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Suicide in literature essay
Suicide in literature essay
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Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid’s Tale, Suzanne Collins, author of Hunger Games, and Kurt Vonnegut, author of Slaughterhouse Five, wrote amazing novels about serious and powerful topics. Each of these books are considered dangerous in their own way, from promoting violence, profanity, sexual themes, anti-religion, to basically any other potentially offensive theme is provided in these novels. It is debatable to which one is the most dangerous and most criticizing to society but I believe Slaughterhouse Five is the most dangerous to society due to the evidence of being against free will, which can result in individuals pursuing negative actions. The Handmaid’s Tale displays many powerful, enlightening, and critical thinking themes. Including sex, suicide, drugs, alcohol, crudity, and it claimed to be anti-Christian. One reason this novel is potentially dangerous to society and the minds of the youth is the overwhelming amount of suicide mentioned. For example, in three different parts of the novel suicide is mentioned, in chapter 24 it says, “Several days after this interview with her was filmed, she killed herself. It said that, right on television” (Atwood 146), also in chapter 29 it says, "She hanged herself," he says; thoughtfully, not sadly” (Atwood 187), and also in chapter 44 it says, "She hanged herself," she says. "After the Salvaging. She saw the van coming for her. It was better" (Atwood 285). It not only gives the image of suicide it makes it seem as if it is a normal act and people are not affected by the deaths, but it was better that they died. In this novel there is also a very vivid and large amount of crudity, which can be considered dangerous as it implants visions that can be pursued as actions that... ... middle of paper ... ... death of something or multiple people. If that many people are dying how could a person like Billy not care? These are people he knows, he doesn’t know, and some of them died in terrible ways. Not caring about these deaths is wrong, people are supposed to care when others die to signify the value of that life and to try and prevent others from dying. But if we suddenly stop caring like Billy and the Tralfamadorians, we stop being humane and stop trying to protect not only the lives of the human race but also the lives of anything. This is why I believe that Slaughterhouse Five is the most dangerous book to society. Works Cited Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale. New York: Anchor Books, 1998. Print. Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic Press, 2008. Print. Vonnegut, Kurt. Slaughterhouse Five. New York: Random House, 1991. Print
The society in The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood hugely restricts the act of sex. In addition, Gilead restricts emotional intimacy.
Vonnegut, Kurt. Slaughterhouse-five, Or, The Children's Crusade: A Duty-dance with Death. New York, NY: Dell, 1991. Print.
...omen than men and more stories of women succeeding in business and government, one might think that society has evolved from the mediaeval, torturous times of the Inquisition. However, we mustn't forget that the Inquisition did not end until the early 19th century, and that most Western Civilizations did not make strides towards equal rights for women until the 20th century. "The Handmaid's Tale" is a shivering warning about the brutality that humans can enact upon each other, given the opportunity. Many of the religious sentiments expressed during the story are echoes of today's events. From the Inquisition to toxic waste dumps poisoning hundreds of people in a small town to abortion clinic bombings, some of the outrageous and unbelievable events of "The Handmaid's Tale" have already been taking place for centuries, but are hopefully not a omen of what is to come.
the shocking realization of a society's self destruction. I believe The Handmaid's Tale, written by
Kurt Vonnegut in Slaughterhouse-Five depicted that war is not going to be ever justified because innocent lives are always compromised. The text has three themes: the destructiveness of war, the illusion of free will and inevitable death.
...s redeeming qualities, they are not shown in this book. It is a society deeply rooted in what it thinks is the common good, but what is really ironic and satirical in the most painful way. Instead of creating a utopia, the government created a dystopia; a place that took away basic rights using the pretense of improvement. Gilead is the essence of a society that reaches for perfection but never quite gets there before the cracks start to show. Neuman’s critical insights on The Handmaid’s Tale and its relationship with feminism were invaluable in helping us to realize how truly sad this book is, and Atwood succeeded in showing us the satirical shortcomings of Gilead through her use of characters, theme, and feminist ideals. In addition, she showed us that the novel still has relevance, because all societies, no matter how perfect they pretend to be, have their flaws.
Handmaid’s Tale is a dystopian novel about a society, Gilead, that has been formed in the former Boston, Mass. area. The society is theocratic and patriarchal with all woman’s rights stripped away. A quote that briefly describes how women are viewed within in the society is "Gilead constructs women as seen objects instead of seeing subjects." (Kirkvik, Anette. "Gender Performativity in The Handmaid’s Tale and The Hunger Games." University of Norway, May 2015. Web). Men try to not only control women but also how women are viewed, to have total control. The society preaches its main focus is to repopulate the decimated population. Despite women having a less crucial role in society than men, women play a more significant role in the development
Margaret Atwood’s depiction of the future in The Handmaid's Tale is extremely bleak and forlorn; this oppressive atmosphere has been created by the development of an independent nation - Gilead - inside the U.S, which is governed by a totalitarian fundamentalist Christian sect. This dystopian text is the brainchild of a series of experimental social ideas which have given birth to a science-fiction novel, which satirises mainly the folly of human characteristics rather than the misuse of technology.
“There is more than one kind of freedom, said Aunt Lydia. Freedom to and freedom from. In the days of anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are being given freedom from,” (Atwood 24). The Handmaid’s Tale, written by Margaret Atwood, is a novel set in the near future where societal roles have severely changed. The most notable change is that concerning women. Whereas, in the past, women have been gaining rights and earning more “freedom to’s”, the women in the society of The Handmaid’s Tale have “freedom froms”. They have the freedom from being abused and having sexist phrases yelled at them by strangers. While this may seem like a safer society, all of the “safeness” comes at a drastic cost. Atwood depicts a dystopia in The Handmaid’s Tale through totalitarian regime and the systematic oppression and dehumanization of women by the patriarchy.
The Handmaids Tale, written by Margaret Attwood, goes on to explore the consequences that come to be from the reversal of womens rights in a society called Gilead. It is what one can consider a cautionary tale. In the new world of Gilead, a group of conservative religious extremists have taken power, and have turned the sexual revolution upside down. The society of Gilead is founded on what is to be considered a return to traditional values, gender roles and the subjugation of women by men, and the Bible is used as the guiding principle. It differs completely from the society, which was once the place in which Feminists argued for liberation from the traditional gender roles. What women had worked hard for in the area of gaining rights to birth control, legalization of abortion and an increasing number of active female voters, had been completely reversed in a short period of time. Not only were women now forbidden to vote in Gilead, they were also denied the right to read or write, according to the new laws of the establishment. The Handmaids Tale portrays that of a totalitarian society, and reflects a dystopia, which goes on to explore the interaction between sexuality and politics.
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margret Atwood takes place in a government imposed “utopia” with strict rules and constant surveillance, however; the system is anything but perfect. This utopia fails because it does not recognize that human nature demands a means of self expression. The lack of freedom to love whom you want, dress how you want, or create what you want leads this society to corruption and self destruction. With the deprivation of choice, people are no longer human. Virtually every decision a person makes is in an attempt to express their character, it may be in the clothes they wear or the music they listen to, but ultimately everyone just wants to be loved and understood. So because the there is no self-expression-- there can be no love or compassion which drives people to undermine the new society values eventually turning it into a hypocrisy.
“The Handmaid’s Tale”, by Margaret Atwood, is a documentary of the gender roles in the Gilead society and the quantity of restrictions placed on women. The purpose of Atwood’s book is to provide the readers a sense of reality. She attempts to convey the message that life can change in a moment and warns the inhabitants to not take advantage of the present day society. Readers of Atwood’s book should listen to her message because she wrote the book in a time period of the future so through her book she is making a prediction. Atwood argues the many restrictions placed on women in the Gilead society and is under the impression that the government is dehumanizing women. I concur with Atwood because the women are granted no means of interaction, the clothing makes them feel like nothing, and they have to follow a required agenda that is forced upon them. The same restrictions were placed on African Americans during the time of slavery, making them feel like machines, not people.
Bringing upon unwanted situations on oneself is not very uncommon. From buying that new purse instead of paying the bills becoming in debt to thinking it was going to be alright to leave a child in vehicle for five minutes on a hot day. The Handmaid’s Tale also contains many situations of character’s actions resulting in undesirable circumstances. Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale proves “The greatest griefs are those we cause ourselves.” (Sophocles) through the character’s wrong decisions ending poorly. This is seen through Serena Joy’s solitude, Offred’s oppression and the Commander’s lustfulness.
The Handmaid’s Tale is narrated by and follows the life of the handmaiden Offred—the most oppressed class, yet most important. Because the book is set up in Offred’s narration, it gives readers a sense of sympathy for her misfortunes but also empathy for her, and other women’s, social status(s). Having a rank of importance, power, and simply being a man in a society that tyrannizes women, the Commander is perceived as a bad guy of sorts. Despite being a founder of Gilead, he is also a prisoner. He is trapped in a prison he was responsible for building; his sorrow and desperation for companionship make him a prisoner to Gilead’s restrictions. Referring to the illegal magazines, Atwood writes, “‘Who else could I show it to?’ he said, and there it was again, that sadness” (158). His response to Offred wondering why he would show the magazine to her conveys a sadness that Offred clearly notes in her narration. A sadness that takes root in his longing for an intellectual connection. This question implies that the Commander and his wife do not have the intimate relationship he desperately craves. It may also allude to his lack of
The Handmaid's Tale presents an extreme example of sexism and misogyny by featuring the complete objectification of women in the society of Gilead. Yet by also highlighting the mistreatment of women in the cultures that precede and follow the Gileadean era, Margaret Atwood is suggesting that sexism and misogyny are deeply embedded in any society and that serious and deliberate attention must be given to these forms of discrimination in order to eliminate them.