Question: Analyse how Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale imaginatively portrays individuals who challenge the established values of their time. Texts are not created in isolation. They are reflective of the values‚ attitudes and beliefs present in their compositional milieu. Margaret Atwood’s critically acclaimed novel The Handmaid’s Tale (1986) narrates the story of Offred‚ a woman who is forced to become a Handmaid and bear children for elite couples that have problems conceiving. The character
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Cora H. English III Honors 4 April 2013 WWOD: What Would Offred Do? How far would someone go to protect their rights? What is considered passive behavior during the fall of the free world? Would someone risk their life to defend freedom? Margaret Atwood raises these questions and many more in her novel The Handmaid’s Tale. She uses the character Offred to demonstrate passive behavior and acceptance of a totalitarian regime after the fall of the United States. In the new Republic of Gilead‚ Offred
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One of the main ideas in the novel The Handmaid’s Tale written by Margaret Atwood‚ is relationships and their importance as there is lack of intimacy and human contact which are both controlled and prohibited in Gilead. We can see that in this totalitarian society‚ all relationships are controlled strictly and monitored and there are boundaries which you must not cross. In this society‚ even sex is controlled. As a handmaid‚ you are obliged to have sex with your Commander at fixed times and this
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Maunika Tummalapally Mr. Fleenor AP Literature 10 December 2013 Handmaid’s Tale Research Paper A characteristic of most novels with a confidante is their reliability and constant companionship. Sometimes‚ however‚ they also function in ways that stray from this general idea of a confidante. In Margaret Atwood’s‚ The Handmaid’s Tale‚ the main character‚ Offred‚ describes such a character that existed in her past. Moira was Offred’s best friend and was a rebellious and outgoing character in her life
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Past and present‚ Offred’s peers play a huge role in how she narrates The Handmaid’s Tale. In the last few chapters of this reading‚ Offred encounters her old friend‚ Moira‚ who is now working as a prostitute at a secret club. In the times before biblical religion was the only form of governance‚ Moira was described as a fiery and rebellious woman‚ who was always there for Offred. While in the center‚ she teaches Offred how to care for the other women and keep her wits about her during this horrific
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In her novel The Handmaid’s Tale‚ Margret Atwood uses symbolism to illustrate the handmaid’s role in the society of Gilead. The handmaids are the women who had broken law of Gilead‚ and were forced into the role of a surrogate mother for a higher ranking couple. The handmaids had no rights or free will. They were under constant surveillance and this caused them to be very cautious. The author characterizes most handmaids as a tentative and distrustful‚ which is perhaps why Offred never puts in words
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The United States of America has become a totalitarian‚ known as the Republic of Gilead‚ due to low reproduction rates during a time in need in war. Women in The Handmaid’s Tale are forced under strict regulations and laws to have children for couples of higher class that are having trouble conceiving. Offred who happens to be the main character is one of the women who were assigned to a certain Commander. Not only that however her life turned around. Her rights and family were taken away from her
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Extended Response to The Handmaid’s Tale Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale‚ written in the 1980s‚ is a highly complex post-modern dstopian text that explores the issues of feminism. The dystopian genre attacks the myth of a utopia‚ bringing all possibilities to an extreme while the term post modernism explores the consequences of monocracy on modern society and the dynamics of language. Atwood’s use of a female perspective on a hypothetical dystopian society enables her to pursue the controversy of
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Critique “The Handmaid’s Tale‚” written by Margaret Atwood is a fictional book that takes place in the near future when all of women’s rights were taken away. The book is from the point of view of a girl who just lost her family‚ all her money‚ her possessions and is later taken away to be a handmaid. This all took place because of the overthrow of the government. As a handmaid it is her duty to obey all new laws and to reproduce children for the “higher class” or she will face the wall (be hung)
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The Handmaids Tale “The use of symbolism can transform the most straightforward theme. “ To what extent do you agree with this statement? The theme of conformity and resistance reigns throughout the book “The Handmaids Tale” as it follows the life of Offred in a new and restrictive society named Gilead. However‚ this theme has the potential to be repetitive and boring if the author is not armed with the right techniques. Margaret Atwood‚ has these skills in abundance. Her use of symbolism
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