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The Handmaid's Tale Women Compared To Women Today

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Imagine being split apart from loved ones to be forced into a different society. In a society that is considered unordinary to today's society; where one does not have freedom for anything. In Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, Offred rewrites about the struggle of men, her past, and the difficult times women face on a day to day basis. The men in the Republic of Gilead live differently compared to the men in today’s society. The men divide into three different categories: Guardian, Storekeeper, and Commander. The Guardians are men who perform day to day routines and other unskilled functions. The Guardians are the men considered to be the lowest out of all three. The narrator says; “Leave it on the porch. [Serena Joy] said this …show more content…

The women split up into three different categories: Martha, Handmaid, and the Commander’s wife. Martha’s are women who cook and clean. Offred observes Rita, a Martha at Serena Joy’s house, and says; “She’s making bread, throwing the loaves for the final brief kneading and then the shaping” (10). While at Serena Joy’s house, Offred watches Rita, and she sees her making bread, which is a Martha’s job. Moreover, Handmaids are women who have intercourse with the Commander, then carry their baby, and give the baby to the Commander and the Commander’s wife. The narrator says; “Serena Joy is arranged, outspread. Her legs are apart, I lie between them, my head on her stomach, her pubic bone under the base of my skill, her thigh on either side of me. She too is fully clothed. My arms are raised; she holds my hands, each of mine in each of hers. This is supposed to signify that we are one flesh, one being. What it really means is that she is in control, of the process and thus of the product” (106-107). Offred is a handmaid, and she has intercourse with the Commander, while she lies in between Serena Joy’s leg. If Offred becomes pregnant, she will carry the couple’s baby and hand it off to the couple after she gives birth. Additionally, the Commander’s wife has a lot more freedom compared to Martha’s and Handmaids. The Commander’s Wife has the option to knit, garden, or watch television. Offred says; “A Guardian detailed to the Commander does the heavy digging; the Commander’s Wife directs, pointing with her stick. Many of the Wives have such gardens, it’s something for them to order and maintain and care for” (13). The Commander’s Wife has the privilege to demand others, such as the Guardian, who takes care of the garden. Hence, the women who reside in the Republic of Gilead are treated differently compared to women in today’s society since women in Gilead are

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