The Handmaid's Tale is a novel of such power that the reader will be unable to forget its images and its forecast. Set in the near future, it describes life in what was once the United States and is now called the Republic of Gilead, a monotheocracy that has reacted to social unrest and a sharply declining birthrate by reverting to, and going beyond, the repressive intolerance of the original Puritans. The regime takes the Book of Genesis absolutely at its word, with bizarre consequences for the women and men in its population.
The story is told through the eyes of Offred, one of the unfortunate Handmaids under the new social order. In condensed but eloquent prose, by turns cool-eyed, tender, despairing, passionate, and wry, she reveals to us the dark corners behind the establishment's calm facade, as certain tendencies now in existence are carried to their logical conclusions. The Handmaid's Tale is funny, unexpected, horrifying, and altogether convincing. It is at once scathing satire, dire warning, and a tour de force. It is Margaret Atwood at her best.
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Loyal customer Offred remembers a time when she was free; when she had a job, a husband, and a child. However that’s not the life she lives anymore. If you could even call her life living. Now she is a Handmaid who is only valued for her ability to reproduce, unlike most of the population, her ovaries are still valuable. Her current home is with the Commander and his wife, where she hopes the Commander will get her pregnant before they decide she’s of no use anymore. The Handmaid’s Tale is frequently challenged for profanity, sex, offensive topics, and suicide. However every single one of these items is required in order for the message of the book to be received. The book is offensive, it contains sex and profanity, and hints at suicide are made, however it is what the author does with these topics that is important. Margaret Atwood applies all of these topics in her novel in order for it to serve as a warning in what direction our society is headed in. The novel, is a warning, it’s meant to make us more aware of our choices in order to safe guard our future from societies such as the one depicted in The Handmaid’s Tale. Themes in this novel all run along the lines of when one specific unit of people takes over the government it leads to societal ruin. This book promotes democracy and the separation of religion from state. It warns against what might happen if we lose one of these two things. For this reason this book should not be banned because it brings awareness to what might happen if democracy is lost. |
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Fascinated Reader 1984 No spoiler alerts, feel free to read. When we as Americans look back at the past of our country we find it hard to put ourselves in the shoes that were filled before our time. We find it hard to relate to women who have before us been considered as property, we find it hard to imagine a time when women couldn’t vote, or we find it hard to believe that women were contained in homes for domestication because it was all that was expected of them. Today’s women have many freedoms whether it be the clothing they wear, the option to use contraceptives, or even the right to vote. And many times we can’t put ourselves in perspective of the restrictive past because of the freedoms we have now but what if the freedoms we possess is what limits the rights of women in the future? Margaret Atwood puts this into perspective in her novel “The Handmaid’s Tale” as she explores the possibility of the future in which government regulates every second of every female’s life within their grasps. The main character and narrator Offred to the onlooking eye seems to accept her fate when in reality she struggles with her roles and responsibilities as a handmaiden which is expressed by her frequent flashbacks before government intervention and mental debates pondering what is right and wrong. The shift in her character comes along when she starts acting on her devious thoughts and defy the rules set in place by her government. Before reading “The Handmaid’s Tale”, novels such as “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley and “Uglies” by Scott Westerfield turned me on to the idea of dystopian societies. With that being said, Atwood created a novel that I deeply enjoyed. The creative process that went into creating this masterpiece and the historical context from Atwood’s personal life that inspired this novel is truly amazing. My favorite and least favorable part of the book are surprisingly the same thing. Atwood leaves the reader with a cliffhanger that allows for several interpretations of the ending. This aspect fascinated me because throughout the whole book you’re constantly on the edge of your seat as you’re waiting for the plot to develop and even when you managed to reach the end -bam!- you’re left on the edge of the seat except this time you’re thoughts are jumbled everywhere as you try to figure out what happens next. This also left me frustrated because as a human being I crave closure and this ending offered none whatsoever. Overall I would recommend this book to anyone, I believe it can satisfy people from all different walks of life and foster deep insightful thoughts or discussions due to its wide range of topics: religion, sex, conformity, education, authority, government intervention, feminist, patriarchies, the list goes on. |