A New Life Many writers write their novels that take place in dystopian societies. This technique gives the reader a different perspective to view the book from. Throughout Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale, women, particularly Handmaids, are the main ones being targeted in the new society they live in. Handmaids are women in the Republic of Gilead who bear children with the Commanders. They have no other choice but to obey, unless they want to get shipped to the Colonies, which is an extended death sentence. Handmaids were the ones that had the lives changed the most when the Republic of Gilead took over as the new government. They are unable to solve their problems and help themselves, they do not have an identity or anything for
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The dresses that Handmaids wear are completely red. The narrator states, “Everything except the wings around my face is red...” (Atwood 8). Handmaids wear the color red which represents fertility, which is the only asset they possess in this new society. Since the Republic of Gilead was facing declined birthrates, they took away everything that made a woman unique and forced them to become people who bear children for others. For instance the author states, “I used to think of my body as an instrument, of pleasure, or a means of transportation, or an implement for the accomplishment of my will. I could use it to run, push buttons of one sort or another, make things happen. There were limits, but my body was nevertheless lithe, single, solid, one with me” (Atwood 73). The narrator remembers thinking about how she believed her body was an instrument to be free with, but now it was a source to bear children. This shows that women were not treated as human, but they were looked on as items. This was the way that Handmaids were treated because they’re the only group of women in the Republic of Gilead that can become pregnant; they are forced to live with the Commander. If a Handmaid is unable to give birth after three different attempts with
The dresses that Handmaids wear are completely red. The narrator states, “Everything except the wings around my face is red...” (Atwood 8). Handmaids wear the color red which represents fertility, which is the only asset they possess in this new society. Since the Republic of Gilead was facing declined birthrates, they took away everything that made a woman unique and forced them to become people who bear children for others. For instance the author states, “I used to think of my body as an instrument, of pleasure, or a means of transportation, or an implement for the accomplishment of my will. I could use it to run, push buttons of one sort or another, make things happen. There were limits, but my body was nevertheless lithe, single, solid, one with me” (Atwood 73). The narrator remembers thinking about how she believed her body was an instrument to be free with, but now it was a source to bear children. This shows that women were not treated as human, but they were looked on as items. This was the way that Handmaids were treated because they’re the only group of women in the Republic of Gilead that can become pregnant; they are forced to live with the Commander. If a Handmaid is unable to give birth after three different attempts with