Summary Of The Handmaid's Tale By Margaret Atwood

It is important to acknowledge that cultural, social, and historical contexts play a crucial role in the shaping of a novel and giving it meaning. The relevance of a novel’s context can be seen in the three literary works that I have studied. The Handmaid's Tale, written by Margaret Atwood, challenges society’s understanding and perspective towards gender inequality and a totalitarian regime by telling the story from the perspective of a woman. The Unbearable Lightness of Being provides a philosophical perspective on life and Milan Kundera uses Czechoslovakia’s history and his anti-communist background to explain further the significance of life. Finally, in Baltasar and Blimunda, José Saramago talks about his perspective on the social clash …show more content…
At the time when Atwood was writing her book, she was being influenced by a series of feminist movements that had been occurring around the world, like the National Women's Suffrage Association, which promoted the vote of the women. She began questioning the role, treatment, and status of women in modern society. Through the novel’s setting Atwood introduces her perspective of a world where everything is based on regulation and people live in constant fear. The Handmaid’s Tale takes place in an imprecise future in a newly-created nation called Gilead, which used to be the United States. Here, the totalitarian government segregates the population by categorizing the people based on gender. Gilead is a nation where people live under a regime where there is no freedom or rights, and they are ruled by a structure of suppression and control. As a result, The Handmaid’s Tale stands as a warning of the triumph of totalitarianism in what could be the near future, a "Western Hemisphere Iran." Atwood expresses her concern towards the idea that in the future society will become corrupt and