Elizabeth Pham
Professor Sara Moore
English 200
4th February 2016
Dystopian Freedom The Handmaid’s Tale by Margret Atwood is a dystopian novel based in a totalitarian Christian theocracy that has forcibly removed the United States government from power and has become the Republic of Gilead. Due to the terrible decline in reproduction rates because of natural disasters, women become an essential part of ensuring that the population does not drop any further. In this republic, women are completely subjugated by men and stripped of all their freedom. Offred the main protagonist who is a Handmaid has no freedom of choice as she is stripped of her identity because the government only sees her as property. Her thoughts are controlled through propaganda …show more content…
She believes that the government is only there to protect her and save her from the dangerous past when doctors were permitted to give abortions. The sign was created to articulate a very clear message to all handmaids that the women in the past were participating in unholy behaviors that caused the current need for babies. Her purpose as a handmaid is embedded in her head because that is the only form of language she receives. Offred and all the handmaids soak up any information that could be read without ever questioning it. Therefore, Offred has no freedom of thought. Her thoughts are all guided by what Gilead wants her to …show more content…
The republic only allows certain topics to be talked about and when people are permitted to speak. All the handmaid’s follow the rules because they fear being in trouble. Handmaids are only allowed to communicate to each other very specific lines based on their position as proxies such as, “Blessed be the fruit” and “may the Lord open” (25). By restricting her freedom of speech, the state has made Offred internalize the system of conversation so much that she is frightened to speak to others in private and they influence her to not think genuinely about
Professor Sara Moore
English 200
4th February 2016
Dystopian Freedom The Handmaid’s Tale by Margret Atwood is a dystopian novel based in a totalitarian Christian theocracy that has forcibly removed the United States government from power and has become the Republic of Gilead. Due to the terrible decline in reproduction rates because of natural disasters, women become an essential part of ensuring that the population does not drop any further. In this republic, women are completely subjugated by men and stripped of all their freedom. Offred the main protagonist who is a Handmaid has no freedom of choice as she is stripped of her identity because the government only sees her as property. Her thoughts are controlled through propaganda …show more content…
She believes that the government is only there to protect her and save her from the dangerous past when doctors were permitted to give abortions. The sign was created to articulate a very clear message to all handmaids that the women in the past were participating in unholy behaviors that caused the current need for babies. Her purpose as a handmaid is embedded in her head because that is the only form of language she receives. Offred and all the handmaids soak up any information that could be read without ever questioning it. Therefore, Offred has no freedom of thought. Her thoughts are all guided by what Gilead wants her to …show more content…
The republic only allows certain topics to be talked about and when people are permitted to speak. All the handmaid’s follow the rules because they fear being in trouble. Handmaids are only allowed to communicate to each other very specific lines based on their position as proxies such as, “Blessed be the fruit” and “may the Lord open” (25). By restricting her freedom of speech, the state has made Offred internalize the system of conversation so much that she is frightened to speak to others in private and they influence her to not think genuinely about