Essays on the handmaid's tale

Atwood invites the reader to consider both ideas including optimistic and pessimistic elements in the novel. Her views on gender politics and morality are portrayed throughout Offred’s fragmented narrative providing capacity for the reader’s own view. The key point that makes ‘The Handmaids Tale’ an optimistic novel, is the fact that Gilead ceases to exist….

Comparing Our Modern Society to the Republic of Gilead in The Handmaid’s Tale             The Handmaid’s Tale written by the great author Margaret Atwood is a story that creates a supposed Utopian society wherein political systems are governed by biblical propaganda and traditional values are restored. Dodson (1997) asserts that The Republic of Gilead have…

The traditions of the utopian genre are constantly evolving for it to remain relevant to society’s present concerns. Thomas Moore’s novel “Utopia” written in 1516 was employed to mock the values of the Absolute Monarchy of England. Moore protests against the notion of failed idealisms within his society, presenting an alternative solution of an equal…

The handmaids tale is a novel by Margaret Atwood, It describes the life of a woman who is documenting her life as it goes on, As the book progresses we are able to see the amount of torture (physical and mental) that the woman of Gilead receive. Offred and other women in Gilead are well…

Rebellion for a Better Future Rebellion of an individual occurs when there is a difference of opinion. This conventional trait among society allows diverse ideas to be suggested and added upon for a better future and eventually an all around Utopia. Rebellious attitude is depicted throughout George Orwell’s novel 1984 and Margaret Atwood’s novel The…

In ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ the major characters are all women. Women that don’t have everyday lives but somehow you can still relate to them. These women have an amazing strength and seem to cope with what society throws at them. However some of the characters have stronger roles than others, but each character has their…

Offred’s story was found by Professor’s Wade and Pieixoto on the site of what was once the city of Bangor, in what would have been the State of Maine, which was a prominent way-station on what Offred refers to as “The Underground Femaleroad”. The story was of spoken form, recorded on approximately thirty cassette tapes…

Do you agree that although The Handmaid’s Tale is written from a feminist point of view, the portraits given of men are surprisingly sympathetic while those of women are often critical?Yes, I agree with this statement. Although the theocratic totalitarian regime operating in Gilead was instigated and is controlled by men, the male protagonists in…

The governments of Gilead and Oceania make use of censorship in order to achieve total control over the societies, by limiting the power of language, using deception, and denying the privilege of owning objects from the past. In doing so, the governments can psychologically oppress peoples minds and thoughts. In both novels, the governments use…

The handmaids tale as a novel is fragmented and disjointed this gives an effect to show the character has been traumatised and is delirious.The handmaid’s tale is very disjointed and it is written in the present tense although it is always referring to the past. The first chapter of the book start6s in ‘training time’…