The Handmaid's Tale By Margaret Atwood: What Would Offred Do?

Cora H.
English III Honors
4 April 2013
WWOD: What Would Offred Do?
How far would someone go to protect their rights? What is considered passive behavior during the fall of the free world? Would someone risk their life to defend freedom? Margaret Atwood raises these questions and many more in her novel The Handmaid’s Tale. She uses the character Offred to demonstrate passive behavior and acceptance of a totalitarian regime after the fall of the United States. In the new Republic of Gilead, Offred is a Handmaid, a surrogate for the government’s elite. Before Gilead, Offred was married with a daughter, her mother and best friend were both feminists and she had a decent job. Offred is a controversial character because Atwood makes it unclear
Weiss later writes that: “Offred participates fully in Gilead’s violent rituals: Particicutions, Salvagings, and so on… [Offred’s] process of narrating is not a form of subversion, but of escape” (17). Through Offred’s refusal to fight for her rights, she indirectly accepts the regime. If Offred truly wants to make a difference, she would disregard consequences and fight against the regime. Her form of narration affirms that she has a guilty conscience; she knows that what she participates in is completely wrong. She attempts to separate herself from the horrendous regime, but instead she only conforms to it. Offred first realizes her complacency when she sees the Commander in her room: “Was he invading? Was he in my room? I called it mine” (49). Offred is initially shocked by her acceptance of something that is not even her’s; the room is really for whoever is the handmaid at the time. Nevertheless, her statement still suggests that she is accepting her position. Her acceptance of the room also moves her farther away from the mentality that she will never conform to society. She does not let anyone know about the incident, but she has given in mentally. However, Offred is able to hold out on completely giving up until her affair with the commander is discovered: “Everything they taught at the Red Center, everything I’ve resisted, comes flooding in. I don’t
She may have very little control over some aspects of the creation of Gilead, but she ignores signs and changes which signaled the beginning of the totalitarian regime. Offred refuses to fight for her rights like her mother; therefore, she condemns her daughter to a life with very little freedom. She also accepts her circumstances and, in the end, will do anything to live another day. Offred completely contributes to the demise of free society through her actions, or lack thereof. Margaret Atwood uses Offred as an example of the results of apathy. She does not want us to make the same mistakes as Offred and then live in a world with no freedom. Atwood wants us to be aware of proposed laws or legislation that could limit the rights of both men and women. She challenges us to always stand up for our rights and never take them for granted. Atwood wants people to know that they can make a difference, even if the penalty is death. Freedom is worth