19th Century short stories - womens rights
English Coursework "As figures in literature, the women portrayed in these stories are either worshipped of they are victims; they are rarely just allowed to be themselves". Women of the nineteenth century were generally regarded as being inferior to men and were treated with little respect. At the beginning of the century, women enjoyed few of the legal, social or political rights that are now taken for granted in western countries. This meant that they could not vote, could not sue or be sued, could not testify in court, were rarely granted legal custody of their children in cases of divorce, were barred from institutions of higher education and had extremely limited control over personal property after marriage. Women were expected to remain subservient to their fathers and husbands. Their occupational choices were also extremely limited. Middle and upper class women generally remained at home, caring for their children and running the household while lower-class women often were domestic servants or labourers. Many women had to fight the battle of conforming to society's views against their own freedom and independence, an idea which "The Yellow Wallpaper", "The Woman's Rose" and "26 Men and a Girl" discuss and explore. Therefore women often could not be themselves. "The Yellow Wallpaper" shows the narrator's struggle to deal with both mental and physical confinement.
Consider the way in which Atwood presents Professor Piexto's speech in the Historical Notes. What is its significance in relation to the novel as a whole?
Consider the way in which Atwood presents Professor Piexto's speech in the Historical Notes. What is its significance in relation to the novel as a whole? Ben Douglass 12MRA The Historical Notes are important in the way we perceive the novel as they answer many important questions raised by the novel and also enhance some of the novels main themes. The first question it answers is the one raised at the end of the novel; that is whether Offred is stepping up into the,'darkness,' or the, 'light.' The reader finds out that Offred escaped Gilead, presumably into Canada, with the help of the,'Underground Femaleroad.' The reader also learns that it was Nick who orchestrated her escape, using his position as a member of the Eyes. This is important to the novel as it means that the novel can feasibly be a transcript of her story, a story she could not have told if she was dead. It is also important in a much more simple sense, that it satisfies the readers curiosity over what happens to the main character and brings the novel to a more satisfactory close. Over the course of the novel the reader has built up a close relationship with Offred through her telling her story completely in the first person. This has the effect of making the reader feel a close connection with Offred, and care what happens to her. The Historical Notes also place the novel in its historical context. The
Examine the significance Religion plays in Gileadian society.
Examine the significance Religion plays in Gileadian society. Religion plays a huge role in Gilead. It creates hope, faith, despair and loss. Religion is significant to many of the events, which take place in Gilead, and justifies nearly all Gilead's actions. However Religion also helps Offred to cope with her position and status. Many ceremonies take place within Gilead to carry out important rituals. Gilead uses the bible to justify behaviours in Gileadian society. These justifications take place in rituals like birth ceremonies, impregnation ceremonies and salvaging ceremonies. The commander reads from the bible before the impregnation ceremony, this gives him a sense of power and foreboding as he is justifying his own actions as well as Gileadian's reforms. The commander reads 'Be fruitful and multiply' this suggests that women were made souly to reproduce as 'fruitful' has connotations of fertility. This gives justification to the role the handmaids lead as if they should be proud to be carrying out such an important function. This also pre-empts the handmaid into becoming pregnant as it creates a great deal of pressure on them and is there as a reminder on what they are there for. This highlights the literal reasons for sexual intercourse and religion takes away love and emotion and replaces it with simple reproduction. The commander also includes in the family
The Handmaid's Tale - What are the main methods of control in the Gileadean regime and how are these portrayed?
Nicola Evans 1st November The Handmaid's Tale What are the main methods of control in the Gileadean regime and how are these portrayed? The Handmaid's Tale written by Margaret Atwood is a dystopian science fiction novel. Novels of this genre present imagined worlds and societies that are not ideals, but are instead terrifying or restrictive. The Novel is set in the late twentieth century in the Republic of Gilead, a totalitarian and theocratic state that has replaced the United States of America. Extreme changes have been made by the government to the modern Western society as we know it now. Society has transformed into patriarchal ideology and women's freedom has become completely restricted. Due to high infertility rates in Gilead Handmaid's have been assigned to couples who have trouble conceiving and now must live by a strict religious military regime and worship puritan beliefs. The government decided to make these changes because they did not agree with how society was operating before. They believed the environment was becoming neglected and after the sexual revolution in the 1960's and 1970's there was a moral decline. Marriage was becoming more and more uncommon and women were becoming more independent and powerful also their image became sexier, with mini skirts and
The Handmaid's Tale - Read back over the opening six chapters - Write about how these chapters represent aspects of Offred's world and introduces Gilead to the reader.
AS English Literature Assignment 1. The Handmaid's Tale Read back over the opening six chapters. Write about how these chapters represent aspects of Offred's world and introduces Gilead to the reader. The opening line of the novel begins: 'We slept in what had once been the gymnasium'. People generally find themselves sleeping in gymnasiums only in emergencies, after disasters, but this 'had once' been a gymnasium implies that it was converted to its present use a long time ago. Some major changes have taken place and as we read on we realize these changes have not been made for the good. There is a huge contrast as to the purpose and function of what this gymnasium would have been used for previously and what it is used for now. A gymnasium is a place of activity, energy and sweat. The irony here is that the people occupying the gymnasium now have been forced into extreme inactivity to the point where their every movement is scrutinized. From the very first chapter we are able to make out from what the narrator reveals that the women are highly oppressed with their every move being dictated: '...we weren't allowed out, except for our walks, twice a day, two by two around the football field which was enclosed now by a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire'. Their lives are mundane and monotonous and the freedom of choice bares no existence. The fencing and
'Discuss Atwood's presentation of Gilead in the first seventy-six pages of the novel'.
English Literature The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood 'Discuss Atwood's presentation of Gilead in the first seventy-six pages of the novel' The anti-utopian novel, 'The Handmaid's Tale' tells the futuristic story of Offred, a Handmaid of the oppressive Gileadean regime, a society governed by an elite and characterised by distorted language that refers to Biblical writings. The novel is set around the near-future repressive society of Gilead at war, blocking any form of external influence and using propaganda to further its ideas as a society, ruling by force and restricting individual freedom. The Gileadean regime regards the Church to be of the highest authority, Puritanism being the religious influence. Repressed within this patriarchal society, Offred's only duty as a Handmaid is to reproduce for the Republic of Gilead. The dystopian Republic of Gilead is introduced methodically in the opening chapters of the book. Offred provides the reader with small insights to Gilead's establishment and teachings, through the techniques of flashbacks and references to daily life under the regime. The reader's initial impressions of the society, within which Offred is living, are intentionally built up progressively as Atwood provides limited material about Gilead. Atwood deliberately allows the Gileadean regime to be introduced slowly but effectively, provoking the reader to
What is the Significance of the Birth Sequence in the Middle of the Novel?
What is the Significance of the Birth Sequence in the Middle of the Novel? The birth sequence highlights many of the important aspects and themes of the story. The fact that it is situated in the centre of the novel emphasises how the entire tale revolves around the themes of reproduction and conception which is why it is important that this sequence plays a key role in the novel. Putting it in this place enables the reader to 'get into' the story which will add more weight to this key issue. In the lead up to this sequence Offred is eating an egg which is symbolic of fertility; the fact that conception is difficult is accentuated by the underlying metaphors which stress the despondency Offred feels about her situation, "If I had an egg what more could I want?". The harshness in the description of her eating the egg adds to the sense that becoming pregnant is difficult and the process unpleasant. When the "Birthmobile" arrives Offred's excitement is emphasised by the shortening of the phrases and the way the sentences are divided by commas which adds pace to the passage. The phrase "On this day we can do anything we want" immediately followed by "I revise that: within limits" sums up the event where there is a definite break in regime nevertheless there are still an element of rigidity and strict rules to be adhered to. However Offred's failure to instantly notice
The theme of entrapment in Margaret Laurence's A Bird in the House.
A Bird in the House The theme of entrapment is evident in Margaret Laurence's A Bird in the House; all the characters in the novel are entrapped. These characters deal with the sense of confinement and the need for escape. Vanessa, Ewen and Aunt Edna all reach personal freedom, however only to a small extent because they are left with the pain of their memories and regrets. Vanessa reaches personal freedom to a small extent. The stories in A Bird in the House show the pains that Vanessa goes through while growing up. Vanessa travels on a journey form ignorance to knowledge. This journey is her comprehension of why things happen, and how the past, present and future are tied together. Vanessa realizes that the past affects the present which affects the future. While growing up Vanessa is faced with having to live with the dominance of Grandfather Conner. Grandfather Conner represents a dominant patriarchal figure that rules the family. He always had a strong control over the people that lived with him. He was a perfectionist and was very proud of what he had accomplished and at no cost would he let his reputation be scarred. After her fathers death Vanessa moved into the Brick House with Grandfather Conner, this is when she noticed the trapped conditions that aunt Edna was living in and her mother was going to have to live in again. Vanessa always tried to free
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood Assignment 2 Chapter 16, the ceremony is structured to represent the nature of the Ceremony. It is a short chapter of the novel, it symbolises the short duration of the actual Ceremony and the functional nature between the three characters, Offred, Serena and the Commander. Atwood uses the ceremony to violate both female constructs, Serena and Offred. Atwood, throughout the text shows the bitterness between both the women, "She doesn't speak to me, unless she can't avoid it" and then "There is loathing in her voice". This is caused by the regime's strict rules on the women's role. Both characters don't want what they have and so, are jealous of each other. "Get up and get out." This shows the lack of compassion Serena holds for Offred. This is what the hierarchy created by the regime intended to do. It builds walls between the women, segregating them so to ensure that there isn't a feminist uprisal. The hierarchy causes jealously among the women on the different levels, which then leads to hatred, "...spits on the side-walk. The Econowives do not like us". Again this prevents the unity of women and a rebellion against the regime even though most of the women are unhappy. This hatred sometimes takes a physical form. During the ceremony Atwood makes Serena hurt Offred, "The rings of her left hand cut into my fingers." The
How successful is The Handmaid's Taleas a piece of science fiction?
English Literature Beth Jackson How successful is The Handmaid's Tale as a piece of science fiction? The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood like many other science fiction novels draws on many problems in today's society and elaborates on them, showing what could happen in the future if we do not recognise these problems. It is predominately a novel of prophecy and warning. The novel portrays a grim future when the United States no longer exists. A highly organised group of right wing religious conservatives succeeds in setting off a revolution. They create a new society known as Gilead where women are stripped of all the freedoms that the feminist movement secured for them. The new Gilead society forces previously independent women to live by Old Testament values. The novel is set in American in the not too distant future, Atwood describes events in the past which have actually happened such as the Women's liberation movement of the 1960's and 70's which makes the novel sound truthful and believable. Although the events in the novel are far fetched nothing is so far fetched that it couldn't happen. Long and detailed descriptions of the past and how the new society began give credence to the novels credibility. Like Aldous Huxleys 'Brave New World' of 1932 and George Orwell's 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' the novel uses the idea of dystopian society. The style of the novel,