Gilead

One of the greatest Canadian authors during the second half of the 20th century, Margaret Atwood is famous for her feminist works of literature that entertain and provide an insight into her opinion about the rights of women and its reception. The Handmaid's Tale takes place in a fictional world where women are subjected to a theocratic form of government. The main character is Offred, a Handmaid whose sole purpose in the society is to create children for the Wives and the Commander. This…

race is deemed unacceptable by a governing body? Rebellion would not be a question of if, but rather, it would be a question of when. This tension is evident in the Republic of Gilead, a theocracy that has overthrown the former United States of America, which came to power after a nuclear crisis and outbreak of disease. In Gilead, the citizens’ lives are controlled by stringent restrictions. One of these laws being the inferiority and monotony of women that abruptly leaves women devoid of…

In The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood links the United States of the past with the present totalitarian state of Gilead through the use of techniques and themes. Atwood utilises language techniques and literary devices to build the themes of infantilisation and paternalism, acceptance, and division between women. The use of these techniques, which link the past and present, highlight the past’s influence on Gilead’s current values. Atwood’s use of figurative language, flashbacks, and repeated…

The Handmaid’s Tale is based in a futuristic world and it contains a strictly enforced control. This system is called The Republic of Gilead. All must follow the rules set in Gilead and not dare to overstep them. The laws are due to the decreasing number of fertile women and based on biblical teachings. Women's roles in this novel are significant; however, their freedom and rights are viewed inferior towards men. In this novel, Handmaids are controlled in every aspect of their life. Handmaids…

the United States of America (US) faced a drastic shift in political ideology, from anarchy in the Pre-Gilead Period to dictatorship in the Gilead Period; in which the US Government was overthrown by the ‘Sons of Jacob’, a fundamentalist Christian Reconstructionist movement, under pretext of restoring order to become the Republic of Gilead, a totalitarian theocracy. Instability in the Pre-Gilead…

The Handmaid 's Tale by Margaret Atwood took place in the time period of the New Regime. The Republic of Gilead was a totalitarian theocracy government. During this establishment the government had control over men and women and the social class they were given. People, both men and women are separated and given certain jobs in the Republic of Gilead. Handmaids wore red and there duty was to have children, and Martha 's wore green, they were servants. Also the econowicves were low class…

In The Handmaid’s Tale, the women of the Republic of Gilead has to adhere to strict rules presented by the society. The women were represented as instruments to reproduce offsprings in order to increase the population of Gilead, rather than actual humans with feelings and emotions. This quote that I selected was occurred after the speech given by the Commander at the Prayvaganza about how the Gilead society provides women with safety and comfort and allow them to “fulfill their biological…

shipment to the colonies. However, after the act transpired, a revision occurred within Offred, which saw the return of her old identity. The identity that Offred had throughout most of the novel was a precarious one that Offred created to conform to Gilead society. It was difficult for Offred to conform because she came from the transitional generation that remembered the old United States before it was seized by Christian Fundamentalists. Since she was from that generation, Offred had to cover…

healthcare, what would you call that? I’d call it a bad deal” (TIME). This statement she makes embodies one of the main ideas presented in The Handmaid’s Tale, in which women’s rights are stripped down to nothing and are only used for procreation, in Gilead they do have doctors, but they must follow the theocracy’s rules against abortions. If a doctor or even a scientist is guilty of talking about or, god forbid, preforming abortions they are hung in “Men’s Salvagings”, in which they are hung…

sinful activities. The biblical inferidea of gender role was evident in both literature. Handmaid’s Tale displayed this theme when Gilead fire all women from their jobs and drain their bank accounts leaving women like Offred desperate and dependent. Soon Gilead take all the right from women, form their right to choose what they wear to being able to read. Men within the Gilead society controlled the work-force, control government, and has access to illegal products like books and black market.…