The life of Offred In the dystopian novel, titled “The Handmaids Tale” by Margaret Atwood, we see the time when the totalitarian society of Gilead took power over the country, how it controlled the people that lived within its borders, and the difficulties they experienced through the use of characterization. The life of Offred and other handmaids just like her are made miserable due to the rule over their bodies, and they have no easy way to escape it. The society of Gilead can be labeled as totalitarian, which Dictionary.com defines as, “exercising control over the freedom, will, or thought of others; authoritarian; autocratic.”(Totalitarian) In Gilead, people, especially women, had few rights. Women were separated into three main categories,
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She and other handmaids are all assigned to different commanders, who are the husbands of the “wives” category of women. The “wives” are unable to have kids, so women such as Offred must step in; by having sex with the commanders in order to help give the “wives” their own children. Atwood explains to us what Offred is going through, “My red skirt is hitched up to my waist, though no higher. Below the commander is fucking. What he is fucking is my lower part of my body. I do not say making love, because this is not what he’s doing.” (Atwood 94) This quote shows us that Offred is involuntary having sex with the commander. This is what the totalitarian society had forced upon the handmaid’s; they have to comply with the rules, or they would face consequences. For the women who did not comply, one of the punishments was salvaging. A “women’s salvaging,” or a hanging, was something that all women had to attend if it took place. Women who committed crimes of killing a handmaid, adultery, or attempted escape all put themselves in a position of being punished by this method. …show more content…
The Handmaid 's Tale. New York: Anchor Book, 1998. Print
Meyer, Michael. Literature to Go. 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin 's, 2011. Print "totalitarian". Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 29 Mar. 2016. .
Acknowledgement:
I would like to give a big thanks to Ryan Morris for editing my paper and helping me getting it to this point, couldn’t have done it without his help. I’d also like to thank Dr. Libertin for suggesting ideas to write about and all the in-class help I
She and other handmaids are all assigned to different commanders, who are the husbands of the “wives” category of women. The “wives” are unable to have kids, so women such as Offred must step in; by having sex with the commanders in order to help give the “wives” their own children. Atwood explains to us what Offred is going through, “My red skirt is hitched up to my waist, though no higher. Below the commander is fucking. What he is fucking is my lower part of my body. I do not say making love, because this is not what he’s doing.” (Atwood 94) This quote shows us that Offred is involuntary having sex with the commander. This is what the totalitarian society had forced upon the handmaid’s; they have to comply with the rules, or they would face consequences. For the women who did not comply, one of the punishments was salvaging. A “women’s salvaging,” or a hanging, was something that all women had to attend if it took place. Women who committed crimes of killing a handmaid, adultery, or attempted escape all put themselves in a position of being punished by this method. …show more content…
The Handmaid 's Tale. New York: Anchor Book, 1998. Print
Meyer, Michael. Literature to Go. 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin 's, 2011. Print "totalitarian". Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 29 Mar. 2016. .
Acknowledgement:
I would like to give a big thanks to Ryan Morris for editing my paper and helping me getting it to this point, couldn’t have done it without his help. I’d also like to thank Dr. Libertin for suggesting ideas to write about and all the in-class help I