A Defense of The Handmaid's Tale
The book The Handmaid's Tale has been challenged or banned eight times since it has been published in 1985 (Sova). However, most of the bans or challenges are related to the author's portrayal of specific events and themes in the novel, sometimes without a legitimate reason to back them up. The Handmaid's Tale is a book that should be kept in course curriculums and there are important lessons to be learned from the novel.
The Handmaid's Tale is an account of Offred's experiences in a post-apocalyptic United States, where the old government has been shut down and a new one has taken hold. At the beginning of the novel, Offred is transferred to another Commander's home where she meets the Wife, Serena Joy, …show more content…
On page 174 of A Handmaid's Tale it says "...when they shot the president and machine gunned the Congress and the army declared a state of emergency. They blamed it on the Islamic fanatics, at the time... I was stunned. Everyone was, I know that. It was hard to believe. The entire government, gone like that. How did they get in, how did it happen? That was when they suspended the Constitution." The quote tells of a horrible, and yet possible, catastrophe taking place in the government of the United states of America, and a possible turn of events after such an event. This possibility of a country's laws getting suspended shows the reader what new form of government control could take root by a private organization with its own ideals establishing authority over a preexisting form of government or leadership. "Things continued in that state of suspended animation for weeks. Although some things did happen. Newspapers were censored and some were closed down, for security reasons they said. The road-blocks began to appear, and Identipasses. Everyone approved of that, since it was obvious you couldn't be too careful" (Atwood, 174). The quote gives the reader an idea of the kind of things that could happen after a constitutional government's constitution is suspended and rights are lost. In sharing her thoughts on the idea, Atwood is asking …show more content…
In a review of Atwood's, The Handmaid's Tale, Anne Gardiner writes, "...Atwood calls attention to the 'civil war' that in her Tale is 'led' by Southern Baptists. One reviewer finds it odd that Southern Baptists should lead a counter-revolution against a fundamentalist theocracy..." Gardiner is quoting a reviewer who thinks it's odd that a certain religion could rise and lead a revolution and make a new government. Gardiner is quickly dismissing the possibility that a religion could assume control in modern times if the United States constitution was suspended, especially in a conservative time. Gardiner also seems to be missing the point that Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale is written in speculative fiction, a type literature meant for speculating in an entertaining manner. In an article discussing reasons why The Handmaid's Tale was banned, the author writes about one incident, "In March 2006, one parent who felt it was her 'duty to ensure no student be able to read The Handmaid's Tale in class' succeeded in having the book removed from the Judson Independent School District in San Antonio, Texas. Parent Cindy Pyo complained to Judson school superintendent that the book is 'sexually explicit and offensive to Christians'" (Sova). Sova is recalling an incident where a parent of a student
The book The Handmaid's Tale has been challenged or banned eight times since it has been published in 1985 (Sova). However, most of the bans or challenges are related to the author's portrayal of specific events and themes in the novel, sometimes without a legitimate reason to back them up. The Handmaid's Tale is a book that should be kept in course curriculums and there are important lessons to be learned from the novel.
The Handmaid's Tale is an account of Offred's experiences in a post-apocalyptic United States, where the old government has been shut down and a new one has taken hold. At the beginning of the novel, Offred is transferred to another Commander's home where she meets the Wife, Serena Joy, …show more content…
On page 174 of A Handmaid's Tale it says "...when they shot the president and machine gunned the Congress and the army declared a state of emergency. They blamed it on the Islamic fanatics, at the time... I was stunned. Everyone was, I know that. It was hard to believe. The entire government, gone like that. How did they get in, how did it happen? That was when they suspended the Constitution." The quote tells of a horrible, and yet possible, catastrophe taking place in the government of the United states of America, and a possible turn of events after such an event. This possibility of a country's laws getting suspended shows the reader what new form of government control could take root by a private organization with its own ideals establishing authority over a preexisting form of government or leadership. "Things continued in that state of suspended animation for weeks. Although some things did happen. Newspapers were censored and some were closed down, for security reasons they said. The road-blocks began to appear, and Identipasses. Everyone approved of that, since it was obvious you couldn't be too careful" (Atwood, 174). The quote gives the reader an idea of the kind of things that could happen after a constitutional government's constitution is suspended and rights are lost. In sharing her thoughts on the idea, Atwood is asking …show more content…
In a review of Atwood's, The Handmaid's Tale, Anne Gardiner writes, "...Atwood calls attention to the 'civil war' that in her Tale is 'led' by Southern Baptists. One reviewer finds it odd that Southern Baptists should lead a counter-revolution against a fundamentalist theocracy..." Gardiner is quoting a reviewer who thinks it's odd that a certain religion could rise and lead a revolution and make a new government. Gardiner is quickly dismissing the possibility that a religion could assume control in modern times if the United States constitution was suspended, especially in a conservative time. Gardiner also seems to be missing the point that Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale is written in speculative fiction, a type literature meant for speculating in an entertaining manner. In an article discussing reasons why The Handmaid's Tale was banned, the author writes about one incident, "In March 2006, one parent who felt it was her 'duty to ensure no student be able to read The Handmaid's Tale in class' succeeded in having the book removed from the Judson Independent School District in San Antonio, Texas. Parent Cindy Pyo complained to Judson school superintendent that the book is 'sexually explicit and offensive to Christians'" (Sova). Sova is recalling an incident where a parent of a student