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Symbolism essay on the handmaid tale
Symbolism in the handmaid's tale
How does the narration in the handmaids tale signify power
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Throughout the novel The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood, the use of language
portrays a form of power, as well as a means of escape for both the society created by Atwood,
as the protagonist. Uses this as a tool to escaper her very existence. Atwood carefully crafted the
use of diction, and tone to create a display of not only power, but to also change the views of
society.
Atwood’s symbolic diction reveals a message of power of the society of Gilead, with her
choices such as “Angels” and “God”. The author uses words from the bible, to resemble the
hierarchy status of those included in it, much how the angels are beneath God, his servants. This
gives the language used in Gilead a form of ultimate control, controlling the
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As stated in the text, “It’s a barren land-scape, yet the perfect; it’s the
sort of desert the saints went into, so their minds would not be distracted by profusion. I think
this is what God must look like: an egg” (Atwood 110). Reading is prohibited in Gilead, and the
only ‘class’ to be literate are the Aunts, who signify a priest as they are to teach the Handmaids
the ways of Gilead. The enforced hierarchy Atwood presents reflects on the government society
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has now, as God took over the role of the President, and the legislative branches replaced with
Angels, presents the society she in-visions would take hold.
Atwood’s harsh tone impacts the view of society, using it as an escape from the real
world. Creating the society of Gilead, even the most powerful do not benefit from its ways, all
being controlled under one roof. Atwood writes, “It’s strange to remember how we used to think,
as if everything were available to us, as if there were no contingencies, no boundaries, as if we
were free to shape and reshape forever the ever….” Her attitude towards society is presented by
our natural rights, being taken away from us, an oppression waiting to happen, much like
Margaret Atwood is famous for many things. She is a poet, novelist, story writer, essayist, and an environmental activist. Her books are usually bestsellers and have received high praises in the United States, Europe, and her native country, Canada. She has also received many Literary awards, like the Booker Prize, the Arthur C. Clarke Award, and the two Governor General’s Awards (“Margaret Atwood” Poetry). Through her books, she has written about what she sees in society towards women. She discusses how gender equality was corrupted in the past, but still is far from being reached, and women’s roles in society (“Spotty-handed”). Atwood also takes events in her life; like the Great Depression, Communism, and World War II; and applies it to her works. Margaret Atwood's works, including her novel The Handmaid's Tale, reflects women’s fight in equality, how society determines
Atwood is often thought of as a feminist writer, but through this novel her writing is not completely feminist nor patriarchal, but something in the middle. Atwood is also someone who described herself as a “strict agnostic” in an interview with Bill Moyer. In this future society Offred introduces the fact that people in Gilead are divided into separate groups, which have different jobs in society, Offred’s being a Housemaid. A housemaid is a concubine that is assigned to live with a Commander of the Faith and his Wife.
She presents two contradictory images of society in most of her fiction: one in which the power and prevalence of evil seem so deeply embedded that only destruction may root it out, and another in which the community or even an aggregate of individuals, though radically flawed, may discover within itself the potential for regeneration. (34)
Thesis: In The Handmaid’s Tale, Atwood characterizes Handmaids, as women with expectations to obey the society’s hierarchy, as reproducers, symbolizing how inferior the Handmaid class is to others within Gilead; the class marginalization of Handmaids reveals the use of hierarchical control exerted to eliminate societal flaws among citizens.
Atwood creates many ideas in which allude to the thought that an apocalypse was to occur in the future of the novel Oryx and Crake. The presence of separation between a perfect and corrupt society presents many dangerous ideas that lead to the assumption of the ending of human life. In the novel, two different societies are being represented, one being the Pleeblands and the other being the Compound. The Pleeblands have been badly looked upon because p...
Many texts that were published from different authors have introduced topics that can be related in today’s society, but Margaret Atwood’s creation called, “The Handmaid’s Tale”, gives voice to the thoughts and revolves around the narrator Offred, a woman whose rights have been deprived due to political issues. However, the information shared by Offred to the reader to the text is not reliable for the reason that she only touches upon her own perspective. Through the text, Atwood depicted what the United States of America would be in the future based on the actions of humanity during 1980’s. The text is set up in an androcentric and totalitarian country called Gilead, where the government attempts to create a utopian society. Thus, in order to attain this society, the authorities generated their legislation from the teachings of the Holy Bible in an attempt to control humanity. The governing
In the novel The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood the themes of Religion and inter-human relationships are the themes that are most evident in the text. This novel shows the possibility of the existence of an all-powerful governing system. This is portrayed through the lack of freedom for women in society, from being revoked of their right to own any money or property, to being stripped of their given names and acquiring names such as Offred and Ofglen, symbolizing women’s dependant existence, only being defined by the men which they belong to. This portrayal of women demonstrates the idea that individuals are unimportant, that the goals of the society as a whole are more pertinent. “For our purposes, your feet and your hands are not essential” (chapter 15) is a quote revealing that Gilead denies rights to individuals and to humankind. In The Handmaids Tale, handmaids are only considered of value for their ability to reproduce, otherwise they are disposable. Religion is an aspect very prominent in the society of Gilead. We see this in chapter 4, where Ofglen and Offred meet and th...
Margaret Atwood's renowned science fiction novel, The Handmaid's Tale, was written in 1986 during the rise of the opposition to the feminist movement. Atwood, a Native American, was a vigorous supporter of this movement. The battle that existed between both sides of the women's rights issue inspired her to write this work. Because it was not clear just what the end result of the feminist movement would be, the author begins at the outset to prod her reader to consider where the story will end. Her purpose in writing this serious satire is to warn women of what the female gender stands to lose if the feminist movement were to fail. Atwood envisions a society of extreme changes in governmental, social, and mental oppression to make her point.
The valley of ashes is a place between New York and the West Egg, where the eyes of T.J. Eckleberg lie. The valley of ashes is a place in which carries many trials for each of the characters, holding their hardships while they all try to reach the common goal of the American dream. The valley of ashes isn’t a place of wealth or prosperity; however every person must first pass through it to get to a better place. In his novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the valley of ashes, the eyes of T.J. Eckleberg, and the light symbolically.
Many of the principles of Gilead are based on Old Testament beliefs. Discuss Atwoods use of biblical allusions and their political significance in the novel.
Atwood tries to open our eyes by satirising our society with a brilliant contrasting novel. Dystopian in every way, the reader encounters a world in which modern values of our society seem/ are replaceable. Showing the worst of all possible outcomes, she demonstrates that our primarily heartless, just economical thinking could bring the downfall of our society. Altough satires are often used to be funny ;Atwood uses this instrument of literature for an attack on a society which she strongly disapproves of. With the intent to bring about improvement, she raises the question if our current lifestyle excuses the possible future problems.
The foundation of the Gilead’s newly implemented society is packed with biblical phrasing and connotations, but it lacks authenticity. From the names of the different social ranks to the names of the buildings and stores to the name Gilead itself, every object within the society possesses some sort of biblical significance. Peter G. Tillman says ...
In Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, Offred recounts the story of her life and that of others in Gilead, but she does not do so alone. The symbolic meanings found in the dress code of the women, the names/titles of characters, the absence of the mirror, and the smell and hunger imagery aid her in telling of the repugnant conditions in the Republic of Gilead. The symbols speak with a voice of their own and in decibels louder than Offred can ever dare to use. They convey the social structure of Gileadean society and carry the theme of the individual's loss of identity.
One of the more obvious examples of sexism that Atwood presents can be seen in her presentation of pre-Gilead society.
Unmistakably, fertility and motherhood are associated together, yet Gilead seems to detract them from each other, just like they dismember the bodies of all their citizens. The fact that they make women believe that they are ‘powerful’ because they are fertile is what keeps them from escaping from Gilead.