Equal Rights for All

From the beginning women have been excluded. The common phrase, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal” that our nation is founded on excludes women and says “all men” not all men and women. America emphasizes “equal rights,” however, throughout history women have struggled to acquire equal rights. Starting with Puritan women, black slaved women, and Iranian women, women’s rights have been stripped away. Women have always been diminished. In today’s modern society women have acquired respect but how guaranteed is this respect? Women in today’s modern society can be self-centered and often ignore their surroundings, with this being said, perhaps women’s rights are still being stripped away without their consent. In “The Handmaid’s Tale,” Margaret Atwood views the world as a dangerous place for women. Through the dystopian society Atwood, warns women [especially] to not ignore the historical events that have happened in the past because if they do, “the bastards [will] grind you down.” “The Handmaid’s Tale” depicts a world in which women are wives, Marthas or handmaids. Men are superior to them, therefore they must obey the rules and accept who they are in this society or face the consequences.

A dystopia illustrates a horrible society in which no one would want to live in. The society is “controlled by philosophical or religious ideology often enforced through a dictatorship or theocratic government” (Wright). In a dystopia, “oppressive societal control and the illusion of a perfect society are maintained through fear” (Wright). There is no hope for betterment in a society like this. The citizens in a dystopia society “are perceived to be under constant surveillance while the natural w...

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