Life as a handmaid is described throughout the text with such vile descriptions, the idea of it alone would be hard to swallow, nonetheless living as one. At the end of the day it is government sanctioned oppression, where these women are stripped of all basic rights and freedoms and are reduced outlets that produce children . The handmaids are brainwashed and subjected to torture as a means of their indoctrination, justified by a false divine declaration to battle the falling fertility rates. The are given away to wealthy families, and this is where their handmaid duties began, reduced to servants and surrogates of the house. This is an onslaught of adversity many of us do not face, but even in the sense of the real world, unfortunately exists. …show more content…
This is the case that Offred’s close friend, Moira and a string of choices she made in light of the dire conditions at the hands of the Marthas and the oppressive system that her life was at the mercy of. Moira’s character is more outwardly expressed, as she is a strong advocate of her beliefs and of women’s rights, that passion is mirrored in the way she carries herself. It is clear her relationship with Offred comes from offred’s admiration of Moira as body of work. Upon her apprehension, she was also chosen to be a handmaid, but this is where the contrast between Offred and Moira is most highlighted. While Offred eased into the system with lost hope and an acceptance of her adversities, all of this only lit a fire in Moira, and instantly has her in this fight or flight instinct searching for the opportunity to escape. Their situation only got worse by the day, and instead of waiting for an opportunity to come, Moira with the help of Offred decided to make their own. Unfortunately, the idea did not reflect reality, Offred was stopped but Moira saw her exit and had left on a subway. It is only later that we learn, shortly after Moira had been apprehended by security which presented her two choices. Both of equal consequence, she was asked to choose between cleaning the toxic
Moira is presented through Offred as the novel is written in first person narrative. The readers get a very biased view of Moira because we only got Offreds view of Moira.
Moira is a force of change for Offred. Her words cast all well stationed men, particularly Offred's Commander, as controlling, deceitful, and sinful. They are people whose actions go directly against the tenets of their society which they, as the men who started or benefit from it, are meant to uphold. “They get a kick out of it” (243) is a phrase which has condescending connotations, both for the men and for Offred herself.
Offred is one of the Handmaid’s in the Republic of Gilead. This used to be known as the United States of America but now it is Gilead, a theocratic state. Because of an issue that occurred, women lost all of their money and rights. Handmaid’s were then assigned to higher class couples that were unable to have children, that was the new job for the Handmaid’s. Offred was assigned to the Commander and Serena Joy, his wife. Offred was once married to a man named Luke and they had a baby girl together. When this issue started occurring and Offred lost her rights, her, Luke and their daughter tried to escape to Canada but were caught. Offred has not seen Luke or her daughter since that incident. In Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, the most unorthodox characters are Offred, Serena Joy, and The Commander.
Throughout the majority of the novel, Offred recounts on her mother’s character, whom she thinks is dead. She was a single mother and a proud feminist. In the first quarter, Offred recounts on a flashback of her mother burning porn magazines, claiming that they are degrading to women. However, towards the end of the novel, Offred learns that she is in fact alive, yet is living in the Colonies. Moira had seen her in a video about women living the Colonies, which is completely contrasted from the beginning, when Offred viewed her mother in a documentary protesting. This shows how Gilead has significantly changed her as a person. Living in the Colonies is just as bad as death because although she is alive she is required to do menial and even dangerous labour like cleaning radioactive waste. Earlier in the book, during Offred’s flashbacks, her mother was always a strong female character. She was always speaking and acting on behalf of women’s rights, yet now she has not fulfilled these expectations. She has been subjugated and indifferent like the rest of the women, not at all optimistic and energetic like she was in her previous life. Her complicity shows the reader how oppressive the society is and how even the toughest characters become
This makes her distinct from the other women in the book and is another example of her individuality. Another role of Moira's rebellious nature is to give hope to Offred and help her to survive. Following Moir... ... middle of paper ... ... was so important to Offred, and is no longer the stronger character, as she is also now trying to "save her skin" (P261). Although she has lost her rebelliousness, she retains her humour and teases Offred, "there's lot's of women around.
The Handmaids Tale is a poetic tale of a woman's survival as a Handmaid in the male dominated Republic of Gilead. Offred portrayed the struggle living as a Handmaid, essentially becoming a walking womb and a slave to mankind. Women throughout Gilead are oppressed because they are seen as "potentially threatening and subversive and therefore require strict control" (Callaway 48). The fear of women rebelling and taking control of society is stopped through acts such as the caste system, the ceremony and the creation of the Handmaids. The Republic of Gilead is surrounded by people being oppressed.
The threat of physical abuse is huge. Being woman is enough of a crime, but “any crime can result in an execution and a public hanging on ‘The Wall’” (Cameron 3). A woman can be hung for just about anything. If they defy the people in charge they can get hurt. The women are constantly abused. The Gilead government is in charge of what goes on in this society. If a woman has an affair with a different man they are taken and possibly tortured or hung. The Red Center, which is where they were taught how to be Handmaid’s, the women were constantly tortured. They had Aunts that looked over them. These aunts were not nice and, “they had electric cattle prods slung on thongs from their leather belts” (Thomas 91). The aunt’s view was all that was needed was the Handmaid’s baby making parts. The women did not need their feet, hands, or any part other than the torso. When the woman did something wrong or tried to run away th...
Before the war handmaids had their own lives, families, and jobs but that’s all gone now; They have all been separated from their families and assigned to A Commander and his wife to have their child. Handmaids did not choose this life but it was forced upon them. 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
In the movie, the reasoning is approached the same type of way. Offred tries to ask the Commander about why the government changed and he replies
“At the same time I sway towards him, like one hypnotized” (83). I chose the word “hypnotized” because I think it represents Offred well, she has her conscience and can depict right from wrong but when she does her daily activities she often refers back to what the Aunts at the center taught her. When someone is hypnotized they often do not know it, but to an outsider like me, the reader, it is clear. Offred remembers what life was like before the Republic of Gilead but she does nothing to change it. When Moira talks about running away Offred discourages her from doing it instead of helping her.
...es these experiences to remind herself that she is no longer alone. Offred does not have a living friend or companion beside her, but instead the companion is inside her. It is herself who is guiding her in the life she is now living. In the end it is clear to Offred that she is still the same woman as she once was, the changes with the new government did not change her the same way it changed other individuals. A discovery was made, she was no longer Offred the Handmaid; she was June.
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 to own their 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.
Offred’s journey is a prime example of the appalling effects of idly standing by and allowing herself to become a part of the Gilead’s corrupt system. This woman is a Handmaid which was recently placed within a new
Offred had been though many mixed feelings throughout this entire book. She has been able to feel, experience and thinks thoughts that she had not ever imagined that she would have. Offred can not escape the fact that in spite of the treatment from Serena Joy and the commander, that they both will have if not already have an impact on her life. Not to mention Nick also. Nick gave her the comfort and the security that she wanted, and at the end nothing done to her by the commander or his wife mattered to her. Living in the Republic of Gilead will always be a memory that she will probably try to forget.
As The Handmaid’s Tale is considered an allegory of the social injustice women face against traditional expectations of their role in society, the symbolism of the Handmaids and other women as a whole for repressed feminine liberty and sexuality allows Atwood to connect her work to the theme between gender and expectations in her society. As Handmaids in the Republic of Gilead, females are stripped of their previous identity and are defined as a tool of reproduction for the men who is assigned them. At its core, these females are forced against their will to be mere tools, experiencing unwanted sex at least once a month, which Gilead names “The Ceremony”, hiding its true nature as a form of rape. Offred