The Handmaids Tale Essay -- The Handmaids Tale Essays

In Marg art Atwoods The Handmaids Tale, we hear a transcribed account of 1 womans posting Offred in the Republic of Gilead. A society based around Biblical philosophies as a way to validate inhumane state practises. In a society of declining birth rates, fertile women are chosen to become Handmaids, walking incubators, whose role in life is to reproduce for barren wives of commanders. Older women, homophile(a) men, and barren Handmaids are sent to the colonies to clean toxic waste. Fear is power. Fear is ever-present in Gilead it is implemented through violence and force. It is through fear that the authorities controls the Gileadian society. There is no way Offred, or the other Handmaids can avoid it. The dead bodies hanging on the wall are a relentless monitoring device of what rebellion and conflict result in. The abuse of power is also present in chapter fifteen after Moira attempts to escape, she is taken to the old science lab and has her feet defeat with steel frayed wir es and is then left on her bed, Moira lay on her bed as an example. (pg. 102 ) She is an example of what rebellion results in. Therefore, creating fear in the other Handmaids to frustrate them from rebelling. Handmaids are also branded like cattle, a numerical tattoo on their ankle consisting of an eye and four digits similar to the tattoos on Nazi prisoners, prevents them from escaping. Offred refers to it as, A passport in reverse. (pg. 75 ) this reference implies that there is no escape or leaving her situation, as a passport would allow a mostbody to leave a country. Atwood uses this tattoo to display the societys exploitation of power, and has been related to that of the cruel regime of Nazi Germany. The Gilead regime uses language, particularly... ...t create a smack of disorientation towards the reader. Atwood does this to enable us to understand just how disjointed life is in Gilead. Offred continuously involves the reader, she directly addresses us and anticipates o ur response and even feels she has to justify some of her actions, she is a self-conscious narrator. Atwood is also preparing us for the revelation in the Historical notes that Offred is recounting her story into a tape recorder. The story is open ended we are not told what exactly happened to Offred, Atwood does this in order to have more of an impact on the reader. Works CitedMargaret Atwood, The Handmaids Tale, (first pub. 1986) Publish by Vintage London 1996.Sandra Langdon, The Handmaids Tale, Letts Explore for A level, (first pub.1998) http//www.novelguide.com/TheHandmaidsTale/essayquestions.html (accessed 11/10/2014)