Torture and fear in the handmaids tale
Torture and fear in the handmaid’s tale.
torture noun 1. 1. the action or practice of inflicting severe pain on someone as a punishment or to force them to do or say something, or for the pleasure of the person inflicting the pain.
The handmaids tale is a novel by Margaret Atwood, It describes the life of a woman who is documenting her life as it goes on, As the book progresses we are able to see the amount of torture (physical and mental) that the woman of Gilead receive. Offred and other women in Gilead are well aware of Gilead’s rules and Offred acknowledges the punishments and the torture she will endure if she does not obey. Throughout the novel we can begin to see Offred disobey the rules and begin fighting the totalitarian regime. Gilead’s rules are enforced by ‘god’ which makes adds guilt to whoever breaks them as you are technically disobeying god. People are very likely to do things when religion is involved and Gilead uses that to its advantage especially when they add the fear and punishment of death.
Serena joy, the wife of the commander was a strong advocate for submissive female roles before the war and before the formation of Gilead. The creation of Gilead has lead Serena Joy to become a housewife. Before the Formation of Gilead, Serena joy used to be a preacher, She emphasized how woman should stay home and how they belong at home. After the totalitarian regime began, Serena Joy quickly realized how she preaches where misdirected, As Offred quotes “She doesn’t make speeches anymore; she has become speechless (pg 56) this is a clear demonstration of how Gilead took her words and twisted them to their advantage and to have power over her and other woman, and with power comes fear. Serena joy was once a very powerful woman but due to the fact that she cannot reproduce she has very little purpose in society, which begins to create jealousy over Offred who is fertile. Serena feels very resentful over Offred as she has the chance to
torture noun 1. 1. the action or practice of inflicting severe pain on someone as a punishment or to force them to do or say something, or for the pleasure of the person inflicting the pain.
The handmaids tale is a novel by Margaret Atwood, It describes the life of a woman who is documenting her life as it goes on, As the book progresses we are able to see the amount of torture (physical and mental) that the woman of Gilead receive. Offred and other women in Gilead are well aware of Gilead’s rules and Offred acknowledges the punishments and the torture she will endure if she does not obey. Throughout the novel we can begin to see Offred disobey the rules and begin fighting the totalitarian regime. Gilead’s rules are enforced by ‘god’ which makes adds guilt to whoever breaks them as you are technically disobeying god. People are very likely to do things when religion is involved and Gilead uses that to its advantage especially when they add the fear and punishment of death.
Serena joy, the wife of the commander was a strong advocate for submissive female roles before the war and before the formation of Gilead. The creation of Gilead has lead Serena Joy to become a housewife. Before the Formation of Gilead, Serena joy used to be a preacher, She emphasized how woman should stay home and how they belong at home. After the totalitarian regime began, Serena Joy quickly realized how she preaches where misdirected, As Offred quotes “She doesn’t make speeches anymore; she has become speechless (pg 56) this is a clear demonstration of how Gilead took her words and twisted them to their advantage and to have power over her and other woman, and with power comes fear. Serena joy was once a very powerful woman but due to the fact that she cannot reproduce she has very little purpose in society, which begins to create jealousy over Offred who is fertile. Serena feels very resentful over Offred as she has the chance to