Question 1: Written language is not neutral. Explore this idea making reference to your experience of written language. Written language can only be neutral if it has a non biased with preconceived values/beliefs‚ and the author or the narrator must not favour any side of the conflicts at hand. Written text is Not Neutral- supported by “The Handmaid’s Tale” written by Margaret Atwood (Main Points)- Play on words‚ Point of View‚ Neologism/Connotations of words‚ Intertextual links‚ Epigraphs
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HaidMaids Tale The novel‚ The Handmaid’s Tale‚ by Margaret Atwood focuses on the choices made by the society of Gilead in which the preservation and imprisionmeny of mankind is more highly regarded than freedom or happiness. I think that Ms. Atwood believes that the possibility of our society becoming as that of Gilead is very evident in the choices that we make today and from what has occurred in the past. Our actions will inevitably catch up to us when we are most vulnerable.In The Handmaid’s
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reader to her daily life in the Republic of Gilead‚ tells the story as it happens. She also leads the readers to her flashbacks‚ when Gilead did not exist‚ the times she still had a husband and daughter‚ when she was still free‚ not a property but a person. The title Offred‚ replaced her real name‚ demonstrate that she is a property of the Commander Fred. As a handmaid‚ her only duty is to produce children for the Commander and his wife. The Republic of Gilead created the system which handmaids are
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Trapped in the new society the narrator and the other women are forbidden from using their real names or in other words‚ they were restricted to have an identity. Despite these restrictions‚ the women found ways to keep their identities alive. By rebelling against the rules‚ even in the slightest manor‚ it allowed them to experience freedom in their oppressed society. This passage describes the role women play in society. It exemplifies that women are simply seen as objects that are classified by
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An example is how certain ethnic minorities in the novel are referred to as “Children of Ham”. This is evident when a news report in Gilead states: “Resettlement of the Children of Ham is continuing on schedule‚ three thousand have arrived this week in National Homeland One‚ with another two thousand in transit” (p.55). This quote shows how the author draws from the Bible and segregates
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As a result‚ Atwood’s portrayal of Gilead and the theme of women becoming sub-oppressors can be further analyzed beyond the fictional context of the book. As demonstrated above‚ the women in Gilead are oppressed by the established patriarchal societal structure and experience a loss of power. Although modern society is not an extremist patriarchy like Gilead‚ many elements that comprise a patriarchal structure are still apparent. For example‚ most
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In Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale‚” the dystopian world is the concept of using women to conceived‚ without the revival of intimacy. Offred‚ the narrator‚ tells the readers about the conditions she experiences in Gilead‚ the theocratic and totalitarian world which has replaced America. Everything about the novel is a direct assault to the feminine perspective‚ wherein common women‚ such as Offred‚ is used as conceiving vessels without the freedom to love‚ make relationships‚ and make their
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In the Republic of Gilead‚ gender plays a huge role. Gender can mean the difference between life and death sometimes as well as being the determining factor in how you are treated and viewed. The novel focuses on women in the Republic of Gilead‚ which are treated as government property and viewed as only a catalyst for childbirth. The women are withdrawn from society‚ forced to hide their identities with “red shoes…red gloves…[ankle-length] skirt...white wings…” (line 23‚ page 8)‚ with the wings
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idea that very simple things act as symbols of broader and more complex ideas. In her novel The Handmaid’s Tale Margaret Atwood uses symbolism to portray the themes of individuality and identity‚ feminism‚ and the power of language. For women in Gilead there is no sense of individual identity. All women are divided into social classes on the basis of wealth and fertility and dress according to the colour coded wardrobe of their group. Wives -the partners of the wealthy Commanders- dress in
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In Gilead there is a class system. At the top of the system is the Commander and then the Commander’s wife. They have the freedom to speak freely. The classes under the Commander and his wife are cramped in what they can say aloud. Atwood’s use of language in the dialogue between the lower classes shows the result of Gilead. Women got stripped of their voices and were left with nothing to say. The situation turned into mindless people having meaningless conversations. The definition of words
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