Literary Analysis of the Handmaids Tale - 1068 Words

Offred, in Margaret Atwood’s disturbing novel The Handmaid’s Tale says, â€Å"But who can remember pain once it’s over? All that remains of it is a shadow, not in the mind even, in the flesh. Pain marks you, but too deep to see. Out of sight, out of mind.† The society of Gilead causes the aforementioned pain and demoralization by using women’s bodies as political instruments. Similar to Atwood’s novel, today’s men put immense pressure on women to be a certain way, give them children, and take care of the home and the like. In Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, she examines the theme of demoralization of women through graphic predictions of what women’s futures may look like. In 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20, the Bible states, â€Å"Or do you not know†¦show more content†¦They are reduced to their fertility, treated as nothing more than a set of ovaries and a womb. In one of the novel’s key scenes, Offre d lies in the bath and reflects that, before Gilead, she considered her body an instrument of her desires; now, she is just a mound of flesh surrounding a womb that must be filled in order to make her useful. Gilead seeks to deprive women of their individuality in order to make them docile carriers of the next generation. Throughout the entire text of The Handmaid s Tale, the ruling totalitarian government does what is in its power to attempt to isolate women from society. Not only do are the women isolated from society in terms of sexual contact (or any contact, for that matter), with men, but they are also individualized within the gender itself and separated from each other. Evidence of this isolation is available throughout the novel in different levels. The first level, perhaps the harshest, is the division of genders, with women like the Handmaids unable to communicate with unmarried men. Offred s separation from men is apparent when she compares herself to the power of a dog bone (29), but the bone is held out of reach (29). This depicts how there is a strict gender division that disallows them to even communicate with each other, much less have sex. For the Angels, they are not even allowed to look at the so-called dog bone. When we areShow MoreRelatedThe Characters of Women in The Handmaids Tale and The Bell Jar1504 Words   |  7 Pages Women in The Handmaids Tale and The Bell Jar nbsp; Sylvia Plaths renowned autobiographical legend The Bell Jar and Margaret Atwoods fictional masterpiece The handmaids tale are the two emotional feminist stories, which basically involve the womens struggle. Narrated with a touching tone and filled with an intense feminist voice, both novels explore the conflict of their respective protagonists in a male dominated society. In spite of several extraordinary similarities in termsRead MoreMargaret Atwood s The Handmaid s Tale931 Words   |  4 PagesHandmaid s Tale captures the limitations and social implications forced upon a set gender based on societal expectations. Gender is a social construct that limits the individual to the restrictions and traditions of a society, or if it’s an individually formed self-identification of sex and sexuality that is formed autonomously. Evidence of gender establishment can be seen within literary works and supported by various schools of gender and sexuality theory. Joseph Culler describes literary theory asRead MoreHow Are the Two Female Protagonists Offred from â€Å"the Handmaids Tale† by Magaret Atwood and Celie from â€Å"the Color Purple† by Alice Walker Oppressed by Men, in What Ways Are Their Situations Similar and How Do They Deal4443 Words   |  18 Pagesfrom â€Å"The Handmaid’s Tale† by Magaret Atwood and Celie from â€Å"The Color Purple† by Alice Walker oppressed by men, in what ways are their situations similar and how do they deal with the pressure and abuse?† Abstract The purpose of this essay is to look at how the two protagonist women, Offred from â€Å"The Handmaid’s Tale† and Celie from â€Å"The Color Purple† are treated in literature. This essay aims to answer the question: â€Å"How are the two protagonist women Offred from â€Å"The handmaid’s tale† and CelieRead MoreLiterary Analysis of the Handmaids Tale1863 Words   |  8 Pagesdictatorship and that run off a totalitarian government system strip an individual of their civil rights as a human being in order to gain ultimate control over its citizens. A government such as the Republic of Gilead in Margaret Atwood’s work, The Handmaid’s Tale, controls their citizen’s lives to the extent to where they must learn to suppress their emotions and feelings. In the Republic of Gilead, the main character Offred is a handmaid, which is a fertile woman who is assigned to be a surrogate motherRead MoreEssay on Atwoods Framing of the Story in A lias Grace1866 Words   |  8 Pagesnovel. 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