Literary Analysis of Handmaid's tale
Literary Analysis of The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood.
How do you think it is to wake up one day and suddenly have no rights over your own body? Where the main purpose in life is to reproduce. Where one comes to life to give life. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood criticizes and ridicule the ideas of Christianity. It shows what would happen if religion would ‘’take over’’ and if the Christians’ and the feminism’s ideas would be pushed too far. The book was written in the 80s, after the nuclear disaster of Three Mile Island, which was one of the worst nuclear accidents ever happened in the US. The decade before the 80s was significantly important for the feminism. During the 70’s feminists fought a lot for their rights as women and after that, they were gaining power and rights. The 80s are also famous for the promiscuity and the sexually transmitted diseases as AIDS. The narrator tells how everything started with a feministic idea, to gain equality, respect, safety and to reduce the abuses on women. But the primary idea of feminism was then used against women for political and religious purposes. It discuss what feminism is against. Women are used as objects, mainly to create life. They were safe but they did not have any power over their bodies and over the child they eventually gave birth to.
I have found quite many references to the Bible and other Christian’s beliefs. For example the name of the country, which before was the US, is then changed into Gilead. In the Bible, Gilead means hill of testimony or mound of witnesses. I think this meaning can be related to the book because the ones who govern communicate to the people that this, is for their own good, that they are working for a better life and a brighter future. The handmaids are not only the victims in this, they are also the witnesses. In the future they will be the ones who will tell about the power of the Republic of Gilead.
Other references to religion are the Eyes. They are
How do you think it is to wake up one day and suddenly have no rights over your own body? Where the main purpose in life is to reproduce. Where one comes to life to give life. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood criticizes and ridicule the ideas of Christianity. It shows what would happen if religion would ‘’take over’’ and if the Christians’ and the feminism’s ideas would be pushed too far. The book was written in the 80s, after the nuclear disaster of Three Mile Island, which was one of the worst nuclear accidents ever happened in the US. The decade before the 80s was significantly important for the feminism. During the 70’s feminists fought a lot for their rights as women and after that, they were gaining power and rights. The 80s are also famous for the promiscuity and the sexually transmitted diseases as AIDS. The narrator tells how everything started with a feministic idea, to gain equality, respect, safety and to reduce the abuses on women. But the primary idea of feminism was then used against women for political and religious purposes. It discuss what feminism is against. Women are used as objects, mainly to create life. They were safe but they did not have any power over their bodies and over the child they eventually gave birth to.
I have found quite many references to the Bible and other Christian’s beliefs. For example the name of the country, which before was the US, is then changed into Gilead. In the Bible, Gilead means hill of testimony or mound of witnesses. I think this meaning can be related to the book because the ones who govern communicate to the people that this, is for their own good, that they are working for a better life and a brighter future. The handmaids are not only the victims in this, they are also the witnesses. In the future they will be the ones who will tell about the power of the Republic of Gilead.
Other references to religion are the Eyes. They are