Ignorance In The Handmaid's Tale

Ignorance is never bliss Malala Yousafzai once said, “We realize the importance of our voice once we are silenced”. In the novel The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, their Congress was taken down and the army declared a state of emergency. The entire government was completely gone, the constitution was suspended, newspapers were censored, but no one rioted or questioned anything. The more things changed surrounding the protagonist Offred, the more she chose to dismiss the clear warning signs. The characterization, along with Moira’s secrecy, and internal dialogue of Offred demonstrates how choosing to remain silent leads to self destruction. Offred is an introverted character who never speaks out over the things that bother her, which …show more content…
Moira, however, chose not to tell Offred for unknown reasons. “Look out[...]Here it comes[...]They’ve been building up to this”. When Offred asked what was coming, Moria responded with “You wait”(174). Offred discovers that Moira was a part of a secret resistance. While Offred did question her, she only did it once. She never persistently pressed her over the matter which could have been something that could have drastically changed her future. One day, Offred’s credit cards were made invalid and she was hastily fired from her job. When she invited Moira over to discuss her situation, Moira did not have the reaction she was awaiting. “She was not stunned the way I was. In some strange way she was gleeful, as if this was what she’d been expecting for some time and now she’d been proven right”(178). Moira knew that it had to be that way in order to insure that no woman would leave the country. She also mentioned to Offred that she would be working underground, but Offred never asked her what was so serious that she had to take such …show more content…
As the novel progressed, Offred gained more courage to seek out the reasoning for the Age of Gilead. She has made a companionship with her walking partner, Ofglen, who is a part of Mayday. Mayday is the resistance of the Eye that rules the Age of Gilead. When the Eye became suspicious over Offred they transported out a van for her. Only then does Offred realize, “I should have paid more attention”(293). At this point, it made no use. The lifestyle in which she was forced to live completely drained her of hope and motivation. Offred could only envisage the ways she could undergo killing herself instead of being captured. When Nick comes to save her, she comes to the conclusion that she remains with no other choice but to trust him. “I have given myself over into the hands of strangers, because it can’t be helped”(295). This ending perfectly depicts the consequence of staying silent. Offred had no further fight in her. She was a resistant fighter to begin with, but she still had some hope. In conforming to silence, Offred caused her own