The Future in Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale"

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Will society ever reach a point where it is considered the “natural norm” by all to be completely controlled by a regime? It is impossible to imagine that such a point could ever exist, as all people would have different beliefs, values and expectations according to their past experiences. In The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood, the oppressive Gilead regime enforces their new ideals on the unsuspecting population. When compared with our contemporary society, the Gilead rule shows us our world in a different and more critical light and shocks us with what we see. It shows us the truth, makes us realize, pulls back the layers of cotton wool and forces us to look at the world as it really is, how it may come to be and the evils and problems within it. The Handmaid's Tale, being science fiction, is based around the future of our society today. Margaret Atwood is predicting what our world will be like if we continue on the way we are. She uses common problems throughout the world such as pollution of the environment to relate people from all walks of life to what has happened in Gilead. By exaggerating these potential disasters she shows us our future in order to shock us into awareness that our present activities are not only endangering the environment and the animals whose habitats we are destroying but also jeopardizing the survival of the human race. The way the new regime is enforced also makes us look at our society with a critical eye. The change to the Gilead way is very gradual and slowly creeps up on the people without them realizing it. "Nothing changes instantaneously: in a gradually warming bathtub you'd be boiled to death before you knew it”. Who is to say that this would not be possible in our

time with all the pro...

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...lity to feel and express emotion. We will be like animals; our main function in life is to reproduce ourselves, ensuring the survival of our species, with no space for feeling or thought. We will not be living our lives, only surviving and guaranteeing the future generations. But is it really possible to suppress human nature? Perhaps you can smother it, what came before may be lost for what seems like eternity, but it will always be there in our person, niggling away. It is in our nature, English literature handmaids tale will society ever reach point where considered natural norm therefore unable undergo further change impossible imagine that such point could ever exist people would have different belief values expectations according their past experiences “Handmaid Tale” by Margaret Atwood oppressive Gilead regime enforces their ideals unsuspecting population.

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