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What one gets out of THE HANDMAID'S TALE will depend on what one brings to it. Her sole purpose is to be a breeder for an assigned "Commander" and his infertile wife. What Margaret Atwood does here is create a "civilization," Gilead, wherein all the small elements that were used at various times come together in a horrifying life for the women living at this time. In this classic novel, Margaret Atwood offers us a story of a future that is not entirely out of the realm of imagination. Those seeking a conclusion and neatly-tied ends will be disappointed. Her life, down to the smallest morsel of food she eats and the clothing she wears, is strictly controlled by the government of Gilead.
Offred is a Handmaid.
Women and men will find different things about it compelling, as will readers of varying ages.
Everything in Gilead is thus restricted - the residents are identified by their uniforms and all are suspect.
As is stated in the final chapter, nothing mentioned in the novel is truly fictional - each of the events happened at one time or another in human history: subjugation of women and forced breeding are hardly new concepts.
She is not allowed to read, move about without permission, or wear anything other than the red gown that denotes her status.
I suspect that I reacted to what I was reading far differently than my mother, who would be in her early 80s, or my niece, who is in her 20s.
Some men may reject it as rather hysterical, while my reading of it was more frightening to me than anything Stephen King or Dean Koontz could write.
The story comes from how Offred ended up in this situation, and how gradually the world changed for her, and for everyone else.
Those seeking to be challenged, frightened, enraged and warned will find an enormously compelling read.
They are used for breeding purposes only, as if they were an animal.This story is told from the point of view of Offred, a handmaid in Commander Fred's home. She had to read it in high school and when my school never assigned it I got curious.After a military coup creating the Republic of Gilead from the once powerful United States of America, inhabitants find themselves in a strict, domineering caste system based on the hell, fire, & brimstone from the Old Testament of the Bible. A mating ritual, involving all three participants, takes place monthly in the hopes of conception.Offred moves about her daily routine often catching glimpses of things hinting at the existence of a resistance. Now, your place in society is determined by your rank within the new infrastructure and the power you wield.
I found myself imagining what it would be like to be in Offred's shoes more often than I wanted to. Women are even lower in this caste system, as dictated by the ruling body and their twisted sense of ideology, and are subservient to the male figure in their life. While this isn't necessarily awful for most women, for those who belong to the "handmaid" class it is a nightmare. This is a great dystopian read that I discovered through my sister. Her strength and courage is a testament to the power that resides in all of us. Now all she is solely cogniscent that it is her "duty and obligation" is to bear a child for the Commander and his barren wife Serena Joy.
She is shocked to discover who all is involved. And when the times comes for her to make a decision, she moves with fluidity in her chosen direction.A shocking and scandalising tale, this book was a bewitching read.
We just have to call on it. They believe that all their problems (rampant infertility, land deterioration, and an amoral society) can all be solved by returning to their close-minded roots.What this means in practice for the men and women of Gilead is a complete overhaul of their social hierarchy as they know it.
Her life was quite a miserable existence, but she maintained hope. As a first generation handmaid, Offred knows what the world used to be like.
She used to have a family, consisting of her, her husband, and their child. She clung to memories in her darkest hours and pushed on with life.It's truly a book about feminism in that the main character is a female fighting in a patriarchal and orthodox society.
A mesmerizing read that most will find haunting and captivating, The Handmaid's Tale is a classic.
The epilogue to the book is a symposium presentation on the Gileadean era given 150 years following the period in which the book takes place. In an effort to depersonalize, each level of woman is required to wear a different color and type of dress (for example, our protagonist must wear a red dress with "wings" surrounding her face to hide it and to hide her gaze). This was a fascinating device the author used to place the story into a larger context.All in all, a fascinating, well-written book, that has well stood its 25 years since publication. A Handmaid is not permitted to own any personal property, even a pencil.
Free speech is stifled by fear, including fear of being reported by an informant. In the Republic, basically all freedoms have been eradicated, and all activities are carefully monitored and regimented by a secretive government. A Handmaid's job is to bear a baby for a Commander--a high ranking official of the new order. While the Handmaid's Tale covers well tread ground, I nonetheless found the book to be well-written, with some very intriguing concepts and themes, including:1.
For everyone Offred meets, she must decide whether they are "a true believer," a dissenter, or perhaps worst, a nonbeliever who will snitch on her for a momentary advantage. The government seeks to justify this loss of freedom by contrasting the dangers that existed in the previous society (rape, murder, etc) with the stifling safety which exists in the new society--arguing that they have simply modified "freedom to into freedom from."Into this world, we are presented with the protagonist, Offred, whose role in society is that of a Handmaid. Apparently, this society has largely lost its ability to bear children, due to various factors, such as widespread use of contraception, damage to the environment and nuclear explosions. The scenes describing the depersonalized, ritualized, desexualized procreative activities among the Commander, the Commander's wife, and the Handmaid are at the same time horrible and comic. Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret AtwoodThis futuristic novel, published in the mid 1980's, describes life in the Republic of Gilead, a stifling, dictatorial, theocracy formed following a coup in the United States, in which the President and several governmental leaders were killed.
Notwithstanding the "new order," you can't really change who people are, what's important to them, and what motivates them. While the government publicly sought to put a beneficent face on the goals of their new society, we the reader understand this to be just another example of an effort to sacrifice the less powerful for the benefit of the more powerful.2. Then within these categories, she must assess their relative power, and what each person is trying to achieve or avoid. As such, even the simplest interactions, becomes a complex, tense, chess match or dance (whether real or imagined).3. Without doubt, the pacing is slow. Women are particularly abused by the government, losing all right to own personal property or to hold a job (other than menial jobs for the benefit of the state). Ownership, being a cornerstone of the human psyche, Offred finds herself coveting even the simplest items, a pen, a cigarette, a match.4.
Offred reveals her story through her description of her interactions and experiences, and her recollections. However, the speed (or lack thereof) makes sense, given Offred's limited understanding of what has happened to the world and what is happening to her, her very constricted ability to acquire new information, and her inability to rely on the true motivations of any characters she meets. As in many extreme situations, people are forced to make many difficult choices, and to discover what's really important to them.5.
(a handmaid is a fertile woman whose life is one of isolation. They are forbidden to work, own property or even to (GASP) read. Margaret Atwood's, The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian novel set in the futuristic Republic of Gilead, formerly the US, a place now run by a conservative Christian dictatorship. She use to have her own job, own money, and own interests. A chilling, but thought provoking read that drew me in from the very first page. She is forbidden associations with other men or friendships with other women). With birthrates declining dramatically, women are prized only for their fertility and their ability to reproduce.
Without giving away too much of the plot, I'll just say that there is even a monthly "ceremony" ritual that made me scratch my head in disbelief. It is here where the men are in charge, everyone is being watched over, and all offenders of ANY laws are prosecuted.The narrator, thirty-three year old Offred, is a "handmaid". If no baby is produced within two years these "handmaids" are sent to colonies for "unwomen".MY THOUGHTS - Can you imagine such a scary thought -- women being stripped of their identity and having their existence justified by their ability to breed. Previously, Offred enjoyed life with her husband and child. Since she is presumed fertile, the new leadership has taken away her child, her money and she is being offered to the Commander of the government as a "handmaid" for the purpose of being him a child. How about a repressive society where order is maintained by terrorizing its people. I did not expect to enjoy this book, however by the end I was amazed at what an effect this book had on me.Recommended - 4.5/5 stars
I want a refund. As if any man would ever want to live in Atwoods world. Boring anti male story of a nazi like society in the US where women are forced birthing slaves. Totally derivative of Orwell with characters you wont care about. Very sloooow book. I cannot disagree more with the positve reviews. Many other near future sci fi books are much better. Dont waste your time with this one.
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