Margaret Mead

The Blind Assassin is a layered, multi genre story created by Margaret Atwood set in Port Ticonderoga, Canada throughout the 20th century. The two main characters are Iris and Laura Chase, the daughter of a rich war veteran who owns a button factory. The story itself is broken up into four subplots, all from the point of view of Iris, the eldest sister. The outermost story is of 80 year old Iris, her daily life, as she tells the second story of her family’s past, which hit on many of Atwood’s…

Throughout history the powerful few have at times seized control of a state and exercised their power and influence in a manner that inflicts great damage to a few for the benefit of the many, or so they allege. To further their agenda these dictators vilify a small group in society by alleging that they are subversive and represent a danger to society. This pattern of persecution can be observed as far back as the 1500s in the Spanish inquisition, in the 1700s with the Salem Witch Hunts or more…

There was a study done in September of 2016, where researchers were trying to gather information about the use age of any method of contraception, and the birth control pill. The pill and female sterilization have been the two most commonly used methods since 1982. Dating all the way back to the 1870’s, and more recently, the 1950’s, there have been many controversies over the birth control pill. Many religious people all over the United States sought to believe the birth control pill was a form…

Can a utopia, as necessitated by its definition, actually be perfect if in insuring the future of the human race, its people are required to lose their autonomy? Both the novel The Handmaid’s Tale written by Margaret Atwood, and film The Island directed by Michael Bay, explore this question. In The Handmaid’s Tale, Atwood uses a subgroup called Handmaids from a fictional society called The Republic of Gilead, as a means to examine the effects of objectification, forced servitude, and restricted…

In “The Handmaid’s Tale” the author Margaret Atwood's use of language represents how power restricts women from their freedom. In the novel the women are stripped of their real names, their voices and their rights. The Handmaid's work in a house in Gilead run by a married commander, whom they must have sex with to become pregnant and provide the household with a child. The narrator, Offred uses her language as a tool to escape the plight of her existence by manipulating things to her…

The novel The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood, is a dystopian novel in which the protagonist Offred is cut off from any outside information and is supposed to assume that she is constantly being spied on. Offred is a handmaid and is only valued for her ability to produce offspring as the world she lives is suffering from declining birth rates. Atwood incorporates several features of dystopia such as the idea of power, totalitarianism, and war. Atwood also includes the features…

Margaret Morse Nice took an interest in nature at the young age of 13, and soon after became even more intrigued by the patterns, social aspects, and lifestyles of birds. Later in life this led to her becoming an ornithologist. Margaret was born on December 6, 1883, in Amherst, Massachusetts. She was born to her mother Margaret Dungan and her father Anson D. Morse who was a professor at Amherst College. Nice was one of six brothers and sisters. After graduating from high school Margaret got a…

Margaret Sanger Back alley abortions and unwanted pregnancies were something that really troubled Margaret Sanger. She felt that a woman should have choices and getting unhealthy abortions should not be one of them. So, she made it her goal to find a solution. Margaret Sanger was an early feminist who created the term “birth control” and fought for its cause. Margaret Sanger was born on September 14, 1879 to a Roman Catholic working class Irish American family (“Margaret Sanger”). She attended…

Offred’s struggles throughout Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale illustrates the effects that relationships and experiences have on an individual’s sense of self and hunger for freedom. The Republic of Gilead is a warped modern-day rendition of Puritan life, a “fertility cult” (Nakamura 3) under the guise of a religious society. Like the Puritans and many other historical cultures, the women of Gilead are treated like objects to be issued, thus robbed of their voice and their…

An Insight to Margaret Sanger’s Legacy During the early twentieth century, women had no access to contraceptives and they had no power in deciding when they wanted to start a family. In the United States, women were charged with a crime if they educated, distributed, or possessed any form of contraception. This banned was supported by the Comstock Act, which was passed by Congress in 1873, but there were people who did not support it (Comstock Act | United States [1873]). One of the activist…