The novel “The Handmaid’s Tale written by Margaret Atwood shows the way of life for women in the society of Gilead. I'm the society of Gilead all government laws and teaching was taught from the bible. Forming everyday life in different ways. Majority of all power in Gilead has been passed to the men and given total control of the women. Atwood shows extraordinary language. She used the language to prove her point of power, order authority and freedom. In Gilead most women was overruled by power and authority of the men and freedom. In the novel offred and others in that time was going through hardships, struggles and challenges. Using language to gain freedom and power. She uses it as a mental escape from the world. Offred uses descriptive …show more content…
and figurative language to escape her horrifying snd boring part in the world. For a temporary time she can go to her own safe place and see her challenges fade. The power of reading is a privilege most of the women did not take for granted.
Even though most couldn't have that privilege it was important to know. Reading was the most modest power to have in Gilead society. Gilead society laws and government are inspired by the most powerful book the bible. Reading held the greatest power to know to the truth. Which most of the government wants to lie and hide people from he truth. Buy reading the bible can show the light and truth of the laws. The women of the Gilead were categorized and toyed with and dominated by the men. Gilead woman are used and manipulated and trained to become Handmaid's. Handmaid's make women ashamed and feel like their trapped. Because they are at the bottom of society. But when they have the peer to read the unknown becomes known. By taking the power to read it will make them blind to the world. Offred states “ I knew it was wrong, and they left things out, too but there is no way of checking “ (89 Atwood). This quote shows that not reading the Bible you are lost for answers. Taking that power to read is like taking they way to cope and make you feel like your in the dark. The women especially offred gather the power to escape the complicate life. That was her eat of
being strong. In the novel offred states” I didn't want to see it anymore. I look at the grass instead. I described v the tope”. (276 Atwood ). This is her basic way if her changing reality in to her own state of mind. In this novel the most powerful elementbis lamguage followed by the power to read. Margaret Atwood used her own way of paraphrasing the bible making it the source if power through out this novel. Language was the way to physically and mentally escape for these women. It might be the way of relief and stability to have a place to go in the perdicumeng she and the other women was in. In times now in society I can relate because whenever I have problems I close my eyes and sing a specific song and my problems fade from my mind. I agree that language is the way to cope. Although in the the end even thigh offred and the others didn't have the physical experience yo escape. She stll did in her own brilliant way . Even though we may nwvervknoe if she chose to stay or go. If she was able to escape her reality. This novel explains that freedom is not granted to most. Also to show how they solved their problems even if it was temporary. It was all in the hands of the truth of the bible and freedom of the vague language.
In the gilead society, women are placed in a social hierarchy in which they are defined by their role. The wives are the elite members. The handmaids are the people who produced babies. Marthas are the house servants. Aunts are a prestigious group of people who trained handmaids. Econowives are low class women. However, none of the women are defined as people with their own personalities and interests. Instead, Women are seen as objects that belong to men. Econowives belong to the Guardians. The wives, marthas,
In today’s society, it is necessary to impose a substantial amount of power and control for a government to function properly. However, too much power takes away freedom, and the ability to live an ordinary life. The novel, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood demonstrates a dystopic vision on the abuse of power. Atwood creates an imaginary futuristic new society called, the Republic of Gilead that abruptly strips away the freedom of women. Offred, the narrator of the novel is a Handmaid. The Handmaid’s are the ones with the least amount of power. The highest at power are the Commanders; the dictators of Gilead. Throughout the novel, Offred explains how the Republic of Gilead began and how Gilead maintains its power. In the novel, power is
...sted versions of the truth. The Republic of Gilead has set itself up for failure. They have created their own demise.
A new society is created by a group of people who strengthen and maintain their power by any means necessary including torture and death. Margaret Atwood's book, A Handmaid's Tale, can be compared to the morning after a bad fight within an abusive relationship. Being surrounded by rules that must be obeyed because of being afraid of the torture that will be received. There are no other choices because there is control over what is done, who you see and talk to, and has taken you far away from your family. You have no money or way out. The new republic of Gilead takes it laws to an even higher level because these laws are said to be of God and by disobeying them you are disobeying him. People are already likely to do anything for their God especially when they live in fear of punishment or death. The republic of Gilead is created and maintains its power structure through the use of religion, laws that isolate people from communication to one another and their families, and the fear of punishment for disobeying the law.
...hat it was the women participation that allowed the government to regulate every aspect of their public and private lives. Women such as the Aunts especially Aunt Lydia where willing participants in the republic by indoctrinating women to the new way of life. The women became the eyes and ears to the government, condemning other women who don't follow the laws. If the women had the strength to rebel they might not have been able to change much but, at least they were taking a stand on what they believed in. The government had such control on every aspect through rules, conduct and rituals that were followed by the people with little to no questions by the people. That is why I feel that Societal Complacency played such a role in the success of the Republic of Gilead.
Offred is a Handmaid, who is thought of as the most and least important people in the caste system; "they rank among the most powerful female agents of the patriarchal order." (Callaway 50). The Handmaids have one thing that all the women in Gilead want – fertility. Their fertility ma...
Angels who are warriors that defend the country. Guardians (of the Faith) who are explained as being not real soldiers but "used for routine policing and other menial functions. stupid or older or disabled or very young, apart from the ones that are Eyes incognito. " These social classes have been strictly put into place by the theocracy that rules over Gilead. They were formed after the revolution when an extremist group named “Sons of Jacob” took control and abolished the United States Constitution after they attacked the capital, killing the President and most of the Congress.
The foundation of the Gileadean regime is the control of sex and sexuality. They execute gays and lesbians; they destroy pornography and sexual clothing; they kill abortion doctors; they outlaw divorce and second marriages; and they even prevent most women from learning how to read.
Control dominates all aspects of Gileadian society, from minor, seemingly petty normalities such as the clothes allowed, all the way up to how and who to have sexual relations with. Unimaginable in this day, Atwood represents modern society gone sour, something which is chillingly close enough to reality to get worried about.
The foundation of the Gilead’s newly implemented society is packed with biblical phrasing and connotations, but it lacks authenticity. From the names of the different social ranks to the names of the buildings and stores to the name Gilead itself, every object within the society possesses some sort of biblical significance. Peter G. Tillman says ...
world. Creating the society of Gilead, even the most powerful do not benefit from its ways, all
One of the more obvious examples of sexism that Atwood presents can be seen in her presentation of pre-Gilead society.
Gilead can be seen as a hyperbolized version of today’s western world The way that I see it, we are currently halfway there to a society resemblant to Gilead. History shows that it only takes a single event to set off a cataclysmic series of events, like how WW1 was started because of the assassination of archduke francis ferdinand. In the Handmaid’s tale, everything started to go downhill, and Gilead was started after the president was assassinated and congress was gunned down. I’ve mentioned earlier that even in today’s society women are seen as inferior objects. They are seen as lesser counterparts in the home, in the workplace, etc. So if women are already regarded so lowly in our current society, what's to stop them from being regarded even lower later. What will stop the men from deciding that it’s time to strip all rights from women. With the way that women are already being treated, I’d say that it would only take one large event to set that kind of societal transformation in motion. Hopefully, that won’t happen for a long long
The manipulation of language is one of Gilead’s main tools of control over its citizens. Since Gilead is a theocracy, religion permeates
... is only alive in her dreams, she aches for her and fears that her child will not remember or even she is dead. Atwood writes about motherhood, and the irony lies in the fact that Offred did not have an ideal relationship with her mother even though Gilead’s system was not established, yet Offred who is separated for her daughter shows affection towards her child by constantly thinking and dreaming about her. Even though Offred felt pressured from her mother, she still misses her, ‘I want her back’ and she even reminisces about when she used to visit her and Luke.