Book Analysis: The Handmaid's Tale

Monica Onstot
Miss Shrader
Dual Credit English
15 September 2015
The Duties of a Handmaid
The Handmaid’s Tale is written by Margaret Atwood. It takes place in an American city that has been overthrown and now is called Gilead. Atwood writes the story from a first person point of view.
The United States of America has been taken over by people running a new order called the Republic of Gilead. They killed the President and the members of Congress. The Gilead took over at a time when women were being disrespected. They could not have jobs or own land.
Offred was captured and turned into a handmaid. Population and fertility rates were at an all-time low when Gilead took over. Handmaids’ job is to bear kids for couples. Offred isn’t our character’s

birth name. When you become a handmaid, your name starts with “of” and is followed by the name of the commander you’re working for.
Offred and her best friends, Moira, are sent to the Re-Education Center.

It is there that they will learn and adjust to being a handmaid. Aunt Lydia is in charge at the center. She helps convince the girls that they are more protected and respected now. Moira sneaks out of the center to escape. Offred doesn’t know what happened to her after she escaped.
Offred is assigned to be the handmaid for the Commander and Serena, his wife. Every month when Offred is fertile in her point of her menstrual cycle, she is forced to have sex with the Commander. He reads them the Bible before they have sex. When they sleep together, Serena holds Offred’s hands during it. No one says a word while they have sex. This is called The Ceremony.
Offred doesn’t have freedom when she’s a handmaid. She can only leave the house for shopping trips. While she’s in her room, the door can’t be closed. Gilead has a secret police force called the Eyes. They watch the handmaids all the time while they’re in public. Offred goes on shopping trips with Ofglen. She is another handmaid. Offred has to go to the doctor often. They check for any kind of sickness, diseases, or other problems. When the doctor realizes that Offred hasn’t gotten pregnant yet, he thinks the Commander could be infertile. The doctor tells Offred that he could get her pregnant and she could just say it is the Commander’s baby. Offred turns down the

offer.
Offred and the Commander get to know each other better. This makes The Ceremony a little more personal between them. The Commander takes Offred to Jezebel’s. This is a place to meet prostitutes. She sees Moira there. She tells Offred she was captured and now has to work there.
Serena convinces Offred to have sex with another man, named Nick.

She’s told to get pregnant with him and just pretend it is the Commander’s baby. Nick and Offred start having sex together a lot. Ofglen tells Offred that she is a part of Mayday. This is a secret group trying to end Gilead. There is an execution of a handmaid that was accused of being a rapist. The other handmaids all have to take part in it. Ofglen hits her first but then said she was a part of Mayday and she didn’t want her to suffer anymore. A new Ofglen shows up to the next shopping trip. Offred is told the old one hanged herself. She thought the secret police of Gilead were coming for

her.
When Serena found out that the Commander and Offred went to Jezebel’s, she tells Offred she will be punished. Offred sees an Eye car at their house. Nick tells her they’re from Mayday and are going to save her. She gets in the car even though she’s still unsure if she’s going to jail or if she is going to be free.
One of the main themes in The Handmaid’s Tale is the disrespect to women. The government saw women as objects and not individuals. They were strictly there to increase the population. They had no rights and couldn’t have a job or own property. They aren’t even called by their birth name anymore. I liked this book. It kept me entertained. I realized how lucky I am to have my freedom.