Apocalyptic and dystopian themes in margaret atwoods the handmades tale

Reading about oppressive government regimes—or even a giant brain telepathically controlling an entire planet—stokes the fire in our souls. And witnessing citizens rebel against the status quo offers hope for the future, even if that rebellion proves unsuccessful. With that in mind, books in a more post-apocalyptic or survivalist vein The Road have not been included.

Any deviations from the government's strict interpretations of Christian behavior are harshly punished. Offred, the main character, is cut off from the normal flows of information that one would have access to in a free society, such as newspapers or magazines.

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She has to assume she is being spied The Handmaid's Tale is set in a dystopian near-future world where reactionary Christian fundamentalists have seized control of the government and set up a totalitarian theocracy.

She has to assume she is being spied on and be extremely careful about what she says. She is forced to pass dead bodies hanging on walls as she goes to market. The bodies are graphic reminders of the power of the state and are meant to terrify people into obedience. Offred has no control over her body or destiny.

Literary context

She is a handmaid, forced to sleep with a commander, a powerful man in this society, because his older wife is infertile. Infertility is a serious problem, and Offred's having had a child consigns her to the fate of being treated as a breeding machine.

Her own child has been taken from her. The commander is married, sex is conducted according to a joyless ritual that involves the wife, and Offred knows that should she have a child, it will be given to the wife.

She will then be sent away to breed with another man.

If she does not get pregnant, she will be sent to clean up toxic waste. Even in the best of circumstances, women have no rights in this society.

Any deviation from monogamous, heterosexual sexuality can be punished by death.Apr 13,  · Watch video · In recent months, The Handmaid’s Tale — Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel about a patriarchal future where fertile women are a tightly controlled commodity — has become more of a.

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ECO-DYSTOPIA IN MARGARET ATWOOD’S THE HANDMAID’S TALE Sr. Candy D’ Cunha, Research Scholar, Krishna University Keywords: Eco-Dystopia, Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale.

The novel has a number of themes that are. Ahead of Hulu's premiere of "The Handmaid's Tale," here are some books similar to Margaret Atwoods dystopian classic for your reading list.

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Ahead of Hulu's premiere of "The Handmaid's Tale," here are some books similar to Margaret Atwoods dystopian classic for your reading list. art in a post-apocalyptic world earned it the Arthur.

Moira Weigel on Margaret Atwood’s novel “The Handmaid’s Tale,” the Hulu television adaptation of the book, and the political backgrounds of both versions.