The Handsmaid tale essay
The story The Handmaids tale is a dystopian novel that follows the life of one woman in an oppressive government regime. One of the most important themes of The Handmaid's Tale written by Margaret Attwood is the presence of Language and power. Ideas – Conventions such as Language, symbolism, and characterisation.
In The Handmaid's Tale it conveys the idea that our identity is defined by our name and ranking in society, nearly everyone's identity has been stripped away. Although the most powerful have more privileges than some of the others, everyone has been renamed and repositioned. Women are grouped into classes for example the handmaids, wife’s, Martha’s. The body and its functions especially the fertile female body have become more important than personality, education, or mind. This idea is highlighted by the fact that no character is represented by his or her real name. This gives the Gilead government power and order by categorising people and ranking them by their ability to reproduce or not, or their job classification. “Everything except the wings around my face is red: the colour of blood, which defines us”. Red represents women, as it is the colour of the blood of a women’s menstrual cycle. This colour defines them due to their sole purpose of reproduction. This portrays a loss of individuality, as all handmaids are required to wear specific uniforms with the colours that represent them, such as the red of the handmaids.
In the Handmaid’s tale, it represents the idea of the subjugation of women as the handmaids are objectified as they are seen as the Commander’s possession. “Offred” Is the name given to the protagonist whom is a handmaid and it refers to “Of Fred”, meaning Fred has ownership over this handmaid. Handmaids are also identified by a number tattooed on their ankle, just as prisoners in Nazi concentration camps had a number tattooed on their arms, this comparison between the Handmaid women and the Nazi’s degrades the women, especially
In The Handmaid's Tale it conveys the idea that our identity is defined by our name and ranking in society, nearly everyone's identity has been stripped away. Although the most powerful have more privileges than some of the others, everyone has been renamed and repositioned. Women are grouped into classes for example the handmaids, wife’s, Martha’s. The body and its functions especially the fertile female body have become more important than personality, education, or mind. This idea is highlighted by the fact that no character is represented by his or her real name. This gives the Gilead government power and order by categorising people and ranking them by their ability to reproduce or not, or their job classification. “Everything except the wings around my face is red: the colour of blood, which defines us”. Red represents women, as it is the colour of the blood of a women’s menstrual cycle. This colour defines them due to their sole purpose of reproduction. This portrays a loss of individuality, as all handmaids are required to wear specific uniforms with the colours that represent them, such as the red of the handmaids.
In the Handmaid’s tale, it represents the idea of the subjugation of women as the handmaids are objectified as they are seen as the Commander’s possession. “Offred” Is the name given to the protagonist whom is a handmaid and it refers to “Of Fred”, meaning Fred has ownership over this handmaid. Handmaids are also identified by a number tattooed on their ankle, just as prisoners in Nazi concentration camps had a number tattooed on their arms, this comparison between the Handmaid women and the Nazi’s degrades the women, especially