According to Bella DePaulo, a psychologist at the University Of Virginia, most people lie to someone else at least once or twice a day. The question this brings about is how does one differentiate the truth from falsehood? In Margaret Atwood's novel, The Handmaid’s Tale Offred, one of the many characters who is facing oppression in the Republic of Gilead, is struggling to know if her story is true or false. Offred lies because she is brainwashed, she wants to bring light to the story, she wants to feel in control, and because she has no other choice. The reasons that Offred lies all signify lack of confidence, which has made the reader's question whether or not to believe her story.
The Republic Of Gilead takes place in near future New England, …show more content…
Day by day she is brainwashed by a higher authority into believing that this new society is good and beneficial to its people. She and the others who are facing oppression are constantly told by the higher authority that “everything will be alright soon. I promise. There will be peace. You must trust. You must go to sleep, like good children” ( Attwood 83). This cycle is what allows one to fall into the state of confusion where they can no longer differentiate what is considered true and what is considered false. Offred testifies in favor of this claim when she says “ He tells us what we long to believe. He’s very convincing. I struggle against him. He’s like an old movie star, I tell myself, with false teeth and a face job. At the same time I sway towards him, like one hypnotized” (Atwood 83). Even though Offred knows that commander is bad she continues to obey him. She tells herself that he is good and the things he says and does is to be trusted. Her body and mind no longer belong to her. She expresses this by saying, “My self is a thing I must now compose, as one composes a speech. What I must present is a made thing, not something born” (Attwood 66). Since Offred's body and mind are being controlled by higher authorities she has no choice but to lie at times to protect herself against the evil forces of the …show more content…
She says that “It is impossible to say a thing exactly the way it was, because what you say can never be exact, you always have to leave something out, there are too many parts, sides, crosscurrents, nuances; too many gestures, which could mean this or that, too many shapes which can never be fully described, too many flavors, in the air or on the tongue, half-colors, too many” (Attwood 134). Offred believes that as time passes, individuals are limited to what they remember regarding that
The Republic Of Gilead takes place in near future New England, …show more content…
Day by day she is brainwashed by a higher authority into believing that this new society is good and beneficial to its people. She and the others who are facing oppression are constantly told by the higher authority that “everything will be alright soon. I promise. There will be peace. You must trust. You must go to sleep, like good children” ( Attwood 83). This cycle is what allows one to fall into the state of confusion where they can no longer differentiate what is considered true and what is considered false. Offred testifies in favor of this claim when she says “ He tells us what we long to believe. He’s very convincing. I struggle against him. He’s like an old movie star, I tell myself, with false teeth and a face job. At the same time I sway towards him, like one hypnotized” (Atwood 83). Even though Offred knows that commander is bad she continues to obey him. She tells herself that he is good and the things he says and does is to be trusted. Her body and mind no longer belong to her. She expresses this by saying, “My self is a thing I must now compose, as one composes a speech. What I must present is a made thing, not something born” (Attwood 66). Since Offred's body and mind are being controlled by higher authorities she has no choice but to lie at times to protect herself against the evil forces of the …show more content…
She says that “It is impossible to say a thing exactly the way it was, because what you say can never be exact, you always have to leave something out, there are too many parts, sides, crosscurrents, nuances; too many gestures, which could mean this or that, too many shapes which can never be fully described, too many flavors, in the air or on the tongue, half-colors, too many” (Attwood 134). Offred believes that as time passes, individuals are limited to what they remember regarding that