Handmaid's Tale Rule

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Recommended: Feminism and margaret atwood literature-THE HANDMAIDS TALE

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood is a novel that takes place in the future after the United States government has been taken over by a dictatorship. The dictatorship’s main establishment is known as The Republic of Gilead, and it has a very rigid belief system. As a result, they have many rules and regulations that seem extreme. Homosexuals, non-caucasians, and anyone who does not follow their religious beliefs are forbidden to stay in the Republic of Gilead and are sent to the Colonies. The Colonies are located in polluted areas where violators are sent to spend the rest of their lives cleaning waste. All people lose their rights, especially women. A woman’s only value is to reproduce due to of the declining Caucasian birth rates as indicated by the Gilead historian, Professor Pieixtoto: “Men… pick and choose among women who demonstrated their reproductive fitness… a desirable characteristic in an age of plummeting Caucasian birthrates” (Atwood 304). Those who are able to reproduce are called handmaids. In addition, no one is allowed to leave the Republic of Gilead without the consequence of death. However, despite all these rules and regulations, The Republic of Gilead allows Japanese tourists in through its borders. The Japanese are not required to abide by any of the strict rules that are in place, allowing them to wear more …show more content…

The Japanese government at the time however, believed their status and control was more important than their citizens’ lives. This is explained in a quote from The History News Network, “Foreign Minister Togo Shigenori placed all the blame on the military… what they really feared was the destruction of their entire framework for rule”. Power is something many people desire, it is the cause of most wars that occur or have occurred. This is the same case within The Handmaid’s

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