has no significance unless it is able to stimulate readers to consider and reflect upon the world as it is today. The Handmaid’s Tale exposes readers to the true power of language and its ability to cease creativity and freethinking. Governments of Gilead know that the fundamental key to complete control is the power of words and language. In efforts to dominate society‚ language is contained and restricted thus preventing the fluidity of communication and all viable sources of information. By choosing
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surveillance for the people in Gilead and especially the handmaids. Gilead would provide surveillance called the Guardians and the Eye. The Guardians were police force that Gilead would use .As it says in the article Just a Backlash’: Margaret Atwood‚ Feminism‚ and "The Handmaid’s Tale."‚ “Her Gileadean government maintains its power by means of surveillance‚ suppression of information‚ ’re-education’ centres‚ and totalitarian violence” (Neuman 1). The type of government Gilead had wanted power towards
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society of Gilead‚ characteristics of totalitarianism can be found all around. One characteristic of totalitarianism is the use of placing members of society into categories. By doing this the regime of Gilead is able to manipulate
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Fact Checker: Berlin Wall versus “The Wall” In this novel‚ the narrator mentions about the Wall that is built across the church which force some people in Gilead getting separate from the others. Margaret Atwood uses the reference of the Berlin wall to describe the wall in this novel. The Berlin wall was built by the Democratic republic to separate Germany into East Berlin and West Berlin. Proves of that will be the similarities of both wall including the barriers that placed around these walls
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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
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Divided: The Women of Gilead The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood depicts a dystopian society where the United States has been taken over by a monotheocracy and transformed into the country of Gilead. The majority of the woman in this society have been split into three basic categories: Wives‚ Marthas‚ and Handmaids. There are also Econowives‚ Aunts‚ and Unwomen. The main character‚ Offred‚ is a Handmaid. The Handmaids’ sole purpose in this society is to provide babies for powerful households where
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Egyptians‚ and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land‚ to a land flowing with milk and honey...” (Holy Bible: NKJV‚ New King James Version. Exod. 3.8.) The Republic of Gilead hosts a theocratic government‚ so it is no surprise that store names blatantly display religious allusions. The role of a woman in Gilead is to be a child bearer- nothing more. This subtle naming choice subconsciously strips women of their thoughts and feelings‚ demoting them to mere objects. Not only that‚ it also
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Many of the principles of Gilead are based on Old Testament beliefs. Discuss Atwoods use of biblical allusions and their political significance in the novel. The Handmaids Tale’ is a book full of biblical allusions‚ before Atwood begins the text an epigraph gives us an extract from Genesis 30: 1-3 "And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children‚ Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob‚ Give me children‚ or else I die. And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel; and he said
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Religion as a Tool of Control in Gilead "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature‚ the heart of a heartless world‚ and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people" (Marx 260). This statement implies that religion is a powerful concept that encourages people to accept their conditions instead of revolting against their plight. Indeed in the wrong hands‚ it can be perverted to justify countless atrocities and so be used as a tool of oppression. In her novel‚ The
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partially or completely limited ‚ plays a significant role in helping the authors to create a dystrophic atmosphere in both novels. The governments of Gilead and Oceania make use of censorship in order to achieve total control over the societies‚ by limiting the power of language‚ using deception‚ and denying the
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