The Handmaid's Tale By Margaret Atwood
"The Handmaid's Tale" written by Margaret Atwood paints a realistic picture of a what a government ruled by a Christian theocracy would look like. In this country, men are the ones with power and women have virtually no rights. In the country of Gilead, there are many possible positions in society that a woman may be assigned. One of the lowest positions in society is the handmaid; their sole purpose is to bear children for their Commander. One such handmaid, is the narrator of the novel, Offred. Prior to Gilead, Offred was an average woman with a family, but she was split from them after the Gileadean government came to power and was forced to become a handmaid. In "Handmaids Tale" by Margaret Atwood, Offred is a somewhat average handmaid
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Passivity is expected in Gilead, and even though Offred's body is passive, her mind is not. This is evident as she often contemplates the whereabouts of her family. For instance, she imagines what may have happened to Luke and even though the scenarios she has thought up are far fetched, "[she believes] in all of them.". Her imagination allows her to create such scenarios in her head; not every woman in Gilead possesses this trait. Moving on, even though being a handmaid is her new reality, she often reminisces the past. For example, "[she thinks] about Laundromats... What [she] put into them: [her] own clothes, [her] own soap..." A great deal of women in Gilead have accepted their fate and most likely no longer think of their past life, yet this is a common occurrence for Offred. Finally, Offred is perceptive and is often able to describe situations in great detail. There are many cases of this throughout the book but during the birth of Janine's child Offred is able to describe the wives, "envy radiates from them, [she] can smell it, faint wisps of acid, mingled with their perfume." The novel is essentially narrated in Offred's head, and is full of plentiful and detailed descriptions. To conclude, Offred's imagination may be an escape from her relatively dull life as a
Passivity is expected in Gilead, and even though Offred's body is passive, her mind is not. This is evident as she often contemplates the whereabouts of her family. For instance, she imagines what may have happened to Luke and even though the scenarios she has thought up are far fetched, "[she believes] in all of them.". Her imagination allows her to create such scenarios in her head; not every woman in Gilead possesses this trait. Moving on, even though being a handmaid is her new reality, she often reminisces the past. For example, "[she thinks] about Laundromats... What [she] put into them: [her] own clothes, [her] own soap..." A great deal of women in Gilead have accepted their fate and most likely no longer think of their past life, yet this is a common occurrence for Offred. Finally, Offred is perceptive and is often able to describe situations in great detail. There are many cases of this throughout the book but during the birth of Janine's child Offred is able to describe the wives, "envy radiates from them, [she] can smell it, faint wisps of acid, mingled with their perfume." The novel is essentially narrated in Offred's head, and is full of plentiful and detailed descriptions. To conclude, Offred's imagination may be an escape from her relatively dull life as a