The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood Moira is Offred's best friend. She is a part of Offred's life in all three time phases of the novel. In the "time before" they were easy-going college students together, and they meet again at the Red Center. Moira is a strong-willed woman who is not intimidated by the regime. She possesses an irreverent sense of humor and is like a breath of fresh air in the stilted, enclosed, fearful world of the Center. The first thing she says to Offred when they meet again is simply, "This is a loony bin " (ch. 13). This reveals Moira's down-to-earth nature, her willingness to describe things the way they are. Moira has a strength that makes Offred feel safer just because of her presence. There is something indomitable about her. When Moira first tells Offred about her plan to escape, Offred cannot bear the thought of being without her. But Moira is determined. Unlike Offred, she will not put up with how she is treated. She has the courage to resist. Even when she is whipped on the soles of her feet after her failed attempt to escape, she is not broken. She simply comes up with a better plan and escapes again. It seems as if nothing can break her or stop her from being herself. After her escape, Moira becomes a kind of mythic figure for the others at the Red Center, a symbol of defiance and resistance. Because of Moira, Offred says, "the Aunts were less fearsome and more absurd. Their power had a flaw in it" (ch.
foresight to begin saving money so she does not have to live paycheck to paycheck for the rest of
let the tragedies in her life cripple her. Instead it strengthens her. Through questioning and
...he day ever comes. I will stand by her and do whatever it takes to make sure she has a happy, healthy life.
...hem as the result of her efforts, and then conclude that she has the ability to confront the problems she has.
Often in life, people take their freedoms, a gift that allows them to express their individuality, for granted. However, in the dystopian societies of The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, people are reminded of just how easily their freedoms and humanity can be stripped away. Attwood and Ishiguro urge people to never lose sight of the core values that define who they are. The compelling novels chronicle the life journey of two protagonists as they fight to define their own existence and worth in life. Offred, the central character in The Handmaid’s Tale is exploited as a baby making machine, while Kathy, the leading role in Never Let Me Go, is degraded as a lifeless android in a sea of clones. From Atwood and Ishiguro’s provocative coming-of-age novels emerge two beautiful and inspiring heroines. Whether it is through their remembrance of the past, their loss of innocence, their capability to hope, or their ability to establish relationships, Offred and Kathy prove that they are every bit as human as the rest of society. Ultimately, despite the many differences in their distinct masterpieces, Atwood and Ishiguro share the same intent in their haunting portrayal of the protagonists’ dehumanizabtion—to shed light on the true essence of what it is to be human.
In The Handmaid’s Tale, much use is made of imagery; to enable the reader to create a more detailed mental picture of the novel’s action and also to intensify the emotive language used. In particular, Atwood uses many images involving flowers and plants.
A new society is created by a group of people who strengthen and maintain their power by any means necessary including torture and death. Margaret Atwood's book, A Handmaid's Tale, can be compared to the morning after a bad fight within an abusive relationship. Being surrounded by rules that must be obeyed because of being afraid of the torture that will be received. There are no other choices because there is control over what is done, who you see and talk to, and has taken you far away from your family. You have no money or way out. The new republic of Gilead takes it laws to an even higher level because these laws are said to be of God and by disobeying them you are disobeying him. People are already likely to do anything for their God especially when they live in fear of punishment or death. The republic of Gilead is created and maintains its power structure through the use of religion, laws that isolate people from communication to one another and their families, and the fear of punishment for disobeying the law.
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)
She remains the same as to what she believes in what is right and doesn’t have any doubt because of other
The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian novel in which Atwood creates a world which seems absurd and near impossible. Women being kept in slavery only to create babies, cult like religious control over the population, and the deportation of an entire race, these things all seem like fiction. However Atwood's novel is closer to fact than fiction; all the events which take place in the story have a base in the real world as well as a historical precedent. Atwood establishes the world of Gilead on historical events as well as the social and political trends which were taking place during her life time in the 1980's. Atwood shows her audience through political and historical reference that Gilead was and is closer than most people realize.
Believing her: This will help with the emotional support, and listing to her, can help her feel empower and that she voice.
...s that her family will come to her and beg her to return home. When she realizes that they are not going to do this, she will run back to them, and life will go on as she has always known it.
In Margaret Atwood’s ‘The Handmaids Tale’, we hear a transcribed account of one womans posting ‘Offred’ in the Republic of Gilead. A society based around Biblical philosophies as a way to validate inhumane state practises. In a society of declining birth rates, fertile women are chosen to become Handmaids, walking incubators, whose role in life is to reproduce for barren wives of commanders. Older women, gay men, and barren Handmaids are sent to the colonies to clean toxic waste.
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.
The Handmaid’s Tale and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? draw on different narrative techniques to establish our relationship to their protagonists. Margaret Atwood allows the reader to share the thoughts of the main character, while Philip K. Dick makes the reader explore the mysteries behind the story. Atwood’s style works because she can directly show her readers what she wants. Dick’s opposing style works for him because he can present paradoxes and mysteries and let the reader form the conclusion. Both of these styles are skillfully utilized to create complex stories without losing the reader along the way.