The Handmaid's Tale Report

The Handmaid’s Tale is a dystopian themed novel written by Margaret Atwood in the first person point of view of a handmaid named Offred. This is not her real name however. In the society that she lives in, she as a woman is only a reproductive tool and nothing more. This book takes place in a theocracy ran government in the aftermath of a war. The war has left killed off a huge amount of the population with the remaining population experiencing a decline of birthrate due to the toxic chemicals in the atmosphere. Now the woman who can still bear children are grouped up to have as many children as possible.
While the initial overview of the book sounds very interesting, most of the book is written as a journal. Our narrator Offred uses much of the chapter spaces to write about things irrelevant to the plot. While this paints a nice setting for the story to place, it really slows down the progression of the plot. This is most noticeable in the later chapters that jump from detail to intense story telling almost overwhelming the reader with too much development after becoming accustomed to skimming over the repetitive details.
Offred is an unreliable narrator. This isn’t a bad thing at
After many protests, woman do not have to worry about harassment or jealousy because the woman are so overly protected. While woman involved in the feminist movement such as Offred’s mother ultimately get what they wanted they have to sacrifice their individuality to obtain it. Gilead has a theocracy based government. By the start of the novel, the woman are already brainwashed to multiply because that is what God wants. Atwood poses the question, is it better to stay unique in a world of pain or give up your individuality for peace for the good of the group? It’s very interesting to see the relations Offred has with characters that fall on both ends of the