Examples Of Manipulation In The Handmaid's Tale

In The Handmaid’s Tale, the binary opposites of man/woman or, equally, power/fear exist. The dynamics of power exist along a hierarchy with men primarily at the top. Women are typically below the men in power, except for a select few who traded in their power for loyalty to the cause. Power becomes relative and subjective based on the binary relationship of power with that of fear. Specifically, the Commander illicitly invites Offred to his office after hours where he tempts her with his collection of contraband magazines, which had long been banned in Gilead and would lead to severe punishment or death if discovered. In doing so, he is nonchalantly boasting on the extent of his power. In essence, he is showcasing that with his power he can have a room filled with illicit materials. Simultaneously, though, he is reminding Offred of her complete lack of power. He can offer her so much, but only if she complies with his wishes. In his

A genuine identity and individuality is not possible in an oppressive environment especially when one’s daily life, actions, and thoughts are dictated by domineering societal expectations. Oppressive environments such as regimes controlled by a dictatorship and that run off a totalitarian government system strip an individual of their civil rights as a human being in order to gain ultimate control over its citizens. A government such as the Republic of Gilead in Margaret Atwood’s work, The Handmaid’s Tale, controls their citizen’s lives to the extent to where they must learn to suppress their emotions and feelings. In the Republic of

Offred makes a habit of visiting the bathroom, not to use it but to communicate with Moira. Moira is slowly luring Offred to break the rules, trying to turn Offred from being a submissive woman to a woman who 'll stand up for what she believes in.

Within the totalitarian society created by Margaret Atwood in the Handmaid’s Tale, there are many people and regimes centred around and reliant on the manipulation of power. The laws that are in place in the republic of Gilead are designed and implemented so as to control and restrict the rights and freedom of its inhabitants.

The Handmaid's Tale, a film based on Margaret Atwood’s book depicts a dystopia, where pollution and radiation have rendered innumerable women sterile, and the birthrates of North America have plummeted to dangerously low levels. To make matters worse, the nation’s plummeting birth rates are blamed on its women. The United States, now renamed the Republic of Gilead, retains power the use of piousness, purges, and violence. A Puritan theocracy, the Republic of Gilead, with its religious trappings and rigid class, gender, and racial castes is built around the singular desire to control reproduction. Despite this, the republic is inhabited by characters who would not seem out of place in today's society. They plant flowers in the yard, live in suburban houses, drink whiskey in the den and follow a far off a war on the television. The film leaves the conditions of the war and the society vague, but this is not a political tale, like Fahrenheit 451, but rather a feminist one. As such, the film, isolates, exaggerates and dramatizes the systems in which women are the 'handmaidens' of today's society in general and men in particular.

When writing authors often incorporate ambiguity intentionally although it may act as a flaw in writing because it can leave aspects of a story unclear. Many writers utilize this technique as it gives readers a variety of ways to interpret the story while giving it depth and complexity. In the novel “The Handmaids Tale” written by Margaret Atwood, the manipulation of point of view and form and structure assist each other to create ambiguity, which in turns aids in the communication of the theme of feminism being rejected in a patriarchal society.

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 women in the society (elite or not). Finally the individuals within the elite society also overpower each other and have their own separate roles. This can be interpreted as a chain. Men of the elite are placed at the top, the men who less elite

Offred admits, “I went back to Nick... I did not do it for him, but for myself entirely” (268). Regardless of the profundity of her relationships with them, it is Offred’s interactions with the Commander, Serena, and Nick that result in her being able to read, increase her chances of getting pregnant, and experience an intimate relationship on her own terms. All of which are strictly forbidden and not without risk, yet she has the power to do so because they can’t incriminate her without incriminating

Margaret Atwood’s harrowing novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, follows the story of a woman marginalized by the theocratic oligarchy she lives in; in the Republic of Gilead, this woman has been reduced to a reproductive object who has her body used to bear children to the upper class. From the perspective of the modern reader, the act of blatant mistreatment of women is obvious and disturbing; however, current life is not without its own shocking abuses. Just as the Gileadian handmaid was subject to varied kinds of abuse, many modern women too face varied kinds of abuses that include psychological, sexual, and financial abuse.

This same amount of power is seen in the hands of the government in the Republic of Gilead. The Handmaid’s Tale depicts a similar form of ultimate power over its citizens. The eyes have a hold on the citizens. They cannot think like a free citizen. “He looks at me, and sees me looking… Then he winks… He’s just taken a risk, but for what? What

Egypt, The New Totalitarian Society Egypt is becoming the new Christian theonomy in The Handmaid’s Tale. The documentary Amal, by Mohamed Siam takes place in Egypt during the Port Said Stadium riot. While in the novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, the population is living in a post revolution state. In Egypt, the political turmoil causes many of the females to be unwomaned. Similarly, in The Handmaid’s Tale, women have no rights, and are only used for reproduction.

The Commanders are expected to have sexual relations with their Handmaid. Even though the relationship between the Commander and Offred is politically correct, it has a few unorthodox characteristics. The commander seems to want to get to know Offred more by inviting her to his office to “play Scrabble with him, and kiss him as if I meant it” (Atwood 144). The relationship seems to be becoming more that just the duty of getting pregnant. This act does not stick to the traditional rules, which gives the Commander a suspicious feel as if he is rebelling against the rules and caste system of the Republic.

Offred is slightly frightened by this, because she realizes that the commander has done this with previous

January, a wealthy knight decides to finally get married, because he believes in the thought of marriage between a man and a woman, and needs a son to pass his estate to. He calls his friends together to hear their opinions on marriage. He decides to marry a young virgin named May. One of January’s attendants named Damian, falls deeply in love with May the moment he sees her. He becomes ill, and January sends his wife and other women to take care of him.

The Handmaid’s Tale is a distillation of the real-world events that were happening before the book was published. In this novel, she talks about a handmaid living in the Gilead Republic, newly formed republic that is controlled by a theocratic dictatorship government. Theocratic dictatorship is a type of government in which laws are based on a particular religion. One leader, a dictator, rules the government, and there is neither power nor person above the leader. In the Gilead Republic, the system forces its citizens to obey its laws, and follow its agendas absolutely. Thus, the theocratic dictatorship changed the ordinary ways of life because it forced its people to live with in a patriarchal system