The Handmaids Tale - Social Situation :: Handmaids Tale Essays

The Handmaids chronicle - Social Situation   Margaret Atwoods novel The Handmaids Tale belongs to the genre of anti-utopian (dystopian) science fiction where we read about a womans sour autobiography of a nightmarish United States at the end of the ordinal century when democratic institutions sustain been violently overthrown and replaced by the new funda custodytalistic republic of Gilead. In the novel the majority of the population are strangled by using a Bible-based religion as an excuse for the suppression. How does this snuff it and why can the girls, the so called Handmaids, be considered the victims of confederation? Also, in what look does Gilead use biblical allusions?  That is some of the questions this essay will give answers for.   To pose with the so called Handmaids are girls who have only one purpose in life which is to reproduce. They are women who when have reached the age and maturity to reproduce have been taken to Gilead where they are tattooed with four digits and an eye (Gileads tattoo which works as a passport in reverse) which immobilises them, in contrast to the winged phallic eye which is the state symbol. Then they are re-educated at the so called Red-centre, the look up emphasises female sexuality and how they are taught there can be united with brainwashing. They are told how lucky they should feel because they have been saved from the primitive and merciless outside world where women are creation raped and maltreated. Other things they rent are numerous sayings and mottos of the Red-centre like Pen is Envy which is based on a Freudian psychoanalytic theory which presents penis envy as an essential element of femininity, and a mark of womans natural inferiority to men. So knowing this, are they actually better of in Gilead? at that place they are valued only in terms of their biological value as child bearers due to that the birth rate in the society has fallen to a catastrop hically low level because of deadly contaminant and sexually transmitted diseases which cause sterility and infertility. They are known by their Commanders first names, Of -(name of commander), this to underline their function as sexual objects without individuality.   Moreover, apart from being deprived their own names Handmaids are also deprived intelligent rights.