The Message Revealed In The Handmaid's Tale

In the Handmaid’s Tale, it becomes clear of what at the time is occurring in the beginning of the chapter. Offred is explaining how she is stuck in this new kind of caste system where she has to follow certain rules. She describes herself as someone that is trying to look for a future. She intends by describing how she must not talk or look directly at people. These particular rules make her feel like every day is the same in which she must continue to bare what occurs in the caste system. As she continues on by telling her story she describes how the caste system works and the people that are affected by it. Along her way in surviving the system where men are superior to women, she becomes friends with a girl that oppose the new caste

This ability speaks of his power with society. As a handmaid, Offred is limited in her language ability as she has been stripped and reprogrammed according to Gilead standards. As such, she complies through fear: the fear of being caught, accused, and killed. People who are determined to be traitors are hung for all to see. His use of fear to force her compliance suggests he, too, is fearful of discovery. Thus, a gap exists in the power construct. This leads Offred to realize she may have power over the Commander. All she need do is speak and his power will fail. This dynamic translates to power throughout all of Gilead. Where power is exerted in force, fear is the primary source of the exertion. By these standards, it is easy to see the value placed on the safety of patriarchal and the subordination of other groups, e.g. gender, social class, and cultural groups (Hourihan

The Handmaid’s Tale is a story told in the voice of Offred, who is the character of the “handmaid”, which is described best by women who are being forced and used for reproduction because they can make babies. In the Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood uses symbolism, which is the use of symbols to represent ideas, to show the reader the handmaid’s role in society of Gilead. The handmaids were women who had broken the law of Gilead, and forced into having sex and reproducing for the higher class. They had no rights and were watched constantly so this created a very nervous atmosphere. This horrible way of living is most likely why Offred never fully made the reader aware of the horrible life she was forced to live because

Offred struggles with her new life, stating, “I want to be held and told my name. I want to be valued, in ways that I am not; I want to be more than valuable. I repeat my former name; to remind myself of what I once could do, how others saw me” (Atwood 97). Offred is emotionally run down. She misses her husband Luke and the way he made her feel. Offred spends most of her days wondering about her husband Luke, and daughter. She wonders if her husband is dead, made it across the Canadian border, or was captured. Although Offred never finds out Luke’s life status, Serena Joy offers to tell Offred some information regarding her daughter. Consequently, Offred must sleep with Nick and conceive a child in spite of receiving the information. As long as the Commander believes he is the father of Offred 's child, no problems will arise. Offred 's decision is unconventional and risky, both for herself and Nick. If Nick and Offred are caught, they will be executed. However, her unorthodox decision pays off. Serena Joy obtains a photograph of Offred’s daughter and informs Offred that her daughter is now around eight years old and has been adopted by a family loyal to the regime. Offred is informed that her daughter is alive and in safe care. The new information provides Offred with a sense of relief.

This shows how she is non-existential because she blames others rather than herself for something that she didn’t plan properly. Most importantly, Offred blames her family getting caught on God because she says that God was watching her that day with an evil eye. She believes that God desires so much evil for her and her family and that He wants them to get separated. She begins to pray, asking to be reunited with her family. Once Offred and her daughter got caught they were separated, bringing Offred to the Red Center. She never saw Luke or her daughter again. Throughout the book, she daydreams about old memories she had with Luke. She thinks that it was a signal from God that He will reunite. Offred quickly loses faith in God when, after years of waiting, she still never saw Luke. She believes that living a terrible life was God’s punishment for her since she was mad and blamed Him for taking her away from her family.

Firstly, although offers Offred some kind of comforts but it is still destined to be fractured. Offred name is a slave name which describes her function: she

She is kept alive for purely that reason in the first chapters, as the story progresses and she is invited into the Commander's office, where they play Scrabble and he reveals to her hidden or contraband aspects of the new society, such as fashion magazines and cosmetics, which he allows her to read, an activity otherwise prohibited for women. In these meetings Offred is treated more humanely than she has in years. She's treated more like a human should instead of a slave to her own body and “Commander”, which is suggested in her name in of its self, which means “of Fred”, conceding the point that the Commander's name is

The Handmaid’s Tale is about Offered as she shares her thoughts and experiences in a journal-like form and provides some advice. Offred is a lower class female who has been taken from her husband and daughter at 5 years old to be a handmaid for the red commander at the red center. The point of this center is to reproduce with the Commander

Offred’s mother is symbolic of everything that Offred is not. Although the reader only encounters Offred’s mother through her flashbacks, it can be seen that she stood up for women’s rights and took part in many rallies such as burning pornographic magazines. In some cases, Offred’s mother does not fulfil her role as a parent and can be seen as inappropriate; for example, she made Offred watch holocaust memorial documentaries from a young age and also brought her along to feminist protesting events. However, as the novel progresses, Offred’s resentment towards her mother lessens and her admiration grows.

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood- Quote and Response Offred talks about the path of her walk: “A rat in a maze is free to go anywhere, as long as it stays inside the maze.” (Atwood, Page 165) Offred and Ofglen are traveling home from their routine trip to the market. The path that they take to and from the market often varies and changes based on their desire. While pondering this Offred realizes that Gilead is basically a maze and the people living within it are the rats. Yes, they are free to go anywhere

Offred's memories are a way for her to escape a society riddled with hopelessness. The authoritarian society of Gilead prevents her from

Offred’s dissociation suggests that it’s her way of solidifying her chances of survival against the harsh society of Gilead, which is important because in furthering her own continuity, she becomes averse to the idea of taking any risks that might harm those chances. This can be observed during the monthly ceremony performed with

Clearly, Offred has done nothing wrong and till this point, has lived up to everyone 's expectation so that everyone (being men) can live satisfactory lives. If she had made the decision to avoid the risk of essentially being a sex slave, she wouldn’t have to lose her

Although Offred accepts the standards and criterions of her society, she keeps her individuality and refuses to forget the past. She remembers having had an identity of her own and strives to hold on to it as best as she can. She puts a claim on her temporary room in her Commander's house; it becomes a sanctuary for her true self. Her room becomes a place of

As the female narrators reads the story to the audience we realize that she often has flashbacks to former times, when the United States was still a nation. She recalls the happier times she had with her mother, her close friends, and her lover and husband Luck. In the Pre-Gilead period, she also had a little daughter, June, with Luck. Offred's mother was a single mother and feminist activist. Her best friend was Moira, who was also fiercely independent.