A Tale of Oppression and Reaction Handmaid´s Tale by...

In Margaret Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale, the character of Offred is restricted by the severe regulations of her society. The once democratic United States of America with equality for all has been turned into the theocratic and totalitarian Republic of Gilead. When Offred is affected by the strict standards of this society, she responds in audacious, yet furtive ways in order to not attract the attention of the omniscient Eyes who control the society and punish offenders After the United States becomes Gilead, many aspects of society change. In a sense the society travels back in time, erasing the strides feminists had fought to obtain. Offred arrives to work as usual and is told that it is against the law for women to work. They now have to†¦show more content†¦Now you are being given freedom from. Don’t underrate it† (Atwood 24). Although the women are no longer subjected to lewd remarks and catcalls from men on the streets, they are forbidden from many previous freedoms. Aunt Lydia is arguing that the women should be grateful for these â€Å"freedom froms† and not lament the â€Å"freedom tos† they have lost. As a rare and coveted fertile woman, Offred is forced to become a Handmaid and be passed from Commander to Commander. Each handmaid is renamed â€Å"Of,† signifying ownership, followed by the name of her commander, rebranding her as property. Renaming handmaids takes away their individuality and erases their former life, reinventing them as new people with a refocused purpose. It likewise makes her dispensable because a new handmaid can easily replace her and adopt the name Offred. She is obligated to partake in the â€Å"Ceremony† each month during which the Commander reads a bible verse before having sex with her as his wife encircles them. Offred struggles to define the act. As she explains, â€Å"I do not say making love, because this is not what he’s doing. Copulating too would be inaccurate, because it would imply two people and only one is involved. Nor does rape cover it: nothing is going on here that I haven’t signed up for. There wasn’t a lot of choice but there was some, and this is what I chose† (94). She goes on to emphasize that no passion or love is involved for anyone, even the Commander: he is simplyShow MoreRelated Feminism In The Handmaids Tale Essay1588 Words   |  7 PagesFeminism In The Handmaids Tale      Ã‚  Ã‚   Feminism as we know it began in the mid 1960s as the Womens Liberation Movement. Among its chief tenants is the idea of womens empowerment, the idea that women are capable of doing and should be allowed to do anything men can do. Feminists believe that neither sex is naturally superior. They stand behind the idea that women are inherently just as strong and intelligent as the so-called stronger sex. 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Margaret Atwood’s novel was written during a period of conservative revival in the West partly fueled by a strong, well-organized movement of religious conservatives who criticized ‘the excesses of the sexual revolution.’ Where Brontà «Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s Jane Eyre is a clear depiction of the subjugation of women by men in nineteenth-century Western culture, Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale explores the consequences of a reversal of women’s rights by menRead More`` The Road `` By Cormac Mccarthy2000 Words   |  8 Pa gesexpress writer’s concerns; in her award winning book The Handmaids Tale Margaret Atwood warns of the instability in our patriarchal society, likewise Cormac McCarthy in his acclaimed book The Road also gives a warning; that of the fragility of human nature. Using the setting of hostile, post-apocalyptic America these authors explore what happens to both individuals and the wider society when rights and basic human necessities are taken away. Atwood creates the patriarchal dystopia, Gilead, which strips