Sara Vargas
by Margaret Atwood
Imagine a world where your only purpose was to become pregnant and then die. The Handmaid’s Tale is the very sobering life that the Handmaids must face in the Republic of Gilead. In the book, it is in the future where pollution has killed many people and caused mass infertility. So men completely take over, and in order to make sure the population doesn't completely die out, they section off women; one of the sections was women who were fertile, women that could have children, who are called "Handmaids." "Marthas" are the women who did the chores in the house like servants; "Wives" were the main face of the women in the house. The main character who’s referred to as Offred is a Handmaid in the Commander’s house. Once a month she must have sex--which is nonconsensual by the way--with the Commander and hope that she becomes pregnant because if she doesn't, she will be killed. This story is about her times in the house with other Handmaids and about the destructive society that is Gilead. This novel is told in her point of view. I have not finished the book yet, but I will definitely keep reading. The book is a little slow in the beginning but the description and the cool concept really kept me going. I definitely recommend it to anyone who loves dystopia that can reflect real life as well. This book has themes that are relevant to today because a major theme in the book is social hierarchy, where men are more valued than women: does this sound familiar?
A part of the book the women are outside the Commander’s house and a lady called Aunt Lydia says, “Now we walk along the same street, in red pairs, and no man shouts obscenities at us, speaks to us, touches us. No one whistles…. now you are being given freedom from. Don't underrate it” (10-11).
I think this quote does a good job of showing the complacency and the indoctrination that has happened to these women over the years. Aunt Lydia is saying that things are better when they were turned into sex slaves because they were able to gain freedom. They were able to eliminate verbal sexual abuse from strangers and possible sexual assault, but it took women to be completely covered up and mass infertility for this to happen. To me, this is ironic because she is saying that they are free, when in reality they are more oppressed than before. This connects to modern day time because many women today are “cat called” and have to deal with constant sexual harassment, to the point where it is literally normalized.
I also found the constant indoctrination interesting in the book, for example it says, “Aunt Lydia said it was best not to speak unless they asked you a direct question. Try to think of it from their point of view she said, her hands clasped and wrung together, her nervous pleading smile. It isn't easy for them” (18). This shows more complacency and how there is mass indoctrination for the Handmaid’s, they are told to pity their own oppressors. They are being told to be doormats. There is a theme of oppression on women because there is very little value given to them. In the book it says, “...some in the striped dresses, red and blue and green and cheap and skimp, that mark the women of the poorer men. Econowives, they're called. These women are not divided into functions. They have to do everything; if they can”(5). Offred is describing the lower roles of women in society--all the women except for the Econowives are "divided into functions" as shown by their dresses. The women are basically color-coded--as if they were delicate colored paper or something, that's how objectified they are--blue Wives, red Handmaids, green Marthas. Their individuality is completely stripped away. Their value is based on what they can do for the society.
This book is very interesting to me because it relates to me in modern society in America where, to this day, women are oppressed by men. For example, the wage gap is disgraceful. On average, for every dollar a man makes, a woman makes about 70 cents of that. This book can inspire change in people’s hearts after reading it, and hopefully to change the way they think of others and improve not only their own lives but the lives of others.
Imagine a world where your only purpose was to become pregnant and then die. The Handmaid’s Tale is the very sobering life that the Handmaids must face in the Republic of Gilead. In the book, it is in the future where pollution has killed many people and caused mass infertility. So men completely take over, and in order to make sure the population doesn't completely die out, they section off women; one of the sections was women who were fertile, women that could have children, who are called "Handmaids." "Marthas" are the women who did the chores in the house like servants; "Wives" were the main face of the women in the house. The main character who’s referred to as Offred is a Handmaid in the Commander’s house. Once a month she must have sex--which is nonconsensual by the way--with the Commander and hope that she becomes pregnant because if she doesn't, she will be killed. This story is about her times in the house with other Handmaids and about the destructive society that is Gilead. This novel is told in her point of view. I have not finished the book yet, but I will definitely keep reading. The book is a little slow in the beginning but the description and the cool concept really kept me going. I definitely recommend it to anyone who loves dystopia that can reflect real life as well. This book has themes that are relevant to today because a major theme in the book is social hierarchy, where men are more valued than women: does this sound familiar?
A part of the book the women are outside the Commander’s house and a lady called Aunt Lydia says, “Now we walk along the same street, in red pairs, and no man shouts obscenities at us, speaks to us, touches us. No one whistles…. now you are being given freedom from. Don't underrate it” (10-11).
I think this quote does a good job of showing the complacency and the indoctrination that has happened to these women over the years. Aunt Lydia is saying that things are better when they were turned into sex slaves because they were able to gain freedom. They were able to eliminate verbal sexual abuse from strangers and possible sexual assault, but it took women to be completely covered up and mass infertility for this to happen. To me, this is ironic because she is saying that they are free, when in reality they are more oppressed than before. This connects to modern day time because many women today are “cat called” and have to deal with constant sexual harassment, to the point where it is literally normalized.
I also found the constant indoctrination interesting in the book, for example it says, “Aunt Lydia said it was best not to speak unless they asked you a direct question. Try to think of it from their point of view she said, her hands clasped and wrung together, her nervous pleading smile. It isn't easy for them” (18). This shows more complacency and how there is mass indoctrination for the Handmaid’s, they are told to pity their own oppressors. They are being told to be doormats. There is a theme of oppression on women because there is very little value given to them. In the book it says, “...some in the striped dresses, red and blue and green and cheap and skimp, that mark the women of the poorer men. Econowives, they're called. These women are not divided into functions. They have to do everything; if they can”(5). Offred is describing the lower roles of women in society--all the women except for the Econowives are "divided into functions" as shown by their dresses. The women are basically color-coded--as if they were delicate colored paper or something, that's how objectified they are--blue Wives, red Handmaids, green Marthas. Their individuality is completely stripped away. Their value is based on what they can do for the society.
This book is very interesting to me because it relates to me in modern society in America where, to this day, women are oppressed by men. For example, the wage gap is disgraceful. On average, for every dollar a man makes, a woman makes about 70 cents of that. This book can inspire change in people’s hearts after reading it, and hopefully to change the way they think of others and improve not only their own lives but the lives of others.
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