Feminist Ideas in Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale
For this essay, we focused strictly on critics' reactions to Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. For the most part, we found two separate opinions about The Handmaid's Tale, concerning feminism. One opinion is that it is a feminist novel, and the opposing opinion that it is not. Feminism: A doctrine advocating social, political, and economic rights for women equal to those of men as recorded in Webster's Dictionary. This topic is prevalent in the novel The Handmaid's Tale. Margaret Atwood, a Canadian writer, spends most of her time featuring women in her books, novels, and poetry that examine their relationships in society. In the book Atwood centers her novel on a girl whom happens to be one of the handmaids. These handmaids are essentially women used for the birthing of babies. According to Atwood in one of her many interviews, "women were intrinsically good and men bad; to divide along allegiance lines--that is, women who wore high heels and makeup were instantly suspect, those in overalls were acceptable"(Problems of). These ideas were and have been created by our social and political system and could not be fixed until such systems have been reformed. The feminist ideas that are expressed in this novel are necessary. Besides, these women do exist not only in the novel but women like this exist in real life. The women are treated as property instead of human beings. The one and only purpose in their lives is to have children. The dystopic novel that she created isolated certain social trends and exaggerated them to make clear their most negative qualities. Pornography is a huge factor in The Handmaid's Tale. It is apparent in chapter twenty where Offred describes...
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... up ways of escaping out of the situation, either by fleeing or death, but is too chicken to try them. A feminist, like Moira, tried and tried to escape until they just about beat her down. Offred was a disgrace to the female sex, in that she never took it upon herself to better her situation, or to be rid of it for good. These examples are the reason critics tend to see the anti-feminism side of The Handmaid's Tale.
Works Cited
Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale. Anchor Books: New York, New York, 1985.
Atwood, Margaret. "Spotty-Handed Villainesses." Problems of Female Bad Behavior in the Creation of Literature, 1994, http://www.web.net/owtoad/vlness.htm.
Works Consulted
Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale. Anchor Books: New York, New York, 1985.
Tomc, Sandra. "The Missionary Position." Canadian Literature Fall/Winter 1993: 73- 84.
In the United States, homelessness has remained a constant presence in all major cities. For example, in New York City, it is comprised of alcoholics, drug addicts, and other people (“American History”). It has largely moved into hidden places such as unused subway tunnels or under bridges. Whether or not we experience it ourselves, homelessness impacts all of us. Homelessness describes all normal life crisis. There is a difference between people who experience these challenges and become homeless and people who face them and do not use the support systems that they have in place.
The Handmaid's Tale has been described as a scathing satire and a dire warning! Which elements of our own society is Margaret atwood satirising and how does her satire work ?
Homelessness is primarily a poverty issue. The persistence of poverty in the United States reflects more than just an aggregation of individual failings. Structural factors, such as the way we understand and define poverty, the inherent features of our economic system that produce income inequality, social inequities and our policy responses to these problems shape current trends. Economic changes have had the strongest association with trends in overall rates, regardless of how poverty is measured. Poverty rate is high amongst minority groups, children and female-headed households (Iceland, 2003). According to professor Iceland’s research, rates of extreme poverty are higher among children and African-Americans and lower for whites, Asians and the elderly. Among families with children, married couples were less likely to be poor (6.9 %) than single parent male (17.5%) and single parent female (35.3%).
Here in Tahoe, we are lucky enough to experience a great quality of life, and only a few have to face the horrible life of poverty and homelessness. However, nationwide, even right outside the basin, homelessness is a growing epidemic across the country. There are many ways one can become homeless; for the most part poverty. There are also different concentrations of homeless in different types of terrain, such as urban or suburban areas. Last, there is the ever- growing homeless population, and how much money it costs us for others to live in poverty. These are the questions we ask ourselves about homelessness, and the only way we can help is to know the facts about this lingering subject.
Dystopian novels are a dime a dozen and the majority of them focus on the overuse of technology causing the demise of humanity. However, with The Handmaids Tale, written in 1986, Margaret Atwood uses her dystopian novel as a warning against patriarchal societies. Atwood’s novel portrays a world undone by pollution and infertility, reflecting 1980s fears about declining birthrates, environmental degradation and nuclear war during the Cold War. The novel was written shortly after the elections of Ronald Reagan in the United States and Margaret Thatcher in Great Britain, during a period of conservative revival that was partly fueled by a strong, well-organized movement of powerful religious conservatives who criticized what they perceived as the remnants of the “sexual revolution” of the 1960s and 1970s. The growing power of this “religious right” heightened feminist fears that the gains women had made in the previous few decades would be reversed ("Historical Context"). In The Handmaids Tale, Atwood portrays two distinct social classes through her choice of diction and uses her novel as an allegory for the treatment and perception of modern day women by conservative men.
Florida is home to the world's most famous park - Disneyworld. This magical world of Mickey located in Orlando continues to attract the most visitors than any other amusement park in the country. Inside you can amuse yourself and the family with 4 theme parks which consist of Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios and the Animal Kingdom. A treat to these parks is the ultimate answer to every child's dream.
In the book, The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood writes about an alternate universe about America that illustrates our worst fears. Some of the fears depicted in the book can be seen in the world today, such as the distaste for abortion and the mentality that men are supposed to have more power than women. These issues are not only known as social issues but also feminist issues. Feminism is the belief that women and men should be treated equally socially, politically, and economically. This book shows how these issues could get worse in our society. The author uses Offred, the protagonist in the story, to show how the world could change for the worst. Offred, a handmaid in The Handmaid 's Tale, showed how men and society had control over
Hambrick, Ralph S., and Gary T. Johnson. "The future of homelessness."Society 35.6 (1998): 28-37. Web
Adefemi replied that disallowance is only for a portion of the cost charged to Preschool program.
Romeo, Jim. "Homelessness in America Is a Growing Problem." Poverty and Homelessness. Ed. Noël Merino. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Current Controversies. Rpt. from "A Roof of One's Own: Homelessness Is Growing, but Solutions Are Out There." Planning 71.11 (Dec. 2005): 12-16. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.
Homelessness can happen to anyone unexpectedly. Many poor people are at the risk of homelessness. The cost of living and trying to find affordable housing can be very difficult. Many who are homeless are in poverty, have a mental illness, or addictions. Homelessness happens from personal, as well as structural factors. Many aren’t able to make enough for rent, as well as, utilities, food, and other expenses each month. More than 6 million Americans pay more than half of their income towards rent (Reamer, 1989). The trend is once someone becomes homeless, it is likely they will be homeless repeatedly. To end homelessness, affordable housing will have to be created because it is peoples largest single expenditure (Anderson, 2013).
Feminism as we know it began in the mid 1960's as the Women's Liberation Movement. Among its chief tenants is the idea of women's empowerment, the idea that women are capable of doing and should be allowed to do anything men can do. Feminists believe that neither sex is naturally superior. They stand behind the idea that women are inherently just as strong and intelligent as the so-called stronger sex. Many writers have taken up the cause of feminism in their work. One of the most well known writers to deal with feminist themes is Margaret Atwood. Her work is clearly influenced by the movement and many literary critics, as well as Atwood herself, have identified her as a feminist writer. However, one of Atwood's most successful books, The Handmaid's Tale, stands in stark contrast to the ideas of feminism. In fact, the female characters in the novel are portrayed in such a way that they directly conflict with the idea of women's empowerment.
Pratt, Joseph A. “Exxon and the Control of Oil.” Journal of American History. 99.1 (2012): 145-154. Academic search elite. Web. 26. Jan. 2014.
With more needs for nature experience and sustainable development in urban areas, increasing importance has been attached to urban open spaces since they play a crucial role to support the ecology system and form a natural network in the cities (Chiesura, 2004; Tzoulas et al., 2007). Urban open spaces include plazas, parks, campus, greenways and other green spaces. They serve as islands of nature, enriching urban landscapes, adjusting the microclimate, promoting biodiversity and providing habitats for other species (Chiesura, 2004; Do, Kim, Kim, & Joo, 2014; Morimoto, 2011). Apart from these benefits, they also show a great impact on urban dwellers’ health, since open spaces offer places for outdoor activities and opportunities for contact with nature (Chiesura, 2004). Tyrväinen et al. (2014) indicated that even short-term visits to urban green spaces have positive psychological and physiological effects on perceived stress relief. People were attracted to urban open spaces for physical activities, social interactions, and a relief from daily life, which benefit their mental and physical health (Thwaites, Helleur, & Simkins, 2005). A large epidemiological study in Britain looked at mortality and morbidity among three income levels in relation to urban residents’ access to green open space (Mitchell & Popham,
This great nation of awesome power and abundant resources is losing the battle against homelessness. The casualties can be seen on the street corners of every city in American holding an ?I will work for food? sign. Homeless shelters and rescue missions are at full capacity. There is no room at the inn for the nation?s indigent. Anyone who has studied this issue understands that homelessness is a complex problem. Communities continue to struggle with this socio-economic problem while attempting to understand its causes and implement solutions. The public and private sectors of this country are making a difference in the lives of the homeless by addressing the issues of housing, poverty and education.