of chemical mishap involving most of the world). As a result of this, some women and men are left sterile and unable to increase the significantly decreased population. The women who are fertile are placed in institutions where they are trained in the process of pregnancy and child bearing, those who are not are left to die in areas with concentrated radiation.

This society has undergone a change so extraordinary that it has taken us from one extreme to the next, leaving many people wondering what happened to make it so. The things that were most highly honored and respect are now treated with disdain. These changes were not all detrimental but the majority of them we could have done without. Ms. Atwood poses that humankind has a nature to develope, whether that development is for the empowerment or destruction of our society is unknown until the consequences take place.

"I used to think of my body as an instrument, of pleasure, or a means of transportation, or an implement for the accomplishment of my will...There were limits, but my body was nevertheless lithe, single, solid, one with me...Now the flesh arranges itself differently. I'm a cloud, congealed around a central object, the shape of a pear, which is hard and more real than I am and glows red within its translucent wrapping (p.

Show More
Related

  • The Great Depression of the 1930s in Canada

    1319 Words  | 3 Pages

    Michiel, Horn. The Great Depression of the 1930s in Canada. Ottawa: The Canadian Historical Association, 1984.

    Read More

  • DR. MARY FRANCES EARLY

    424 Words  | 1 Pages

    When one thinks of prominent figures in African American history the direct correlation is that those leaders lived and died long ago, and are far removed from present-day society. In lieu of Dr. Mary Frances Early’s achievements, she is a “Living Legend” walking amongst the faculty, staff, and students here at Clark Atlanta University.

    Read More

  • Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Leader of the Civil Rights Movement

    1031 Words  | 3 Pages

    Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the greatest civil rights leaders to ever live. Through his empowering speeches, he made a huge impact on the world for the equality of all races. Throughout King’s life, he showed everyone how he believed equality should be acquired. With his peaceful protests and amazing speeches, he influenced people both during his time and after he passed. Many believe that King’s work in the Civil Rights Movement was the final push that America needed to finally respect people no matter their skin color.

    Read More

  • Free Handmaid's Tale Essays: The Struggle of Women

    850 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Handmaid's Tale  This is a futuristic novel that takes place in the northern part of the USA sometime in the beginning of the twenty-first century, in the oppressive and totalitarian Republic of Gilead. The regime demands high moral retribution and a virtuous lifestyle. The Bible is the guiding principle. As a result of the sexual freedom, free abortion and high increase of venereal diseases at the end of the twentieth century, many women, (and men also, but that is forbidden to say), are sterile. The women who are still fertile are recruited as Handmaids, and their only mission in life is to give birth to the offspring of their Commander, whose wife is infertile.

    Read More

  • Free Handmaid's Tale Essays: Men Will be Men

    588 Words  | 2 Pages

    Perhaps the most frightening aspect of Offred's world is not even its proximity, but its occasional attractiveness. The idea that women need strict protection from harm is not one espoused solely by the likes of Rush Limbaugh or Pat Buchanan, but also by women like Andrea Dworkin and Catharine MacKinnon. This protectionist variety of feminism is incorporated in the character of Offred's mother, and to a certain degree in Aunt Lydia. Offred's mother is just as harsh in her censorship of pornography as any James Dobson. By burning the works which offend her, she too is contributing to the notion that women's safety is contingent on squelching the Bill of Rights. The restriction of sexually explicit pictures places the blame for sex crimes on women, again -- the women in the photographs who supposedly drive men to rape. Where have we heard this before? Who else refuses to hold rapists responsible for their own actions, choosing instead to restrict the behavior of those they consider the catalysts?

    Read More

  • Martin Luther King Jr.

    578 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Civil Rights Movement is one of the most important events of the history of the United States. Although many people contributed to this movement, Martin Luther King, Jr., is widely regarded as the leader of the movement for racial equality. Growing up in the Deep South, King saw the injustices of segregation first hand. King’s studies of Mahatma Ghandi teachings influenced his views on effective ways of protesting and achieving equality. Martin Luther King’s view on nonviolence and equality and his enormous effect on the citizens of America makes him the most influential person of the twentieth century.

    Read More

  • Comparing Brave New World and Handmaid's Tale

    932 Words  | 2 Pages

    Both novels treat humans as items and not as human beings. In HMT, the entire structure of the Gilead society was built around the single goal of reproduction. Gilead is a society facing a crisis of radically dropping birthrates and to solve the problem it forces state control on the means of reproduction. Controlling women's bodies can succeed only by controlling the women themselves. The society's political order requires the overthrow of women. The government strips the women of the right to vote, the right to hold property or jobs and the right to read. The women's ovaries and womb become a `national resource' to the society. Women cease to be treated as individuals and rather as potential mothers. Women internalize the state created attitude even independent women like the narrator of HMT, Offred. At one point lying in a bathtub and looking at her naked form, Offred states;

    Read More

  • The Great Depression In Canada

    1909 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the 1920 's just after World War 1, Canada experienced economic prosperity but a decade later it would all come crashing down. This decade was known as the Great Depression. During the period of the Great Depression, Canada underwent two political regimes which still didn 't help the country get out of the Depression. What makes this more interestingly is that the two regimes were at the opposite ends of the Canadian political spectrum yet neither parties had a clear framework for lifting Canada out of the Depression.

    Read More

  • Dr. Seuss Contribution To Children's Literature

    1133 Words  | 3 Pages

    Seuss has made several contributions to literature. In numerous, if not all of his writings, Seuss uses funky rhymes, outlandish characters, and ties his story together with a heartfelt theme. (4) In relation to his works, Seuss himself said it best, “Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple”(5); and I believe that this can relate to his works. The majority of Seuss’s books were children’s books, which contained an underlying message. By using his imagination and the way he arranged his words, he was able use the simplest words to create the biggest impact. Although he was immensely involved in his books, Dr. Seuss had a personal life as well. Behind the scenes, was a woman named Audrey Stone [Geisel], who greatly impacted and influenced his books later on in his life. (6) Because Seuss was successful, he received several awards. Some of these include: Lifetime of Contribution to Children’s Literature, An Academy award for “Gerald McBoing-Boing” (Best Cartoon, 1951). An Emmy for “Halloween is Grinch Night”. (7) It is obvious that Dr. Seuss’s writings have been and will continue to be loved and

    Read More

  • Martin Luther King

    1020 Words  | 3 Pages

    In his speech, King uses different types of rhetorical guidelines. He uses them to show his points in a better and easier way to understand .At the beginning he successfully uses a mythos. A mythos has a deep explanatory or symbolic resonance for the audience. In mentioning the Emancipation Proclamation he shows that our ancestors signed a contract, in which all human beings are created equal, and therefore should be treated in the same way as others. He also visualizes his ideas with visual examples, which everybody can understand. “America has given the black population a bad check, which has come back marked insufficient funds”( I Have a Dream)

    Read More

  • Doctor Josef Mengele

    1305 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the most demented doctors of the Nazi era went by the name of Josef Mengele. This was because of the gruesome experiments he conducted on woman, men, and children. Mengele wasn't always part of the Nazi culture. In fact, a lot of people don't seem to know how he ended up living the life that he did. Mengele started his career saving lives and helping people, not destroying them. So what caused him to change his ways so drastically? How could someone find it so easy to cause somebody else so much pain and agony?

    Read More

  • Brief Biography of Renown Children´s Author: Dr. Seuss

    653 Words  | 2 Pages

    When he was at oxford he met Helen Palmer then she became his wife in 1927. She persuaded him to give up on becoming an English teacher and to focus more on drawing more as a career. He left Oxford without a degree returned to the United States in February 1927. He immediately started publishing and working on books and drawings. Seuss was a perfectionist when he was writing a book he would throw away 95% of his work. His first book that he had published was called “And to Think I Saw It On Mulberry Street”. It was his first childrens book he wrote and illustrated it was published in 1937 after it being rejected 27 times it was finally published by the Vanguard Press. With that publication he ...

    Read More

  • Free Handmaid's Tale Essays: The Red Motif

    539 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the dystopian novel "The Handmaid's Tale" written by Margaret Atwood, the recurrent appearance of the color red draws an interesting yet perverse parallel between femininity and violence. The dominant color of the novel, red is associated with all things female. However, red is also the color of blood; death and violence therefore are closely associated with women in this male-dominated ultraconservative government.

    Read More

  • The Monk By The Sea Essay

    510 Words  | 2 Pages

    Caspar David Friedrich was a German painter, and helped define and shape the Romantic Movement in Germany. According to The Tate, Friedrich had a primary interest in the contemplation of the natural world (Wyss, “The Whispering Zeitgeist”). This no doubt transferred over to much of his artwork, as The Monk by The Sea immediately evokes emotion and contemplation from the viewer. In addition, Freidrich derived much of his inspiration from religion, which centered on nature as a metaphor for God’s power and anonymity. The portrait itself is named after the monk, but a vast expansive sea drowns out any thought that the monk is the actual subject of the painting; rather it alludes to how man truly occupies little space in this world and a need to heel to the divine.

    Read More

  • America Needs To Manage A Global Economy

    677 Words  | 2 Pages

    I cannot expect others to only adapt for me, but I need to also try to adapt for others and meet them in the middle. Employers also need to consider cultural requirements of their employees. For example, in my culture, Islam is the common religion and so prayer times and religious holidays need to be accommodated for. During the month of Ramadan, it would be inconsiderate of someone to constantly eat in front of us or make statements like, “Just take a bite. I won’t tell.” By taking these coping methods of culture differences into consideration, we can become better

    Read More

More about Free Handmaid's Tale Essays: An Analysis

Open Document