The Plowman's Tale

In Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, a woman by the name of Offred lives in a regime known as Gilead. Gilead is a totalitarian society that attempts to control all aspects of society. Offred gives the reader insight into Gilead by narrating her memories of her times as a Handmaid. As an entity, the novel encompasses an intricate definition of the family and the power structure of society. This structure is designed to critique the point of inequalities among people as a consequence…

fairy tales have been retold and changed. These changes reflect to the social culture at the time of each variant. Changes that are portrayed onto characters and plots of the tale. For instance many know the tale of the little girl going off into the woods alone wearing a red hood, known as Little Red Riding Hood. Little Red Riding Hood has many variants; versions where Little Red is foolish and ultimately eaten and others where she is fearless and meets the end she is content with. The tale…

the Canterbury Tales have somewhat of a degree in the decisions that influence what happens to them. Sometimes the future is out of their hands, but they do have a choice in deciding who they let in their life. The women beauty is what causes them to have so many problems. All the women seem to not have the outcome they wish in the end, but they are able to contribute to what will happen. In this essay three women will be discussed. The women consist of Emelye from the Knights Tale, Alison from…

interpretation on a single version of a single tale (18)”. Focusing especially on the evolutionary aspect of folktales, Darton provides a comprehensive tool to interpret what different versions of the same fairy tale suggest about changes in society. In this essay, I will use Darton’s theory to analyze…

My husband had been coming over to see me at the women's house at night a lot since our period of avoidance ended so I'm not surprised. He would come get me from my house and we would go to the forest to have sex before retiring for the night. Although I am pregnant there is still much to do around our village and work must go on as usual. I have been helping the other women in my house take care of their children so I am prepared for when my baby comes. One of the other women in my kin…

German version that opens with the mother instructing her child how to live the pious life (Grimm & Grimm, 1857). Furthermore, Aschenputtel’s stepmother reigns the household despite the presence of her husband. These two features of the German fairy tale highlights how cultural values influence the way in which the narrative is delivered. The mind of the authors is grounded in the context of history, which contributes to the way they incorporate certain information from society into their…

together and assisting each other in their writing, which strengthened their friendship further. Anne Sexton and Maxine Kumin scatter similes and metaphors to bring the reader into a feeling of nostalgia through the themes of a favorite childhood fairy tale and friendship. Both poets accomplish this through a sarcastic tone, and but Sexton’s sarcasm is filtered to appear joyful while Kumin’s sarcasm is meant to emphasize an established friendship. In Sexton’s “Cinderella”, the placement of…

other for centuries to gain power over others. Language is liberating and language is oppressive. Some have freed thousands of people with an outstanding speech, while others have destroyed lies and created fear with a few words. Both The Handmaid’s Tale written by Margret Atwood and Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson, explore this and how language is used as a tool of power within in societies. In The Handmaid’s…

This version is not just for kids anymore, but for parents who have kids. Anne Sexton wrote this fairy tale based on her childhood experience, aiming at educating parents not to behave as what her parents have done to her, and giving their kids a wonderful and educational childhood to help them grow healthily.When Sexton describes the life after Briar Rose…

While the definition of ethics may be different in the eyes of different people, most individuals have a certain limit to their behaviour. An exception to this statement is none other than one of the main characters in the novel, Crake. In Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake, Crake is a character who has a bright, young mind in his earlier years, but seems to have a gradually increasing obsession with his idea of perfectionism as the years go by. Over many years, Crake realizes that there are many…