“The true measure of a texts value lies in its ability to provoke the reader into awareness of its language and construction‚ not just its content”. The value of the Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood‚ lies not only within the author’s purpose but within its construction and the author’s ability to draw readers attention to these concepts through language. Atwood has carefully and decisively used language and structure throughout the novel to enhance our understanding of the purpose and message
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Language in The Handmaid’s Tale For centuries‚ “the pen is mightier than the sword” has been the adage du jour. Words do more damage than swords‚ spreading ideas instead of killing people. One dangerous little idea‚ passed among individuals‚ does more damage than any blade could ever do; few armies can hold out against strong ideas. In the state of Gilead‚ words mean everything‚ and they have the ultimate power. The women in Margaret Atwoods’ dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale have very limited avenues
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The Werewolf Tale Jason Marquez October 31‚ 2012 CBI Sr. English‚ Q1 “The Wife’s Story” is a tale by Ursula K. Le Guin is a very surprising science fiction story that reverses the werewolf idea. A wolf turns into a man and scares the living daylights out of his wolf wife and wolf children. What makes this story interesting is that Le Guin tricks us‚ throughout much of the story‚ into believing that the tale is about humans. Le Guin point was to make the whole story ironic because the reader
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In fairy tales‚ the parents attempt to survive in a harsh reality that requires chance and sacrifice. In both “Rapunzel” and “Hansel and Grethel”‚ the characters are faced with financial difficulties and tough decisions. How are they going to survive? How will they feed their children? How are they going to get by? The fairy tales “Rapunzel” and “Hansel and Grethel” are great examples of the parents living a harsh life in the stories. In the story “Rapunzel” the wife is in a critical condition:
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In the Winter’s Tale‚ Mamillius states that “a sad tale’s best for winter” (2.1.33). William Shakespeare’s ominous beginning immediately arouses the attention of the audience to believe that this play is a tragedy. Unlike many of Shakespeare’s earlier works‚ which consist of more tragedy as the play continues‚ the Winter’s Tale contains a tragic beginning and a happy ending. The play consists of strong elements of both tragedy and comedy; hence‚ making the Winter’s Tale a problem play. Throughout
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Christa Bennett Atwood does a fantastic job of incorporating color symbolism throughout The Handmaid’s Tale. One of the main colors she uses to push her plot forward is the color red. When you think of the color red what do you think of... love‚ rage‚ anger‚ power‚ Communism... maybe blood. In the book The Handmaid’s Tale‚ red is the color of the handmaids. The Handmaids always wear long red habits if you will; that covers their whole body. “The skirt is ankle-length‚ full‚ gathered to a flat
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The Good and Bad in the Canterbury Tales In Geoffrey Chaucer’s poem‚ Canterbury Tale‚ life in fourteenth-century England is realistically and satirically exposed. Through the Knight‚ Parson‚ and Summoner‚ Chaucer portrays the good and bad people in fourteenth-century England. The Knight represents the chivalry during this time‚ whereas the Parson represents the God-fearing‚ respectable people. Although there were many good people in England‚ Chaucer also shows many bad ones such as the Summoner
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Comparing texts forces us to question our values in the context of the author’s zeitgeist and our own. The dystopia novel The Handmaid’s Tale (1985)‚ written by Margaret Atwood‚ and the film adaptation Children of Men (2006)‚ directed by Alfonso Cuarón‚ both examine the abuse of power by totalitarian government regimes which come about as a result of chaotic disasters. These oppressive governments’ abuse of their given power creates a dystopic world‚ and with it come restrictions to individual freedom
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The Butcher’s Tale The thesis of this book is the matter of bigotry engrained in a society that turns into mass hysteria directed toward the subjects of such bigotry. The author tells the tale of the murder of a child‚ for whom a Jewish butcher is blamed‚ and subsequently causes violence against all Jewish residents in the town. The Jewish butcher was accused of the murder not because of the overwhelming evidence against him‚ but simply because the Christians of that town were made to believe
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Now Playing: Utopia‚ Followed by: Dystopia In the not so distant future‚ the story of The Handmaid’s Tale unfolds. Set in what seems to be a dystopian United States where various violations of human rights from around the globe are exposed. It is these violations that a patriarchal‚ authoritarian theocracy is created in the nation-state of Gilead. Oppression‚ status‚ and fear run rampant through the nation-state. Obedience is tantamount for the survival of women and the regime. Atwood exposes
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