Analysis Of Margaret Atwood s The Handmaid s Tale Essay

Psychological criticism has roots as far back as the fourth century BC, when Aristotle â€Å"commented on the effects of tragedy on an audience, saying hat by evoking pity and fear, tragedy creates a cathartic of those emotions† (Dobie 54). More recently, however, psychological criticism has been shaped and influenced by the work of Sigmund Freud. He developed theories concerning â€Å"the workings of the human psyche, its formations, its organization, and its maladies† that, while further refined by other theorists, are still the basis of the modern approach to literary criticism (Dobie 54). Freud’s theory of the tripartite psyche is used to classify and define the conscious and unconscious mind into the id, ego, and superego. When examined using this theory, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, a dystopian novel about a patriarchal totalitarian government that has replaced the United States of America, is particularly interesting. The story’s protagonist and narrator is a woman referred to as Offred, who lives in the fairly new Republic of Gilead which has taken the place of the United States. She is what is known as a Handmaid; alarmingly low reproductive rates led to young women whom are able to reproduce being assigned to well-off couples who are infertile. Essentially they are sex slaves being used for their uteruses. These women are generally not willing or believers in the new regime or in their new roles in society -- they are given the choice between beingShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Margaret Atwood s The Handmaids Tale 1405 Words   |  6 Pageshave witnessed the corruption of governments before even if we didn’t even realize it. From communism to democracy, world wars to civil wars, genocides to religious upraises, government involvement has always been silently exalted. In Margaret Atwood’s ‘The Handmaids Tale’, we see the fear of the Gileadian society caused b y a rà ©gime government who practices its inhumane beliefs through everyday life in Gilead. The uses of military corruption, fear, and oppression are things that describe the everydayRead MoreAnalysis Of The Handmaid s Tale By Margaret Atwood1401 Words   |  6 Pagesand psychologists, but surprisingly, a writer - Margaret Atwood has successfully described if not answer the issue of independence and passivity in The Handmaid’s Tale. A dystopian novel set in the post-apocalyptic America now so-called Republic of Gilead, a totalitarian government. With the critically low reproduction rates due to biological warfare, the Handmaids are allocated to give births within the oppressive regime. The story of the Handmaids has clarified the definition of freewill and independenceRead MoreAnalysis Of Margaret Atwood s The Handmaid s Tale847 Words   |  4 Pagesincessant restrictions are for their own good. No restrictions are more stringent than those bestowed on the women, and mor e specifically, the handmaids. Although, Gilead claims to be built on a principal set of values, its principles are ignored and challenged to ensure everything runs smoothly in the eyes of Gilead’s patriarchy. In Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, the Republic of Gilead, a corrupt government adamant on supporting a better way of life for females, undermines their very own beliefsRead MoreAnalysis Of Margaret Atwood s The Handmaid s Tale1825 Words   |  8 PagesIn Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, we meet Offred, or so they call her, a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, a futuristic dystopian society. Gilead tarnished traditional values and replaced them with shear corruption after the rebels killed the President as well as most of Congress, took over the government, and decided to throw out the constitution. Instead the society relies on the bible to justify its barbaric rules, limitations and practices. In a totalitarian society of dec reasing birthRead MoreAnalysis Of Margaret Atwood s The Handmaid s Tale843 Words   |  4 PagesUnorthodox Characters â€Å"I feel thankful to her. She has died that I may live. I will mourn later† (Atwood 286). Many sacrifices and hard decisions are made by unorthodox people to keep what they believe in alive. There would be no rebellions and no change without these nonconforming people. Offred, the main character and a Handmaiden, would have faced eminent death in her strictly orthodox world had it not been for the rebelliousness of those who died before her wanting change. The Republic ofRead MoreAnalysis Of Mary Atwood And Sylvia Plath s The Handmaid s Tale, And Moira Of Margaret Atwood1905 Words   |  8 Pagesis in this despondent frame of mind, the woman of Sylvia Plath’s poem, Edge, and Moira of Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaids Tale, find themselves accepting their condemnation as their destiny. Both Margaret Atwood and Sylvia Plath use their works as emotional outlets to express the hopeless disposition one comes to embrace having reached the point of exhaustion . Together, Moira from The Handmaid’s Tale and the â€Å"perfected woman† from Edge exemplify the quality of life or lack thereof, one isRead MoreThe Handmaid s Tale By Margaret Atwood1249 Words   |  5 PagesDystopian Research Essay: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood In the words of Erika Gottlieb With control of the past comes domination of the future. A dystopia reflects and discusses major tendencies in contemporary society. The Handmaid s Tale is a dystopian novel written by Margaret Atwood in 1985. The novel follows its protagonist Offred as she lives in a society focused on physical and spiritual oppression of the female identity. Within The Handmaid s Tale it is evident that through the explorationRead MoreThe Handmaid s Tale, By Margaret Atwood1629 Words   |  7 Pages Atwood s novel, The Handmaid s Tale depicts a not too futuristic society of Gilead, a society that overthrows the U.S. Government and institutes a totalitarian regime that seems to persecute women specifically. Told from the main character s point of view, Offred, explains the Gilead regime and its patriarchal views on some women, known as the handmaids, to a purely procreational function. The story is set the present tense in Gilead but frequently shifts to flashbacks in her time at the RedRead MoreMargaret Atwood s The Handmaid s Tale931 Words   |  4 Pagesthe concept of gender becoming a multi- layered shifting hypothesis to which society is adapting. Since the 19th-century, philosophers and theorists have continued to scrutinize gender beyond biological and social interpretation. Margaret Atwood s The Handmaid s Tale captures the limitations and social implications forced upon a set gender based on societal expectations. Gender is a social construct that limits the individua l to the restrictions and traditions of a society, or if it’s an individuallyRead MoreThe Reconstruction Of Power By Margaret Atwood943 Words   |  4 PagesHaley Hollimon LTC Bozeman EN 102, L19 3 February 2015 The Reconstruction of Power Throughout The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood utilizes various elements of fiction to develop and question the concept of power and control in the patriarchal society of Gilead. Offred, the main Handmaid, is the instrument of which Atwood delivers her message about corruption and power. Offred’s vague diction, unreliable characterization, and erratic tone illustrate the distress of this transitional society (Abcarian