The Handmaid's Tale Analysis Essay
The Handmaid’s Tale Novel Analysis
Elizabethtown Community College
The Handmaid’s Tale Novel Analysis Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale, is an eerie example of a “dystopian” novel. A dystopian novel portrays a terrifying picture of a world which makes the reader say, “what if?” Atwood wrote the novel in the 1980’s following the free-spirited, fun-loving period of the 60’s and 70’s. The plot, characters, themes, symbolism and setting of the novel display a picture of what the future world could be like if women’s rights were completely removed.
Plot
Plot is defined as “an author’s selection and arrangement of incidence in a story to shape the action and give the story a particular focus” (Meyer, 2011, p.1666). The Handmaid 's Tale portrays a scary world following an epidemic of infertility. A religious, totalitarian state, the Republic of Gilead, has taken over control after assassinating the president along with all members of Congress. There is no separation of church and state within Gilead and women are stripped of their identity and made to be solely submissive to their husbands and other men. The narrator of the story, Offred is a Handmaid in Gilead. Frequently …show more content…
throughout the story, Offred flashes back, remembering her life before the reign of Gilead. Prior to their takeover, Offred had been married and had a daughter. However, during a failed escape attempt, all three of them were separated and Offred does not see them again within the story. Following the takeover by Gilead, women of child-bearing age are sent to the Red Center, which is where the attempt to indoctrinate the Handmaid’s way of thinking occurs. The people that run the Red Center are middle-age women called the Aunts. After their training, Offred and other Handmaids are assigned to well-off couples who cannot bear children; Offred is assigned to the Commander and Serena Joy. If a Handmaid bears a child, she is considered higher in status. Handmaids are forced to live within these homes, unable to leave the house except to go shopping for household goods. They cannot close their bedroom doors completely, cannot walk around the house freely, bathe when instructed to do so, eat what they are told and forced to give themselves sexually to their Commander at a certain time during the month. The ritual of the Handmaids giving themselves to the Commander is called “A Ceremony.” The act is a wordless, cold act in which the wife of the Commander sits directly behind the Handmaid and holds her hands. While the Handmaids are taught that the ways of Gilead are better and safer for young women, their rituals are a nice way of saying “rape” and “abuse.” Once Offred gets settled at the Commander’s house, she begins to settle in to her routine. She is assigned another Handmaid, Ofglen, to go shopping with and starts to build a friendship with her. As the story progresses, Offred learns that Ofglen is a member of the secret group, the Mayday and hopes to assist in breaking free of Gilead. Ofglen attempts to recruit Offred in to trying to get information from the Commander which may assist the group. The Handmaids are also forced to visit the physician regularly to check for any illnesses or issues which may interfere with getting pregnant. During one of Offred’s visits to the doctor, he offers to get her pregnant so that she could be relieved of the life she was living. Offred refused out of fear of being caught. Following the doctor’s proposition the Commander summons Offred to his office late at night, via Nick the chauffeur. This opens the door to a growing relationship between the Commander and Offred. They begin to spend many evenings in his office talking, playing scrabble and reading old magazines. Offred begins to see the Commander as a different kind of victim, although he played a role in the building of Gilead, and the reader begins to feel empathy for him. After much time, the Commander sneaks Offred out of the house and takes her to a place called Jezebel’s, which is a prostitution house. Offred runs into her best friend, Moira, from college at Jezebel’s and realizes Moira’s spirit has been broken following two failed escape attempts. After serving her alcohol, which is forbidden, he takes her to one of the rooms and engages her sexually outside of the “Ceremony.” In the meantime, Serena Joy suggests to Offred that she sleeps with the Chauffeur, Nick in an attempt to get pregnant. This is when Offred and the reader realize the situation is also difficult for Serena Joy to sit back and watch. Following the evening at Jezebel’s between the Commander and Offred, Offred and Nick sleep together for the first time. This ignites a secret relationship between the two of them and gives Offred that little bit of “freedom” to allow her to become almost content with her lifestyle, so much so that she does not attempt to assist Ofglen and Mayday. One day Offred goes to meet Ofglen to go shopping and finds a different Handmaid. The “new” Ofglen tells her that the Eyes of Gilead had found out about the “old” Ofglen and she chose to hang herself instead of being arrested and tortured. While Offred is out shopping, Serena Joy finds out about the trip to Jezebel between the Commander and Offred and is furious. When she gets home, Serena Joy sends her to her room to wait being arrested. Nick sneaks into her room and tells her that the men in the black van are not members of the Eyes but of Mayday and are there to take her to freedom. Offred goes with the men and the reader is left wondering if the men truly were of the Eyes or the Mayday. An epilogue at the end of the novel is of a Professor in the year 2195 discussing Offred’s story which was found on cassette tapes in Bangor, Maine. He speaks of Offred’s time similar to how one speaks of countries historical findings, in an analytical format. The epilogue makes the reader believe that Offred made it to freedom and recorded her story for someone to find one day.
Characterization
Characterization is the method an author utilizes in order to portray realistic characters to the reader (Meyer, 2011). Atwood uses many characters within the novel in order to give the reader a full understanding and picture of the story; however, a few characters are crucial to the story. While Offred is the narrator, a likable character and the protagonist of the story, she is not a hero within the story (SparkNotes, 2003). Even though Offred is unhappy in her life, she does not attempt to break free from it out of fear of the consequences. She does not choose to help Ofglen or the Mayday and Nick, not herself, is the reason for her escape in the end of the story. The Commander symbolizes Gilead and as such, the antagonist. However, the Commander is not an unlikable character. Although he portrays the oppression of women by Gilead, Offred and the reader begin to empathize with him. As a result, he in turn symbolizes the internal conflict found within Offred. She begins to resign herself to the lifestyle she is living and the Commander is large portion of that lifestyle. The Commander’s wife, Serena Joy, was a gospel singer prior to the takeover by Gilead. Although she terrorizes Offred throughout the first half of the story, when she suggests that Nick and Offred sleep together, the reader begins to see Serena Joy as a victim as well. She showed the reader that a totalitarian state could not make even the most privileged women happy because they were also subservient to their men (SparkNotes, 2003).
Theme
The theme is the central meaning or dominant idea in a literary work (Meyer, 2011). The primary theme seen throughout the novel is that of female oppression for the need of human reproduction. Gilead’s rule came about following a period of time involving nuclear waste, increased abortions, sexual promiscuity and decreased pressure on women to have children. As a result, Gilead used this as a basis to justify the laws taking away the rights of women. Women were not allowed to own property, vote, drive, read, or write. All women, from the elite Wives to the Handmaids, were stripped of their identity and rights in order to increase the birthrate. Women were reduced to their worth being dictated by their fertility.
Conclusion
The Handmaid’s Tale is a terrifying depiction of what the world may be like in the future if women’s rights were taken away and their sole purpose was to birth children.
The novel also portrays a government which is lacking a distinct line separating church and state. Gilead used theological beliefs to back up their laws, which made it more difficult for people to stand up against them. The reader sees a clear picture of what a totalitarian government may look like and in order for there to be a totalitarian stance, a large group of people will suffer greatly. The lesson taken away from The Handmaid’s Tale is that while change within a government and politics is a good thing, a drastic “all or none” approach leads to inequality, hatred, violence and
death. References
Meyer, M. (2011). The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature (9th ed.). University of Connecticut: Bedford/St. Martin’s.
SparkNotes Editors. (2003). SparkNote on The Handmaid’s Tale. Retrieved September 6, 2012, from http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/handmaid/
Elizabethtown Community College
The Handmaid’s Tale Novel Analysis Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale, is an eerie example of a “dystopian” novel. A dystopian novel portrays a terrifying picture of a world which makes the reader say, “what if?” Atwood wrote the novel in the 1980’s following the free-spirited, fun-loving period of the 60’s and 70’s. The plot, characters, themes, symbolism and setting of the novel display a picture of what the future world could be like if women’s rights were completely removed.
Plot
Plot is defined as “an author’s selection and arrangement of incidence in a story to shape the action and give the story a particular focus” (Meyer, 2011, p.1666). The Handmaid 's Tale portrays a scary world following an epidemic of infertility. A religious, totalitarian state, the Republic of Gilead, has taken over control after assassinating the president along with all members of Congress. There is no separation of church and state within Gilead and women are stripped of their identity and made to be solely submissive to their husbands and other men. The narrator of the story, Offred is a Handmaid in Gilead. Frequently …show more content…
throughout the story, Offred flashes back, remembering her life before the reign of Gilead. Prior to their takeover, Offred had been married and had a daughter. However, during a failed escape attempt, all three of them were separated and Offred does not see them again within the story. Following the takeover by Gilead, women of child-bearing age are sent to the Red Center, which is where the attempt to indoctrinate the Handmaid’s way of thinking occurs. The people that run the Red Center are middle-age women called the Aunts. After their training, Offred and other Handmaids are assigned to well-off couples who cannot bear children; Offred is assigned to the Commander and Serena Joy. If a Handmaid bears a child, she is considered higher in status. Handmaids are forced to live within these homes, unable to leave the house except to go shopping for household goods. They cannot close their bedroom doors completely, cannot walk around the house freely, bathe when instructed to do so, eat what they are told and forced to give themselves sexually to their Commander at a certain time during the month. The ritual of the Handmaids giving themselves to the Commander is called “A Ceremony.” The act is a wordless, cold act in which the wife of the Commander sits directly behind the Handmaid and holds her hands. While the Handmaids are taught that the ways of Gilead are better and safer for young women, their rituals are a nice way of saying “rape” and “abuse.” Once Offred gets settled at the Commander’s house, she begins to settle in to her routine. She is assigned another Handmaid, Ofglen, to go shopping with and starts to build a friendship with her. As the story progresses, Offred learns that Ofglen is a member of the secret group, the Mayday and hopes to assist in breaking free of Gilead. Ofglen attempts to recruit Offred in to trying to get information from the Commander which may assist the group. The Handmaids are also forced to visit the physician regularly to check for any illnesses or issues which may interfere with getting pregnant. During one of Offred’s visits to the doctor, he offers to get her pregnant so that she could be relieved of the life she was living. Offred refused out of fear of being caught. Following the doctor’s proposition the Commander summons Offred to his office late at night, via Nick the chauffeur. This opens the door to a growing relationship between the Commander and Offred. They begin to spend many evenings in his office talking, playing scrabble and reading old magazines. Offred begins to see the Commander as a different kind of victim, although he played a role in the building of Gilead, and the reader begins to feel empathy for him. After much time, the Commander sneaks Offred out of the house and takes her to a place called Jezebel’s, which is a prostitution house. Offred runs into her best friend, Moira, from college at Jezebel’s and realizes Moira’s spirit has been broken following two failed escape attempts. After serving her alcohol, which is forbidden, he takes her to one of the rooms and engages her sexually outside of the “Ceremony.” In the meantime, Serena Joy suggests to Offred that she sleeps with the Chauffeur, Nick in an attempt to get pregnant. This is when Offred and the reader realize the situation is also difficult for Serena Joy to sit back and watch. Following the evening at Jezebel’s between the Commander and Offred, Offred and Nick sleep together for the first time. This ignites a secret relationship between the two of them and gives Offred that little bit of “freedom” to allow her to become almost content with her lifestyle, so much so that she does not attempt to assist Ofglen and Mayday. One day Offred goes to meet Ofglen to go shopping and finds a different Handmaid. The “new” Ofglen tells her that the Eyes of Gilead had found out about the “old” Ofglen and she chose to hang herself instead of being arrested and tortured. While Offred is out shopping, Serena Joy finds out about the trip to Jezebel between the Commander and Offred and is furious. When she gets home, Serena Joy sends her to her room to wait being arrested. Nick sneaks into her room and tells her that the men in the black van are not members of the Eyes but of Mayday and are there to take her to freedom. Offred goes with the men and the reader is left wondering if the men truly were of the Eyes or the Mayday. An epilogue at the end of the novel is of a Professor in the year 2195 discussing Offred’s story which was found on cassette tapes in Bangor, Maine. He speaks of Offred’s time similar to how one speaks of countries historical findings, in an analytical format. The epilogue makes the reader believe that Offred made it to freedom and recorded her story for someone to find one day.
Characterization
Characterization is the method an author utilizes in order to portray realistic characters to the reader (Meyer, 2011). Atwood uses many characters within the novel in order to give the reader a full understanding and picture of the story; however, a few characters are crucial to the story. While Offred is the narrator, a likable character and the protagonist of the story, she is not a hero within the story (SparkNotes, 2003). Even though Offred is unhappy in her life, she does not attempt to break free from it out of fear of the consequences. She does not choose to help Ofglen or the Mayday and Nick, not herself, is the reason for her escape in the end of the story. The Commander symbolizes Gilead and as such, the antagonist. However, the Commander is not an unlikable character. Although he portrays the oppression of women by Gilead, Offred and the reader begin to empathize with him. As a result, he in turn symbolizes the internal conflict found within Offred. She begins to resign herself to the lifestyle she is living and the Commander is large portion of that lifestyle. The Commander’s wife, Serena Joy, was a gospel singer prior to the takeover by Gilead. Although she terrorizes Offred throughout the first half of the story, when she suggests that Nick and Offred sleep together, the reader begins to see Serena Joy as a victim as well. She showed the reader that a totalitarian state could not make even the most privileged women happy because they were also subservient to their men (SparkNotes, 2003).
Theme
The theme is the central meaning or dominant idea in a literary work (Meyer, 2011). The primary theme seen throughout the novel is that of female oppression for the need of human reproduction. Gilead’s rule came about following a period of time involving nuclear waste, increased abortions, sexual promiscuity and decreased pressure on women to have children. As a result, Gilead used this as a basis to justify the laws taking away the rights of women. Women were not allowed to own property, vote, drive, read, or write. All women, from the elite Wives to the Handmaids, were stripped of their identity and rights in order to increase the birthrate. Women were reduced to their worth being dictated by their fertility.
Conclusion
The Handmaid’s Tale is a terrifying depiction of what the world may be like in the future if women’s rights were taken away and their sole purpose was to birth children.
The novel also portrays a government which is lacking a distinct line separating church and state. Gilead used theological beliefs to back up their laws, which made it more difficult for people to stand up against them. The reader sees a clear picture of what a totalitarian government may look like and in order for there to be a totalitarian stance, a large group of people will suffer greatly. The lesson taken away from The Handmaid’s Tale is that while change within a government and politics is a good thing, a drastic “all or none” approach leads to inequality, hatred, violence and
death. References
Meyer, M. (2011). The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature (9th ed.). University of Connecticut: Bedford/St. Martin’s.
SparkNotes Editors. (2003). SparkNote on The Handmaid’s Tale. Retrieved September 6, 2012, from http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/handmaid/