The Handmaids Tale
The creation of Offred, the passive narrator of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale,was intentional. The personality of the narrator in this novel is almost as important as the taskbestowed upon her. Atwood chooses an average women, appreciative of past times, who lacksimagination and fervor, to contrast the typical feminist, represented in this novel by her motherAtwood is writing for a specific audience, though through careful examination, it can bedetermined that the intended audience is actually the mass population. Although particular groupsmay find The Handmaid's Tale more enjoyable than others, the purpose of the novel is toenlighten the general population, as opposed to being a source of entertainment. A specific groupthat may favor this novel is the women activists of the 1960's and 1970's. This group, in whichOffred's mother would be a member, is sensitive to the censorship that women once faced andwould show interest to the "possible future" that could result.Offred is symbolic of "every woman". She was conventional in prior times, married withone daughter, a husband and a career. She is ambivalent to many things that may s
She doesn't want to be held back, and her resistence causes her bothtrouble and distress. Usingpresent tense allows images in the story to be more solid and realistic, compared to past life. Offred is representative of an average women also because she has experienced no greattraumas. Offred must realize the injustices ifshe feels compelled to reveal her story on the tapes. Because Offred is characterized as passive, and mostly compliant, she is not asmuch in danger as other characters. This is both a combination of past times and past movements, with a blending of suppression andthe dangers of a patriarchal society. On page 93, Offred is witness to Janine's confession of being raped. Offred would attend with her mother and also Offred's smokinghabit. When Offred used to meet Luke, there was one solereason - love. Notall shifts in tense are used for the same reason. She isn't just ambivalent because of her tendencies but because she has been abruptlyinterjected into a new society. She doesn't think there is any use to have a sense of hope. Atwood elects to use leisurely disclosure in order to make the conclusion of the story morebelievable. This can be compared to the meetings that the Commander and Offredhave, yet there is obvious discrepancy.
Common topics in this essay:
Handmaid's Tale,
Colonies Offred,
Gileadian Offred,
Historical Notes,
Gilead Examples,
Commander Offred,
Aunt Lydia,
Moira Atwood,
Offred Moira,
McDermott November,
handmaid's tale,
historical notes,
life doesn't,
past times,
love offred,
average women,
margaret atwood's,
possibility society,
past life,
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Acceptance Essays
