The Handmaid's tale

Extract

[...] The essence of Offred's stories in the Handmaids' Tale is to escape the reality of the Gilead regime, drifting into memories of the past and the dystopian microcosm is highlighted through her eyes (Loudermilk, 2004: 132). This sense of loss and tragedy is heightened by her recollection of when she lived with her husband Luke, when she protected her daughter and had independence through paid work, which she has now. To this end, the dystopia is heightened through the totalitarian enforcement of morality as Offred's marriage is annulled due to divorce being illegal in Gilead. [...]

[...] In never learning Luke's fate and the separation, further the interpretation that Offred's story implies death as a release from her imprisoned sorrow. Indeed, as Offred's present is the same as her recent past as she is still in the place of confinement contributing her suffering when she highlights told you it was bad”. In summary, it is evident that in offering a critique of contemporary feminism, the Handmaid's tale highlights a dystopian society by the displacement of women and their societal role. The commercial value place on fertility is heightened through Offred's sorrow to highlight the dichotomy between the female and [...]

[...] in turn is juxtaposed between the reality and fiction as the novel presents “1980s America and 1990s Gilead, thereby forcing readers to recognise the seeds of the dystopian Gilead in 1980s American culture” (Michael, 1996: 136). To this end, Atwood disrupts the narrative function to further serve the purpose of social commentary that “sexism underlines established Western modes of thought and by demonstrating the impossibility of radical change in feminist terms without concurrent metaphysical shifts” (Michael, 1996: 136). In addition, the role of the Aunts in the totalitarian society is effective in exert military control to keep the handmaids in order and teach them through propaganda. [...]