The Handmaids Tale Men Essay - 1666 Words

Women’s Bodies as Political Instuments and Elimination of Sexual Pleasure: Oppression throughout Society In Margaret Atwood’s, The Handmaid’s Tale, the idea of women’s bodies as political instruments and elimination of sexual pleasure is explored. The republic of Gilead â€Å"depicts a futuristic society in which a brutal patriarchal regime deprives women of power and subjectivity, enslaving them through a sophisticated, ubiquitous apparatus of surveillance† (Cooper 49). Offred is a â€Å"girl† who lives with her commander within Gilead. She is surrounded by girls at his house. When one becomes a woman they have had a baby. Any time before they have a baby they are just girls. They are valued only by their ovaries and wombs. They have no freedom†¦show more content†¦Red is also a color to symbolize blood and that the handmaids still get their period and hope to have it miss on one month in hopes that they are pregnant. Although not all the girls are handmaids there are also different classes such as wives and Martha’s. Each that is cla ssified wears a different color. The wives blue and the Martha’s green. The reason why the wives wear blue is because then other people can notice that they are a wife of a certain commander. The wives are in the room during the ceremony as if they are the ones getting pregnant themselves. Martha’s are the servants during this dystopian society. They are forced to do anything that the wife or commander want them to do. There are econowives that are married to a low ranking husband that are not quite a commander. Each woman is separated to make sure they are doing their specific jobs. How Offred got her name is because she is Of Fred as in Fred is her commander. Therefore any girl would be Of---- depending on what their commanders’ name is. While Offred is walking outside one realizes that the women can always be recognized of what they are by what they are wearing. â€Å"There are other women with baskets, some in red, some in the dull green of the Marthas, some in the striped dresses, red and blue and green and cheap and skimpy, that mark the women of the poorer men. Econowives, they’re called. These women are not divided into function. They have to doShow MoreRelatedThe Handmaids Tale Men Essay1607 Words   |  7 PagesWomen’s Bodies as Political Instruments and Elimination of Sexual Pleasure: Oppression throughout Society In Margaret Atwood’s, The Handmaid’s Tale, the idea of women’s bodies as political instruments and elimination of sexual pleasure is explored. The republic of Gilead â€Å"depicts a futuristic society in which a brutal patriarchal regime deprives women of power and subjectivity, enslaving them through a sophisticated, ubiquitous apparatus of surveillance† (Cooper 49). Offred is a girl who lives withRead MoreMargaret Atwood s The Handmaid s Tale1345 Words   |  6 PagesMetaphor in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale† by Sonia Chadha compares the treatment of women in society to the treatment of women in The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. Chadha’s essay leaves her readers in a state of bewilderment after only a few pages. Her disorganized structure and repetitive subjects are only a couple reasons of why this essay is an absolute mess. Chadha’s essay is all over the place and only shows one-side of the argume nt. Overall, this essay was poorly written and very repetitveRead MoreEssay on Feminist Ideas in Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale1199 Words   |  5 PagesFeminist Ideas in Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale For this essay, we focused strictly on critics reactions to Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale. For the most part, we found two separate opinions about The Handmaids Tale, concerning feminism. One opinion is that it is a feminist novel, and the opposing opinion that it is not. Feminism: A doctrine advocating social, political, and economic rights for women equal to those of men as recorded in Websters Dictionary. This topic is prevalentRead MoreA Comparison of The Handmaids Tale and Anthem799 Words   |  4 PagesA Comparison of The Handmaids Tale and Anthem The two novels, The Handmaids Tale and Anthem, are both haunting, first person tales of personal hardship in a closed and controlled society. In this essay I will point out many important similarities and differences between the two books, mainly the setting and the similarities between the two societies in which the stories take place, as well as more important differences between the main characters. To start I would like to compare the settingsRead MoreThe Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood Essay2490 Words   |  10 PagesIn the days of anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are being given freedom from,† (Atwood 24). The Handmaid’s Tale, written by Margaret Atwood, is a novel set in the near future where societal roles have severely changed. The most notable change is that concerning women. Whereas, in the past, women have been gaining rights and earning more â€Å"freedom to’s†, the women in the society of The Handmaid’s Tale have â€Å"freedom froms†. They have the freedom from being abused and having sexist phrases yelled atRead Moresociety can be seen as a malevolent force, bringing about the dehumanisation of the individual1511 Words   |  7 Pagesdehumanisation of the individual’ To what extent is this idea shown in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ and ‘We’ by comparing the writers presentation of the pressures society brings to bear on the individual. â€Å"A rat in a maze is free to go anywhere, as long as it stays inside the maze.†Ã‚   Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale To understand what is meant by the term ‘dehumanisation’ one must first ascertainRead MoreFreedom to vs. Freedom from1145 Words   |  5 PagesWMST 275 Literature Essay #1 In the Days of Anarchy To live in a country such as the United States of America is considered a privilege. The liberties that American citizens are entitled to, as declared in the Constitution, makes the United States an attractive and envied democracy. It would be improbable to imagine these liberties being stripped from American society. However, Margaret Atwood depicts the United States as a dystopian society in her novel The Handmaid’s Tale. The first societyRead MoreThe Handmaid s Tale By Margaret Atwood1540 Words   |  7 Pages Name: Nicole. Zeng Assignment: Summative written essay Date:11 May, 2015. Teacher: Dr. Strong. Handmaid’s Tale The literary masterpiece The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, is a story not unlike a cold fire; hope peeking through the miserable and meaningless world in which the protagonist gets trapped. The society depicts the discrimination towards femininity, blaming women for their low birth rate and taking away the right from the females to be educated ,forbidding them from readingRead MoreAsd Asdf Oeer2098 Words   |  9 PagesStudy Guides and Literature Essays Editing Services College Application Essays Writing Help Q A Lesson Plans Home : The Handmaids Tale : Study Guide : Summary and Analysis of V: Nap - VI: Household The Handmaids Tale Summary and Analysis by Margaret Atwood Buy PDFBuy Paperback V: Nap - VI: Household Summary This section begins with Offred simply sitting alone, waiting. She had not been prepared for all this stillness, all of this boredom. She thinks about experimentsRead MoreHandmaids Tale - Manipulation of Power Essay1257 Words   |  6 PagesTHE HANDMAID’S TALE Grade 11 English Analytical Essay Words: 1 245 Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale is a disturbing novel that displays the presence and manipulation of power. This is displayed throughout the novel and is represented significantly in three ways. As the book takes place in the republic of Gilead, the elite in society are placed above every other individual who are not included in their level. Secondly, men are placed at the top of the chain and they significantly overpower