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Gilead : the Symbol of Corruption and Hypocrisy
Gilead government may have established at first by good intension for its society. However, the government’s efforts to make a better society did not work. Gilead is a dictatorship, that was built by abusing people’s fear and dissatisfaction with societal conditions. After the dictatorial controls were established, those in power played the politics of fear to maintain the regime. In the social background which transformed from a democratic to a despotic government, there were many dissatisfactory conditions. At first, there was environmental deterioration, because the environment had increasingly been polluted, and there was an accident, explosion of nuclear power plants in San Andreas. Also,
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The first step was the regimentation of society. The regime segregated the sexes and its social classes not to suit their needs, but to maintain control. The fear and jealousy the different groups feel toward each other prevents the creation of alliances that might threaten the regime. For enforcing this situation, Gilead has become a homogenized society, based upon grouping. The novel describes a uniform for Handmaids in detail. It is an ankle-length red gown and a white, winged headdress that allows women only to see straight ahead and prevents others from seeing them. With these, they wear red gloves and low-heeled red shoes. Also, a uniform for Marthas is a long green gown and white apron. The color and shape of the uniform present the roles of these two classes: in Handmaids’ uniform, the red is sexual coloration to attract men as a womb, and the shape of covering body means they should be protected from outside, but, in Marthas’ uniform, the green is relaxing color, and the shape is also comfortable as a domestic servant. Through a uniform which each one is wearing, people would be reminded of where their primary allegiance should be. Under the strict control, everyone, especially second-class citizens, such as Handmaids and Marthas, are eliminated of any choice in their daily lives, and they have to play their roles according to some fixed schedules. The second step is indoctrination. A representative place is Red Center, which is like a reform school or prison. Women grouped as Handmaid are educated about their roles there. Through living in the group, most women are forced to lose their sense of self, and obey reinforced roles. Also, the government provides misinformation to its people on television, which is the only remaining information medium. Offred’s suspicions that the television news may be fake, and displayed prisoners may be actors, show what can take place when
In the Gilead society the government has attempted to remove the individuality of the citizens in many ways as seen in similarity to Harrison Bergeron with the use of the handicaps. Morano has made it so society is classified into a hierarchy with assigned uniforms of specific colours to display the role within society. The handmaids wear red to symbolise fertility, the 'Wives' wear blue, to display their inability to carry children. From Morano utilising costuming, he has made it so the citizens are defined only by their social and reproductive function, stripping each woman of their identity. Where as in Harrison Bergeron they have lost their individuality due to the fact they are trying to make society equal by handicapping those who are above average "They weren't only equal before God and the law. They were equal in every which way.” This results in the people losing their individ-uality and their humanity. In the Hand Maids Tale, like Morano did with the costuming everyone's identity has been stripped away as although some have more privileges, everyone has been renamed and repositioned “Offred is my name now.” Their loss of individualism is symbolised by their generic titles such as the men are classed as the 'Commanders,' and the ‘Eyes’ which is different to Harrison Bergeron’s society as they are not assigned to specific roles, but are still stripped of their individuality. The two authors have utilised individuality suppression to create societies that the citizens are inter-changeable and replaceable with each other, displaying an unfavourable
Character Analysis of The Handmaid's Tale Moira = == == We first meet Moira "breezing into" (P65) Offred's room at college.
The Gilead Society has segregated women into different caste systems. There are six main categories in the caste system. The first are the Wives, who wear blue dresses and are at the top of the female hierarchy. Their main purpose is reproduce with their husbands, if they are unable then Handmaids are used. Then there are Daughters, either the natural or adopted children of the ruling class. They tend to wear white until marriage. The next are the Handmaids, fertile women whose sole purpose is to reproduce children for the wives. Handmaids wear a full red dress outfit with red gloves, red shoes, and...
Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale paints a picture of the United States’ future. The nation has shifted into a religiously focused patriarchy with a low birth rate. The pressure to reproduce creates a harsh, rule-bound environment. The clothing, in particular, becomes very symbolic to the people in the Republic of Gilead. In modern day America, hospitals use colors to symbolize gender of newborns but Atwood’s future takes it a step further to say that the color of women’s dresses and men’s uniforms differentiate their designated roles. Although clothes have had meanings connected to class and occupation, this form of gendered clothing assignment creates the most difficulties. In 1986, Atwood tapped into the reality that when humans are restricted by their clothes, they become ashamed of
The ability to create life is an amazing thing but being forced to have children for strangers is not so amazing. Offred is a handmaid, handmaid's have children for government officials, such as Commander Waterford. Offred used to be married to Luke and together they had a daughter but then everything changed; Offred was separated from her family and assigned to a family as their handmaid. The society which Offred is forced to live in shaped her in many ways. In The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood uses cultural and geographical surroundings to shape Offred's psychological and moral traits as she tries to survive the society that she is forced to live, in hopes that she can rebel and make change.
Feminism as we know it began in the mid 1960's as the Women's Liberation Movement. Among its chief tenants is the idea of women's empowerment, the idea that women are capable of doing and should be allowed to do anything men can do. Feminists believe that neither sex is naturally superior. They stand behind the idea that women are inherently just as strong and intelligent as the so-called stronger sex. Many writers have taken up the cause of feminism in their work. One of the most well known writers to deal with feminist themes is Margaret Atwood. Her work is clearly influenced by the movement and many literary critics, as well as Atwood herself, have identified her as a feminist writer. However, one of Atwood's most successful books, The Handmaid's Tale, stands in stark contrast to the ideas of feminism. In fact, the female characters in the novel are portrayed in such a way that they directly conflict with the idea of women's empowerment.
In the real world, different symbols are used to help people understand things, and to add different effects onto people’s lives. For example a pendent a women or man wears from the army helps someone understand what they’ve been through and helps portray them as a strong individual. In novels which may have complex story lines like The Handmaids tale it is important that these novels have some symbolism to help the reader decode what some details in the novel represent, helping them understand the plot more in-depth. Through the novel of the Handmaid Tale by Margaret Atwood, symbolism is present and that helps to enhance the story line, as well as contribute an important factor in which is helping the reader understand
In Night, the Jews were confined and imprisoned in the concentration camps because they were destined to be murdered in a systematic manner by the Nazis. An example of the systematic murdering tactic used is the selection process. This was the process in which the Jews had their age and fitness checked to determine who was old and fit enough to work, and who was to be murdered. An example of this is when Elie and his father first arrived to Birkenau an inmate said, “Not fifty. You're forty. Do you hear? Eighteen and forty”(Wiesel 30). The inmate said this so the father and son could avoid death upon entry. In Night, The Jews represented resentfulness and disgust in the eyes of the Nazis. However in The Handmaid’s Tale the Handmaids are
In Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale, social turmoil after a staged terrorist attack has led to a totalitarian Christian regime. In this dystopian future, the roles of men and women are much different than in today’s society. In The Handmaid’s Tale, women are unequal because they have no choice about their bodies, their dress, or their relationships.
In Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, Atwood creates a society of oppression in which she redefines oppression in common culture. Gilead is a society characterized by highly regulated systems of social control and extreme regulation of the female body. The instinctive need to “protect and preserve” the female body is driven by the innate biological desires of the men. The manipulation of language, commodification, and attire, enhances the theme of oppression and highlights the imbalance of power in the Gilead society.
Margaret Atwood’s book “The Handmaid’s Tale”, Offred ( The main Character) struggles with expressing Individualism among a society that constrains a woman by labelling her for her duties and worth. Offred is a “Handmaid” which is a group of women who are used for reproduction, being a “Handmaid” is considered to be very degrading because these women are seen for only their bodies to provide children and nothing more. An article previously read, written by “Frieda Fordham” discusses Jungian Archetypes and one that best correlates with the book is “The Persona”. The Persona is defined as “A collective phenomenon, a facet of the personality that might equally well belong to somebody else, but it is often mistaken for
Food has many meanings in the novel, nourishment, fertility, and luxury; however, this paper will focus on food as a control mechanism of Gilead's government. First, page 11 in the novel introduces tokens,î which are the method of payment for food in Gilead. Tokens do not have any writing on them at all, only basic pictures. Here it is important to recognize that handmaids, and all respectable women, in Gilead are not allowed to read. Gilead has biblical mandate for this rule, without doubt, yet the most significant aspect of the rule is its use as a control mechanism. Women are denied the power of knowledge, and hopefully, from the government's perspective, women will eventually lose all ability to gain any knowledge that is not fed to them. We see this same idea expressed on pages 25 and 27 when Offred described the storefronts. All the stores, but specifically the food markets, no longer have written names and signs. The names of these stores are all expressed using rudimentary pictures. As an example, a wooden sign with three eggs, a bee, and a cow indicates Milk and Honey. There is further significance of the tokens mentioned above. Because handmaids must use these tokens to purchase food, they have no choice or free will regarding food at this stage. The food they pick up at the store will be based purely on the tokens that have been given to them, they will hand these tokens to a man behind the counter, and he will hand her the food. It is very simple and extremely passive.
Throughout The Handmaid’s Tale, the author Margaret Atwood gives the reader an understanding of what life would be like in a theocratic society that controls women’s lives. The narrator, Offred gives the reader her perspective on the many injustices she faces as a handmaid. Offred is a woman who lived before this society was established and when she undergoes the transition to her new status she has a hard time coping with the new laws she must follow. There are many laws in this government that degrade women and give men the authority of each household. All women are placed in each household for a reason and if they do not follow their duties they are sent away or killed. Atwood bases the irrational laws in the Gilead republic on the many
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.
At the bottom of the food chain is the women. Compared to men, they are the inferior sex. Basic human rights were stripped away leaving them with nothing but their red dresses and white winged hats. All they have to hold on to is their memories hiding inside their heads. Poked with cattle prods, herded into a crowded gymnasium, and forced to comply with beyond strict rules, the handmaid’s are closely comparable to slaves. Past lives are just that, their past. Women are not only Handmaid’s, there are a total of seven classes, the Wives being on top. The Wives wear all blue and are the partners of the commanders. The Marthas and the Aunts are infertile women who serve commanders and or train Handmaids. Econowives are similarly compared to Handmaids with the difference that their servitude and services are for lower-ranking officials. At the bottom are the Unwoman, they either refuse to be impregnated or are infertile, and as a consequence, they are sent to work in the colonies. Some may choose to work as Jezebels, which is a slang term for prostitution.Most all men have better lives than all classes of women. Commanders or more specifically the Commanders of the Faithful are married to the wives. Angels and Guardians of the Faith are soldiers fight outlaws and enforce laws. The eyes are Gilead’s secret police, no one knows who they are, but they are always