Everyone has their own unique personality that makes them them! This is the one thing that should never be taken away from a person. Unfortunately, in the novel, A Handmaid's Tale, author Margaret Atwood did this exact thing. All characters, no matter ranking, where stripped away from their uniqueness in the society of Gilead. Mainly, the Handmaid's were affected by this wretched society and the reader can see this as Offred, a handmaid, narrates the story. From her we can clearly see they have no freedom. No voice. No singularity. No nothing. By looking at the way the handmaids speak, dress, and how they act towards others, one can see how these women are deprived from individuality. Without individuality, the world is a depressing place as …show more content…
Speech is a way to express thoughts from a certain individual but Gilead strips this away from the handmaid's. The handmaid's have limited speech and when they do use their voices they have to be extremely cautious of what comes out of their mouths. They never know whose watching them and listening. They could easily get in trouble. When Offred and Ofglen encounter the Japanese tourists, they have to be careful how they respond to the interpreter's question, "He asks, are you happy," says the interpreter... Ofglen says nothing... But sometimes it's as dangerous not to speak... "Yes, we are very happy," I murmur" (29). Not only is speaking hazardous but so is silence. They have to really think and choose their words carefully. They are not allowed to express their true thoughts or else they'll receive serious consequences. This is also seen in Offred's first interaction with Serena Joy, "I didn't say anything to her. Aunt Lydia said it was best not to speak unless they asked you a direct question" (14). Freedom of speech is completely destroyed and the Handmaid's are taught that it's better to have no voice at all and just keep quiet. This quite a treacherous, degrading moment in the …show more content…
Right when the book starts, Offred describes her outfit that she and all the handmaids have to wear, "I get up out of the chair, advance my feet into the sunlight, in their red shoes, flat-heeled to save the spine and not for dancing. The red gloves... I pick them up, pull them onto my hands... Everything except the wings around my face is red: the color of blood, which defines us. The skirt is ankle length... the white wings too are prescribed issue; they are to keep us from seeing, but also from being seen. I never looked good in red, it's not my color" (8). Throughout the book, Offred uses pronouns like "their," she never uses "her" or "mine" because it is not hers since she is forced. She has nothing of her own. The white wings worn around their faces keeps them from seeing and people from seeing them. This is one part that destroys their individuality, without being able to see they are blind from the world around them. The Handmaids can't even be seen, almost as if they are invisible to those around them. Red is not her color but yet she has to wear because she has no other option and is unable to make her own decision. When Offred see's the Japanese tourist, she is so thrown off by their outfits. They were scandalous clothes, which now Offred is not used to seeing. She is salty and describes them in
Atwood uses nomenclature to place the women in The Handmaid’s Tale within the possession of the men around them. Offred, literally means Of-Fred, as in, The Handmaid Of Fred. By taking the women’s names away the society places them in the possession of their commanders. Which is exactly how the commanders see their handmaids, the commanders see the handmaids as a vessel for life that they must sleep with once a month during the ceremony. The women are forced to have sexual relations with their commanders and are sent away when they do not conceive a child. By placing the women of the society completely into the power of men, Atwood encourages the reader to see the injustice of this act and encourages the reader to identify with the cause of women. Each category of women must dress in the colour of their group so they can be identified by the outside world. Handmaids, like Offred must wear red, a colour associated both with shame and with ripeness and fertility. Similarly in The Color Purple, a period drama, based on a book with the same title by Alice Walker, women are categorised by the society they live in.
Offred is a handmaid, in the novel The Handmaid’s Tale written by Margaret Atwood, who no longer desired to rebel against the government of Gilead after they separated her from her family. When Offred was taken away from her family the Government of Gilead placed her in an institution known as the Red Center where they trained her along with other women unwillingly to be handmaids. The handmaid’s task was to repopulate the society because of the dramatic decrease in population form lack of childbirth. Handmaids are women who are put into the homes of the commanders who were unable to have kids with their own wives. The Handmaids had very little freedom and were not allowed to do simple tasks by themselves or without supervision like taking baths or going to the store. There was an uprising against the government of Gilead and many people who lived in this society including some handmaids looked for a way to escape to get their freedom back which was taken away from them and to reunited with their families which they lost contact with. Offred was one of the handmaids who was against the government of Gilead before she was put in the Red Center, but she joined the uprising after she became a
Character Analysis of The Handmaid's Tale Moira = == == We first meet Moira "breezing into" (P65) Offred's room at college.
In Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale there is a threat of physical, emotional, and mental abuse if you disagree with the established group or party. The Handmaid’s Tale is a book about a “woman victimized by a totalitarian system that attempts to control her thoughts and deny her humanity” (Thomas 90). In The Handmaid’s Tale there are differences between all the women. There are the wives, who are married to the commanders. The commanders are in charge of all the other women. There are the econowives, which are the wives of the low-ranking officials. The Martha’s are in charge of the upkeep of the commander’s house. The Handmaid’s are in charge of having the commander’s baby. Each woman has to listen to their husband or commander. No woman can think for herself. The men are in charge of everything. (Atwood, Thomas)
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
Offred, among other women depicted in this novel, tries to overcome this dominion. In her own way, she attempts to do this by ensuring the Commander’s expectations of her behavior which could result in her freedom. Thus, there is a present power struggle between the Commander and Offred throughout The Handmaid’s
Feminism as we know it began in the mid 1960's as the Women's Liberation Movement. Among its chief tenants is the idea of women's empowerment, the idea that women are capable of doing and should be allowed to do anything men can do. Feminists believe that neither sex is naturally superior. They stand behind the idea that women are inherently just as strong and intelligent as the so-called stronger sex. Many writers have taken up the cause of feminism in their work. One of the most well known writers to deal with feminist themes is Margaret Atwood. Her work is clearly influenced by the movement and many literary critics, as well as Atwood herself, have identified her as a feminist writer. However, one of Atwood's most successful books, The Handmaid's Tale, stands in stark contrast to the ideas of feminism. In fact, the female characters in the novel are portrayed in such a way that they directly conflict with the idea of women's empowerment.
Another way the women in The Handmaid’s Tale are unequal to men is in dress. In modern society it is normal to think of clothing as a way to express our personality and individuality. What you wear helps others know who you are. In the novel, the main character Offred grew up in a westernized world –freedoms like self expression and speech- but it was taken away from her when she became a handmaid.
The Handmaid’s Tale shows acts of rebellion throughout, but when we as an audience first see a sort of rebellion push through the strict control of Gileadean society is when the Commander and Offred have their first evening together. Offred’s metaphor “If I press my eye to it, this weakness of his, I may be able to see myself clear.” is a foreshadowing of the idea that maybe through these evenings with the Commander she may be able to ease her way out of Gileadean society. “It’s like a small crack in the wall, before now impenetrable.” Use of simile in her language gives the audience a glimpse into the hope she feels, that maybe she may be able to escape, maybe she has another chance at a normal life. Offred’s first time seeing the Commander’s
Margaret Atwood's novel The Handmaids Tale belongs to the genre of anti-utopian (dystopian) science fiction where we read about a woman's fictive autobiography of a nightmarish United States at the end of the twentieth century when democratic institutions have been violently overthrown and replaced by the new fundamentalist republic of Gilead. In the novel the majority of the population are suppressed by using a "Bible-based" religion as an excuse for the suppression. How does this work and why can the girls, the so called Handmaids, be considered the victims of society? Also, in what way does Gilead use biblical allusions? That is some of the questions this essay will give answers for.
Imagine a world where you are confined to a room, you have no say in what your day to day life holds, you have no say in anything that happens in your life. This is not an imagination it is reality for the Handmaids in The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Attwood. In this story the narrator Offred describes what it is like to be her about her existence in an oppressive organization in a theocratic dictatorship world. “A theocracy dictatorship is a form of government in which a deity is officially recognized as the civil ruler and official policy is governed by officials regarded as divinely guided, or is pursuant to the doctrine of a particular religion or religious group” (Wikipedia). In this story the dictatorship takes place in Gilead, we
Unlike men, women have been facing unique problems for centuries, and often women experience harassment and discrimination. In today's society, females are trying to combat their tribulations through lawsuits and protest rallies. Literature often deals with people being unable to articulate their problems. Often, unforeseen circumstances force people to conceal their true emotions. In The Handmaid's Tale, the main female characters find ways to escape their situations rather than deal with them.
Margaret Atwood’s book “The Handmaid’s Tale”, Offred ( The main Character) struggles with expressing Individualism among a society that constrains a woman by labelling her for her duties and worth. Offred is a “Handmaid” which is a group of women who are used for reproduction, being a “Handmaid” is considered to be very degrading because these women are seen for only their bodies to provide children and nothing more. An article previously read, written by “Frieda Fordham” discusses Jungian Archetypes and one that best correlates with the book is “The Persona”. The Persona is defined as “A collective phenomenon, a facet of the personality that might equally well belong to somebody else, but it is often mistaken for
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 of each 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. Atwood bases the irrational laws in the Gilead republic on the many
The Handmaids, Marthas, Econo-wives and other women were brainwashed and given a new identity. These women are forced to wear colour coded uniforms, which represent their position in this community. Throughout the book, brainwashing is shown through different perspectives. For example, Offred feels the loss of free will when she saw her friend Moira at a club. “So here I am. They even give you face cream,” (chapter 38, page 288). This is what Moira told Offred and she was left shaken by knowing what Moira’s new life was like. Brainwashing not only has different forms but it can also be done indirectly. Since Offred’s free will was stripped away, she was slowly beginning to give up because of the circumstances and having kept that mindset before the whole formation of Gilead. After sleeping with Nick, Offred said, “I would like to be without shame. I would like to be shameless. I would like to be ignorant. Then I would not know how ignorant I was,” (chapter 40, page 304). Here she kind of feels unhappy and unworthy of everything especially breaking the rules being a handmaid and betraying her husband Luke. She also wondered whether she would feel different if she knew Luke was dead. As Offred got used to this new identity and lifestyle her brain starting to think as if everything is becoming normal to her which she found