Theme Of Manipulation In The Handmaids Tale

1104 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Literary analysis for the handmaids tale

Student’s Name Professor’s Name Course Date The Handmaids Tale Power and Manipulation Historically, most people in authority have been using power to benefit themselves. In most instances, influential people coerce and manipulate their subjects so that they can receive specific favors. People who are considered inferior and less powerful usually have no control over their lives as most of their actions are dictated from the top. In fact, women are the most affected individuals because they have been socially constructed as inferior beings. Most chauvinists treat women as pleasure tools. Moreover, women are treated as beings that should not enjoy any rights or privileges with men manipulating even their thoughts. In the novel The Handmaid’s tale, the theme of power and manipulation is widely manifested through the events that unfold. Control is …show more content…

From the actions of the commander, it seems that handmaids have no moral authority to question the actions of seniors. Offred is bewildered such that she does not understand the intentions of the commander. She doubts the aims of the commander after they have their first date and she thinks that he has no apparent plans though she cannot question. “A flash of bared teeth, what in hell does he think he is doing? Nobody else has seen him. I hope. Was he invading? Was he in my room?” (Atwood 49). From Offred’s words you can tell that she is perplexed and she does not comprehend what the commander really wants from her. The commander uses his power to intimidate Offred in the initial stages of their affair. The commander uses words that instigate fear towards the handmaid (49). The actions that unveil at this stage express how power is misused by those who hold state positions to gain favors. Handmaids and commanders are not supposed to meet, but the commandeer uses his abilities to objectify them so that they cannot question their

Show More
Related

  • The Handmaids Tale: Oppression of Women for Male Political Gain

    1779 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Handmaids Tale is a poetic tale of a woman's survival as a Handmaid in the male dominated Republic of Gilead. Offred portrayed the struggle living as a Handmaid, essentially becoming a walking womb and a slave to mankind. Women throughout Gilead are oppressed because they are seen as "potentially threatening and subversive and therefore require strict control" (Callaway 48). The fear of women rebelling and taking control of society is stopped through acts such as the caste system, the ceremony and the creation of the Handmaids. The Republic of Gilead is surrounded with people being oppressed. In order for the Republic to continue running the way it is, a sense of control needs to be felt by the government. Without control Gilead will collapse.

    Read More

  • The Threat of Physical, Emotional, and Mental Abuse if you Disagree: Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale

    1456 Words  | 3 Pages

    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)

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Handmaid's Tale

    893 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Societal Resistance and Control in "The Handmaid's Tale"

    1372 Words  | 3 Pages

    Both men and women are severely controlled throughout everyday life in "The Handmaid's Tale." Recreation is minimal, sexual intercourse is purely for creation and the nuclear family is a thing of the past. Elizabeth Atwood provides a dystopian world full of wrong doing, manipulation and emotional numbness stemming from a government in Gilead that controls all aspects of life for it's people. Resistance is rife throughout which is appealing to the reader, implying that even under the severity of such reality, the human spirit will fight for equality or at least fairness.

    Read More

  • Feminism In The Handmaid's Tale

    1574 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Uses Of Symbolism In The Handmaid's Tale

    1981 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the real world, different symbols are used to help people understand things, and to add different effects onto people’s lives. For example a pendent a women or man wears from the army helps someone understand what they’ve been through and helps portray them as a strong individual. In novels which may have complex story lines like The Handmaids tale it is important that these novels have some symbolism to help the reader decode what some details in the novel represent, helping them understand the plot more in-depth. Through the novel of the Handmaid Tale by Margaret Atwood, symbolism is present and that helps to enhance the story line, as well as contribute an important factor in which is helping the reader understand

    Read More

  • Oppression In The Handmaid's Tale

    942 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Night, the Jews were confined and imprisoned in the concentration camps because they were destined to be murdered in a systematic manner by the Nazis. An example of the systematic murdering tactic used is the selection process. This was the process in which the Jews had their age and fitness checked to determine who was old and fit enough to work, and who was to be murdered. An example of this is when Elie and his father first arrived to Birkenau an inmate said, “Not fifty. You're forty. Do you hear? Eighteen and forty”(Wiesel 30). The inmate said this so the father and son could avoid death upon entry. In Night, The Jews represented resentfulness and disgust in the eyes of the Nazis. However in The Handmaid’s Tale the Handmaids are

    Read More

  • Handmaids Tale Analysis

    917 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale, social turmoil after a staged terrorist attack has led to a totalitarian Christian regime. In this dystopian future, the roles of men and women are much different than in today’s society. In The Handmaid’s Tale, women are unequal because they have no choice about their bodies, their dress, or their relationships.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Censorship In The Handmaids Tale

    1067 Words  | 3 Pages

    Psychologically, censorship is a form of negativism because it is a type of repression caused by the fear of consequences. In the novel The Handmaid 's Tale by Margaret Atwood, censorship is used to manipulate individuals such as Handmaids, into following the laws of their society called Gilead. This book focuses on the negativism in the presence of censorship in a society, and portrays the consequences that come along with it. In this novel, censorship results Handmaids as well as other citizens of Gilead to become narrow minded, following such uncertainty, and essentially being trapped from freedom.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Marxism In The Handmaid's Tale

    1187 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Marxist theory “is the belief that the struggle between social classes is a major force in history and that there should eventually be a society in which there are no classes” – Karl Marx In the book “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood there are significant examples of the Marxist theory because of the way social classes are represented, how religion is manipulated in the society, and what values the text reinforces in the reader.

    Read More

  • Free Handmaid's Tale Essays: The Struggle of Women

    850 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Individualism In The Handmaids Tale

    813 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Power in The Handmaid's Tale

    1127 Words  | 3 Pages

    As you read through the handmaid’s tale you see the relationships of the characters develop and the fight for power, however small that glimpse of power may be. The images of power can be seen through out the novel, but there are major parts that stand out to the reader from the aunt’s in the training centre to the secret meetings between the Commander and Offred.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Women In The Handmaid's Tale

    970 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Theme Of Gender Roles In The Handmaids Tale

    737 Words  | 2 Pages

    Symbols and Lenses Role in The Handmaid’s Tale Makeup symbolizes the stereotypical women attributes in our modern society. Women are expected to look their best, not necessarily feel their best. In The Handmaid’s Tale, makeup plays just that. Gender roles relating to power, as well as changing appearances, loss of freedom, their past lives, and how the femininity has changed since their society was overthrown. Makeup isn’t mentioned as frequently as the word red, but it is a common theme throughout the novel.

    Read More

More about Theme Of Manipulation In The Handmaids Tale

Open Document