Jannelly Figueroa
Mr. Sieker
1520-2150
20 March, 2016
Religion, Colonialism, Modernism, and Feminism in a Dystopian Society In the book, A Handmaid’s Tale, the author, Margaret Atwood, shows what a dystopian society consisting of very distinct classes is like through the eyes of a handmaid named Offred. Little by little, readers are informed on what has occurred in this state, how an act of rebellion led the breakdown of a whole nation, and to what extremes the whole formation of the society led to. Through the explanation of the main classes the people in this new society are divided into, the narrator, Offred, describes each character with his or her role in that society; it is clear this role marks everything that that person does, is …show more content…
Next there are the commanders, who are always male, old, the heads of the “household” and expected to father children. Leading to their Guardians, who are lower- level officers; followed by the Wives, who are usually just the Commanders’ companions. Handmaids are then at the bottom of the chain, meant to just have the Commanders’ children; arguably lower, are the Marthas, who are not even being considered in the society, acting as the housekeepers/ maids. Ending with the Unwomen, who are females who are not wives, but cannot have children and are therefore eventually sent to the colonies outside of traditional society. All these characters …show more content…
The first evident similarity readers may see is with the role men play as “Guardians of the Faithful/Faith”, who act like police. Among the male roles there are “Eyes” as well, who resemble the book of Proverbs stating, “The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good” (NIV Bible). Then the women’s roles in Gilead are in the Bible as well as the classes they are divided into (“Wives”, "Marthas”, “Handmaids”, “Econowives” and “Unwomen”). The “Martha” class most likely refers to Mary’s sister who served Jesus instead of listening to his teachings, while in Gilead, the Marthas are like the maids or servants of the households. Then the name “Handmaid” refers to the Old Testament, namely to Genesis 30:1-3, “When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister; and she said to Jacob, Give me children or I shall die! […] Then she said, Here is my maid Bilhah; go in to her, that she may bear upon my knees, and even I may have children through her” (NIV Bible). Just as in the Bible, Jacob is encouraged by Rachel to conceive with his handmaid; in Gilead, the Handmaids are meant to be the child bearers for the commanders and their wives. Such action is justified by the citizens through this act in the bible,
Mr. Sieker
1520-2150
20 March, 2016
Religion, Colonialism, Modernism, and Feminism in a Dystopian Society In the book, A Handmaid’s Tale, the author, Margaret Atwood, shows what a dystopian society consisting of very distinct classes is like through the eyes of a handmaid named Offred. Little by little, readers are informed on what has occurred in this state, how an act of rebellion led the breakdown of a whole nation, and to what extremes the whole formation of the society led to. Through the explanation of the main classes the people in this new society are divided into, the narrator, Offred, describes each character with his or her role in that society; it is clear this role marks everything that that person does, is …show more content…
Next there are the commanders, who are always male, old, the heads of the “household” and expected to father children. Leading to their Guardians, who are lower- level officers; followed by the Wives, who are usually just the Commanders’ companions. Handmaids are then at the bottom of the chain, meant to just have the Commanders’ children; arguably lower, are the Marthas, who are not even being considered in the society, acting as the housekeepers/ maids. Ending with the Unwomen, who are females who are not wives, but cannot have children and are therefore eventually sent to the colonies outside of traditional society. All these characters …show more content…
The first evident similarity readers may see is with the role men play as “Guardians of the Faithful/Faith”, who act like police. Among the male roles there are “Eyes” as well, who resemble the book of Proverbs stating, “The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good” (NIV Bible). Then the women’s roles in Gilead are in the Bible as well as the classes they are divided into (“Wives”, "Marthas”, “Handmaids”, “Econowives” and “Unwomen”). The “Martha” class most likely refers to Mary’s sister who served Jesus instead of listening to his teachings, while in Gilead, the Marthas are like the maids or servants of the households. Then the name “Handmaid” refers to the Old Testament, namely to Genesis 30:1-3, “When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister; and she said to Jacob, Give me children or I shall die! […] Then she said, Here is my maid Bilhah; go in to her, that she may bear upon my knees, and even I may have children through her” (NIV Bible). Just as in the Bible, Jacob is encouraged by Rachel to conceive with his handmaid; in Gilead, the Handmaids are meant to be the child bearers for the commanders and their wives. Such action is justified by the citizens through this act in the bible,