Discussion of Womens Culture In "A Handmaids Tale".

"You wanted a woman's culture. Well, now there is one. It isn't what you meant but it exists. Be thankful for small miracles." Discuss the idea of a woman's culture in the novel so far - contrast between idea and reality. In 'A Handmaid's Tale' Margaret Atwood presents the idea of a society that has undergone extreme changes in a short period of time. The role of the woman has definitely shifted, but the efforts of the woman of a time before had completely different motives. The idea of the people that we assume are feminists in the time before the regime, such as Offred's mother for instance, was to have a world where women were valued as equally as men. Now in Gilead woman are valued but simply as a requirement, like an essential ingredient. They are needed for making babies, and are granted basic human needs, but they are not respected for what they do, in fact quite the opposite. The people, such as the commander's wives, despise the handmaid's as they feel they are burdens yet they still put up with them because they need them in order to have a child. The idea that the handmaids are granted the basic human needs yet are denied needs on a moral level is another important issue. They are fed regularly, but bland and unoriginal foods that they do not choose themselves. They are also given practically empty rooms with no way of attempting to kill themselves which is a

  • Word count: 840
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Using the Lord's prayer as a starting point, discuss the use of religion in 'A Handmaid's Tale.'

Using the Lord's prayer as a starting point, discuss the use of religion in 'A Handmaid's Tale.' In 'A Handmaid's Tale' religion is a major theme, probably the most dominant. There are many references to religion, although most are not explicit. Religion is simply a constant undertone which manifests a greater depth to the novel. Firstly, the location is biblical. Gilead was a restorative mountainous region in ancient Palestine that is referred to in the Old Testament. 'Balm in Gilead,' it is the image of an embattled state. It was a place for reconditioning your spirits (Myrrh), and it was renamed [to Gilead] when the regime started. Even things like the shops in town have a biblical link. 'Lilies of the Field' for instance is a reference to the beautiful flowers spoken of in the Old Testament. 'Milk and Honey' refers to the promised land. 'Eyes', who are fundamentally spies placed in order to catch offenders of the regime, is a proverb also from the Old Testament. Even the protocol greeting, "Blessed be the fruit" is a biblical reference, (Luke's gospel 1:42.) In the first chapter we are introduced almost immediately to religion. The Angels that govern the Red Centre are, in theory, educating the handmaid's by the words of God. This is ironic as angels are normally associated with protection, not incarceration with is effectively what is being done to the young women who

  • Word count: 918
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Looking at the first twelve chapters of The Handmaid(TM)s Tale, how qualified do you feel Offred is to be the heroine of the tale?

Looking at the first twelve chapters of The Handmaid's Tale, how qualified do you feel Offred is to be the heroine of the tale? The definition of a hero has failed to ever be determined, and as such is purely ambiguous. As well as this, the application of the term 'hero' is relative to the context in which it is used, and by whom. For example, The Talmud defines a hero as 'one who conquers his urges', which is the precise goal of the dystopian oligarchy within Gilead, portrayed in The Handmaid's Tale. Conversely, Simon Weil said that 'to be a hero or heroine, one must give an order to oneself.' This is more in keeping with the traditional view of a hero as an individual, and is an idea that Offred feels will maintain her identity. This is shown by her desire to systematically search her room in sections: 'I divided the rooms into sections, in my head; I allowed myself one section a day.' However, this may serve to actually weaken Offred's position as heroine of the novel, as her actions pale in comparison to the dramatic and bold conduct of Moira when she escapes from the Red Center. From a purely physical and measurable perspective, the reader is tempted to classify Moira as the novel's heroine. Within the setting of the novel, however, the heroine would be considered to be Janine: 'she's a flag on a hilltop, showing us what can still be done: we too can be saved'. However,

  • Word count: 1471
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Analysis of an extract from the Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood

A Sister, Dipped in Blood English SL: Extract from The Handmaid's Tale The science fictions novel of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale portrays how the Republic of Gilead, a totalitarian state, oppressively rules its people because of the dangerously low birth rate. In the perspective of a Handmaid named Offred, Offred's role in society, bearing children for elite couples, is disagreeable and insignificant to her and only abides with the government to save her neck. The author's style of writing conveys vivid images to the mind of the readers and thus, aids in the understanding of the whole situation as the story progresses. In the extract from page two of chapter two, a manifold of literary elements is used to effectively introduce the main themes and issues of the novel. The use of metaphors and similes, many adjectives and punctuations, references to the Bible, and how the passage is structured as a whole are all key factors to consider in order to comprehend even the vague, but equally significant, connotative definitions of the words the author has specifically chosen to use in this extract. This extract teaches the readers about the narrator's lifestyle from the very first paragraph. The biblical reference to "nunnery" announces metaphorically that "time here is measured by bells, as once in nunneries" and that "as in nunnery, there are few mirrors." The negative

  • Word count: 1112
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Unveiling Gileads Hierarchy: The Power of Aunts in The Handmaids Tale

Unveiling Gilead's Hierarchy: The Power of Aunts in The Handmaid's Tale Julie Lee Ms. Fowler ENG 3UE-C 16 May 2011 Throughout the history of society, women have often unexpectedly trumped men in authoritative situations. The women - rather than the men - become dominators who impose force through infiltration of the female group in a patriarchal society. In Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, the Aunts sit at the peak of the twisted hierarchy that Gilead is founded upon; and take advantage of political instability to instill Gileadan ideology in the moldable minds of the new handmaids. Although the Commanders initially appear to hold the ultimate authority in the Republic, it is instead the Aunts who possess the most power through saccharine, artificially maternal teachings - allowing them to manipulate the handmaids' emotions and memories to destroy any potential for solidarity. The handmaids are part of "a transitional generation" (Atwood, 146): the first wave of women to be converted into handmaids. As such, the Aunts feel a particular need to reiterate the Gileadan doctrine so that the handmaids will be complacent followers. They exploit the handmaids' confusion and the chaos following the Congress assassination. Offred speculates that the handmaids "were on some kind of pill or drug ... to keep [them] calm" (Ibid, 87). The Aunts, while powerful, are still afraid

  • Word count: 932
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Analysis on Siren Song

Mike Kimlat Analysis on Siren Song Both prose and poetry are often times appreciated and regarded for their form and content. Readers of poetry seek a good plot, a wise moral, and/or a visually and audibly appealing form expressed through such literary techniques as metaphors, similes, rhymes, and meters. Margaret Atwood, however, omits these conventional techniques. In her poem, "Siren Song," Atwood chooses not to exploit a multitude of widely-used literary tools to capture her audience; instead, the author uses a psychological approach to lure the reader. Notorious poets and playwrights entice their readers by exploiting techniques such as meter or rhyme schemes. These techniques aid the writer in conveying his or her message or telling a story. John Keats, for example, uses a rhyme scheme and iambic pentameter in his poem, "Ode on the Grecian Urn." Rhymes tend to appeal to readers because they are memorable. William Shakespeare, like Keats, uses iambic pentameter and enforces a specific type of form in his sonnets and plays: Shakespeare uses 14 lines divided into two clear parts, an opening octet (8 lines) and a closing sestet (6 lines) with a fixed rhyme scheme. Conversely, Atwood avoids many of these tools and minimizes her use of literary techniques. She splits her stanzas into 3 lines each, creating a sense of balance. Atwood also omits similes, metaphors and

  • Word count: 889
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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How do we get a sense of Dystopia from the opening chapters of the novel ' The Handmaid's Tale'

How do we get a sense of Dystopia from the opening chapters of the novel 'The Handmaid's Tale' In this essay I am going to look at how readers get a sense of Dystopia from the first opening chapters of the novel 'The Handmaid's Tale' by Margaret Atwood. We are thrown right into it and we readers are forced to think what is happening. Right at the start of Chapter one Atwood starts the novel with an interesting use of syntax; she uses a very short sentence which makes us think. 'We slept in what had once been the gymnasium'. This is a very powerful opening sentence and gives us a sense of Dystopia right from the word go because it makes us think why are they sleeping in the gymnasium. Also her use of the word 'once' is an interesting lexical choice because by saying once it shows that this is no longer the case, it makes us think what has happened to the gymnasium. Throughout this paragraph Atwood shows us that time has passed and things have changed, for example when our narrator tells us that games were 'formerly played there'. Also 'the nets were gone', from the basketball nets which again gives us the impression time has passed and things have changed. Also our narrator tells us how time has passed further by describing the people that had once been there, 'later in mini-skirts, then in pants, then in one earring, spiky green-streaked hair'. This creates an interesting

  • Word count: 1917
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Having read the feminist text write about The Handmaids Tale in regards of this.

Having read the feminist text write about ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ in regards of this. Margaret Atwood having wrote ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, a novel about a society in which all women rights have been removed would have come across as extremely startling to a world where the women’s suffrage movement in America had started over 100 years earlier and women had finally been given the right to vote 25 years beforehand which had essentially been the point where the feminist movement had become widely acknowledged with the literacy studies on feminism such as that of Kate Millett’s. Margaret Atwood’s thoughts on her novel ‘a book about what happens when certain causally held attitudes about women are taken to their logical conclusions’, explores the feminist theory by creating a society in the near future in which the rights of women, which women all over the world had worked hard for, for centuries are taken away giving women a new role in life. The protagonist Offred lives in a time where a revolution had happened years previously which put into authority authoritarian power. The new government see the Handmaid’s as an instrument of the government as they are the only women who can reproduce due to the dangerously low reproduction rates as a result of nuclear results which led 99% of women to be sterile. ‘Distribution of power over the male and female

  • Word count: 1406
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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The Handmaid's Tale - commentary on an extract "The Ceremony goes as usual."

English The beginning of the extract immediately catches the eye, as the first paragraph is only composed of one short sentence; "The Ceremony goes as usual." therefore emphasising it and creating a pause. This makes the reader doubt about it's signification even though it's a simple phrase, it's a declarative sentence forming a statement . The word "Ceremony" refers to a formal act such as a wedding, the fact that the author capitalised it re-enforces it's importance and consequently the impression of a positive and joyful occasion . However the end of the sentence "goes as usual" instals a dull feeling to the phrase, giving the "Ceremony" a sense of routine, fading away the idea of a happy moment and suggesting that it's unavoidable. The writer makes the reader unprepared for the description to follow, thereby creating a greater feeling of shock. Indeed, the opening of the second paragraph makes the reader feel embarrassment and shame towards the narrator."Fully clothed except for the healthy white cotton under drawers". She is lying on a bed, fully clothed except for her privates uncovered. As the description continues, the author uses the subjunctive "if I were to open my eyes" which expresses a wish, a possibility, a state of unreality. This allows the narrator to imagine the "white" carpet representing purity,

  • Word count: 837
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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How does the context of real life issues link to and affect 'The Handmaid's Tale'?

James Clyburn How does the context of real life issues link to and affect The Handmaid’s Tale? Wrote by Attwood in the mid-1980s and published in 1986, The Handmaid’s Tale falls within the twentieth century convention of ‘dystopic’ novels, drawing influence from the likes of Orwell’s 1984 and Huxley’s Brave New World. The ‘dystopic’ genre typically presents fictional words based on or set in real-life environments, with suppressive and frightening societal ideals. One of the main themes laced throughout Attwood’s novel is a feminist vision of anti-utopia, or dystopia. Written shortly after the election of Ronald Reagan in the United States and Margaret Thatcher in Great Britain, The Handmaid’s Tale is temporally embedded in a period in which revival of conservative attitudes were apparent, and one increasingly influenced by an organised movement of religious conservative who criticized attitudes towards sex in the 1960s and 1970s. Those groups deemed these general attitudes “excessive”, and believed strongly against what they called the “sexual revolution”. This negative outlook sparked amplified fear among feminists that the advances women had made in recent decades would be negated. Attwood’s novel strongly reflects this by exploring what consequences such negations of women’s rights would have on society. In Gilead, a group of

  • Word count: 450
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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