Margaret Atwood

When Offred is receives her new shopping partner, Ofglen, she talks about how the Handmaids are not “allowed to go to [central town] except in twos” and believes that the “notion is absurd.” When in reality, Ofglen “is [her] spy, as [she] is hers” (Atwood, 19). They do not have the right to choose what they want to do therefore, giving them the audacity to…

throughout the short story by Margaret Atwood, “Death by Landscape”, because it represents a much deeper meaning as death and loneliness are constant themes in this short story. In this paper, I will argue that she is able to use nature to represent the overall story and make it a significant aspect of the reading. Then, I will demonstrate how Atwood represents this message through her careful use of diction, and effective descriptions of places and events that take place. Atwood uses nature…

In Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Edible Woman, the main character Marian is depicted as a “normal” woman, who is perfect and desirable. This perfection leads her to be “consumed” by men and those surrounding her, illustrating the name of the novel, “the edible woman.” Throughout the novel, The Edible Woman, Atwood connects this to the consumption of food around Marian leading her to reject any form of food that may be taking advantage of animals. In the final passage of the novel, I believe that…

“The Year of the Flood”, written by Margaret Atwood, explores a post apocalyptic world from the perspectives of two girls, Toby and Ren. Their stories reveal their past lives, involvement with cult group called God’s Gardeners, and how the Waterless Flood destroyed the human race. Atwood’s portrayal of the corporations and characters is a commentary on the dangerous connection between manipulation and success modern society. At the beginning of the novel, Toby reveals that her mother died due to…

The Handmaid’s Tale-a novel written by Margaret Atwood focusing on the dystopian society of Gilead in the near future, where freedom takes on a new meaning. While many feminists and non-feminists alike have branded it a feminist novel, Atwood herself has condemned this, and whenever asked the question she seems to always respond by replying that there are different types of feminism, as if to distance herself from the connotation of the word (Newman, Stephanie). She emphasizes that men and women…

Margaret Atwood's, The Handmaids Tale is a dystopian style novel published originally in 1985. Set in a city in what used to be in the United States, now called the Republic of Gilead, this alternative future state had the democratic government overthrown and replaced by a theocratic fundamentalist governing force. In this society of declining fertility rates, fertile women are elected to become Handmaids; 'ambulatory wombs' that reproduce for the 'infertile' wives of privileged couples that…

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood shows an imaginative attempt to conceive a future where women have lost their autonomy and rights, and where the American government is run by conservative moral and religious ideals. Atwood creates a dystopian story which frames itself through Michel Foucault’s Panopticon. The panoptic establishment relies upon complete visibility, a hierarchical organization of power, and an enclosed space. These three concepts are all prevalent throughout the novel. The…

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…

Margaret Atwood, a feminist writer produced her novel ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ during the 1980s, a time when women were struggling to gain independence and identity due to social and religious expectations. This dystopian fiction is set in the near future in the Republic of Gilead, formerly the United States. Atwood has implemented many themes and motifs throughout her work on this novel which are all a part of building up the ‘bigger picture’ or message that she is trying to convey throughout this…

In the novel A Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood portrays the life of women in the future dystopian society as unpleasant, brutal, and horrific. The women in the novel have no power and are only useful for having babies. Atwood shows her feelings on this matter through the main character, Offred, and the people she surrounds herself with. Handmaid’s, Martha’s, Unwomen, and the Wives are the groups that make up the social hierarchy. Atwood causes us to open our eyes and ask ourselves: are women in…