Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale Essay - 962 Words

Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale The Historical Notes are important in the way we perceive the novel as they answer many important questions raised by the novel and also enhance some of the novels main themes. The first question it answers is the one raised at the end of the novel; that is whether Offred is stepping up into the,darkness, or the, light. The reader finds out that Offred escaped Gilead, presumably into Canada, with the help of the,Underground Femaleroad. The reader also learns that it was Nick who orchestrated her escape, using his position as a member of the Eyes. This is important to the novel as it means that the novel can feasibly be a transcript of her story, a story she could not have told if†¦show more content†¦This again demonstrates to the reader the flaws Atwood perceives in modern society, and that what happened in Gilead could happen in our world. The Historical Notes are also important in that they show the reader that Gilead has finished, and that it had its problems, purges and internal upheavals. This provides one of the few messages of hope in the novel, that no matter how severe, not all totalitarian rule lasts forever. This is reminiscent of other rules in the past such as Nazi Germany or Modern day Russia under the rule of Stalin. This also again places the events of the novel firmly in our time period and demonstrates that Gilead is not the first totalitarian society. Another reference to, the time before, comes when the Handmaids uniforms are compared to those which were worn by, German Prisoners of War, again helping to root the novel firmly in our time. Another important effect of the Historical notes is that it demonstrates how people studying The Handmaids Tale perceive it, as a nice story, but something that couldnt happen in this day and age. The fact that Piexto states that, we are happily more free, from the problems contained in Offreds account demonstrates that many people, in theShow MoreRelated Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale Essay1246 Words   |  5 PagesMargaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale In The Handmaids Tale, Margaret Atwood tells a saddening story about a not-to-distant future where toxic chemicals and abuses of the human body have resulted in many men and women alike becoming sterile. The main character, Offred, gives a first person encounter about her subservient life as a handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, a republic formed after a bloody coup against the United States government. She and her fellow handmaids are fertile women thatRead MoreEssay on Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale1419 Words   |  6 PagesMargaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale Love of God replaces love of humanity in Margaret Atwood’s, The Handmaid’s Tale. 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Which elements of our own society is Margaret atwood satirising and how does her satire work ? Atwood tries to open our eyes by satirising our society with a brilliant contrasting novel. Dystopian in every way, the reader encounters a world in which modern values of our society seem/ are replaceable. Showing the worst of all possible outcomes, she demonstrates that our primarily heartless, just economical thinking