Joyce Carol Oates, New York Review of books , Volume 53, Number 17 November 2, 2006 Discuss this interpretation of The Handmaids Tale considering the structure and intention of the novel.

Essay of: Y12 Andy Pasricha Due Date: 24th February, 2011
Subject: Y12 SL English Teacher: Ms. Susan Richey
The appendix makes of the novel an astute, provocative social commentary, where its
absence would have made the novel an abiding work of art ending with Offred's
hopeful voice ("And so I step up, into the darkness within; or else the light").
Joyce Carol Oates, New York Review of books , Volume 53, Number 17 ·
Discuss this interpretation of “The Handmaid’s Tale”
considering the structure and intention of the novel.
Word Count: 1498
“’The Handmaids Tale’ by Margaret Atwood is a narrative that challenges the absolute authority of Gilead, highlighting the significance of storytelling as an act of resistance against oppression, thereby making a particular kind of individual political statement.” (7) The narrative provides an insight of barbarical chauvinism in an injustice system of oppression towards women. It shows great understanding of conveying human experience and social justice through the art of literature. The story foretells of how women in the Republic of Gilead have been somewhat imprisoned and controlled by authority and power. There is no such space of freedom in this country for women. The first person narration communicates significant emotion towards the law and the lives lived by these beleaguered women. This emphasizes on the readers reaction and understanding the author’s intention more vividly. Highlighted themes, such as “control” and “oppression” (5), create a perception of a ‘complex narrative of human struggles’ (6). However without any historical context relevant this would simply be a story of entertainment and nothing more. Given the historical circumstances that occurred causing the formation of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, we can see the depths of which Atwood creates to emphasize aspects of colonization. For instance the historical notes suggest that Offred’s story takes place in Maine (pg. 374). “Atwood chose Massachusetts as the setting to signify the similarities between the society of Gilead and the Puritans that settled in the colonial period. The Puritans, like the Gileadians, were Christian fundamentalist who believed in control, obedience, and punishment” (4). The historical notes in the appendix create different perspectives of contradiction. Atwood invents a character, Professor Pieixoto, who believes that history is all about verification, facts, data, and not figures. However, Atwood’s perspective contradicts her own invention and suggests that history is all about the figures in order to understand the past. Piexoto’s single-mindedness disallows him from perceiving Atwood’s perspective, ignoring human emotions involved and only seeks the facts. Pieixoto, who approaches The Handmaid's Tale as a historical document, is almost exclusively concerned with verification; whereas most readers, who perceive The Handmaid's Tale as a fictional novel, are not considered with verification, but instead are interested in Offred's character and the emotional impact of reading the story. Offred's statement, "after all you've been through, you deserve whatever I have left, which is not much but includes the truth" (pg. 334), admits that not Offred’s entire story is fact. However, she contends that it does impart the truth because of the understanding that readers can gain from "all they've been through". By acknowledging "all the reader has been through," the quotation highlights the idea that there is an emotional connection between the protagonist and the reader. Atwood argues that an "emotional" reading actually results in a clearer understanding than a purely objective reading by contrasting the readers' understanding of Offred's story with Pieixoto's misinterpretations.” (3)
