The Handmaids Tale Societal Complacency - 1153 Words

After reading the Handmaids Tale, I felt that Societal Complacency was the most critical aspect to the success of the Gilead Society. The Republic of Gilead is a run by a strict Old Testament religious doctrine. This government does not tolerate anyone who does not conform, it is run mostly by fear. Fear of death or the wall or being sent to radioactive colonies. This new government is cruel towards women, it robbed them of their humanity under the guise of protecting them. This new republic has forced women to give up jobs, forbidden them from reading, they control or regulate sexual activity as well as reproduction and birth, they have also prohibited or limited speech between women and even renamed women so that it fits in with a more†¦show more content†¦Her belief gives her a false sense of security as well as her unwillingness to rebel due to fear of the Eyes. Her conversations with others are Praise be, Blessed be the fruit, and May the Lord open it is difficult for O ffred or any women to really have a meaningful conversation for fear that anyone is a spy. Everything that Offred does is now part of the norm of society. She doesnt question her duties just does what is expected of her. As Offred begins a secret relationship with Nick she believes she has reclaimed a tiny piece of her past. She becomes addicted to the small amount of companionship from Nick, causing her to turn a blind eye to the injustices going on around her. She feels empowered because it was her own choice. When in reality she did what was expected of her. Using her body in order to produce a child. Throughout the book there are many rituals that are followed by both the man and women. There are accepted greetings among the Handmaids they greet each other with a blessed be the fruit. (19) They also are unable to be out in public alone, they go out shopping with others in the same position. Ordinary, said Aunt Lydia, is what you are used to. This may not seem ordinary to you now, but after a time it will. It will become ordinary.(33) was remembered when Offred and Ofglen pass four men hanging dead outside the wall. This is another ritual, showing the publicShow MoreRelatedThe Handmaid s Tale By Margaret Atwood1357 Words   |  6 Pagesrights on the ground of the equality of the sexes† (Oxford dictionary). In the novel The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood explores feminism through the themes of women’s bodies as political tools, the dynamics of rape culture and the society of complacency. Margaret Atwood was born in 1939, at the beginning of WWII, growing up in a time of fear. In the autumn of 1984, when she began writing The Handmaid’s Tale, she was living in West Berlin. The Berlin Wall had not yet fallen and in her travels â€Å"behindRead MoreCritical Analysis : The Handmaid s Tale 1129 Words   |  5 PagesZimbardo Quotes†). In Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, a pair Handmaid’s called Offred and Ofglen, and a wife named Serena Joy, clearly exhibit contrasting examples of complacency and passivity in their dystopia. Taking place in what used to be the United States, the Republic of Gilead begins their overthrow first with a massacre of the previous government, followed by the Republic effectively stripping women of their societal capacity for independence. To be a woman in Gilead, inRead MoreThe Handmaid s Tale By Margaret Atwood Essay1124 Words   |  5 PagesAn American journalist, Theodore White, once said, â€Å"power in America is control of the means of communication.† This holds true not only for America, but in many environments, including The Gileadean government in Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale. There are two linguistic elements employed throughout the novel which bolster the totalitarian regime of the Gileadean government. The religious terminology and speech and the sexist language and symbols highlight the repression of free speechRead MoreUse Of Verbal And Symbolic Languages On The Handmaid s Tale2269 Words   |  10 Pagessame cultural tradition. Figurative language is a classification that exists within the complex societal settings and is often integrated that compromise of communication general concepts to specific initiatives. Therefore, in addition to spoken language, coded language can be taken by a given society in order to give both the direct and the indirect messages to the intended people. In The Handmaid’s Tale, the Atwood has chosen the use of verbal and symbolic languages to pass across her experience