The Handmaid's Tale Margaret Atwood Analysis

Words: 500
Pages: 2
Open Document
Thoughts on Chapter 45 and Historical Notes
Margaret Atwood's conclusion to The Handmaid's Tale was both inquisitive and bittersweet. I enjoy an ambivalent cliffhanger in a novel as it allows the reader to predict the fate of the characters themselves. In other words, this ending is free for interpretation. In my opinion, the frustration of not knowing if Offred will be rescued or murdered fuels my desire to find out. However, giving me the satisfaction of knowing would give me a feeling of emptiness, as if to say, "now what?" I believe that a truly exceptional story should have a memorable end. Stories with fairy tale endings are rarely extraordinary. Some readers want a novel to conclude on a good note, but in reality, it's just not pragmatic. …show more content…
We learn that Offred “was among the first wave of women recruited for reproductive purposes” and assigned to couples in the higher class who will receive the offspring. Gilead gathered this group by arresting women, involved in “non marital liaisons” or in second marriages, due to adultery. Existing children were confiscated and given to the barren elite. I like this new information because it helped me understand why Offred became a handmaid while others remained as Wives or Econowives: Offred was involved with a married man. Furthermore, we discover that the decline of birthrate was a result of “widespread availability of birth control”, including abortion. The increase of chemical leakages and pollution progressively increased the widespread of “stillbirths, miscarriages, and genetic deformities”. In addition, it is mentioned that Gilead’s success was the outcome of using Biblical concepts to enforce and support the new society. They allowed unmarried and infertile women to be Aunts, which explained why some sterile women were sent to the Colonies while Aunts were not. Nevertheless, the symposium did not reveal much about the future. It is uncertain if the Narrator survived, if she was pregnant, or if Nick was a member of
Show More

Related Documents: The Handmaid's Tale Margaret Atwood Analysis

Analysis Of The Handmaid's Tale By Margaret Atwood

requires critical thinking, and therefore allow us to draw connections to real life. The Handmaid’s Tale, a dystopian novel written in 1985 by Margaret Atwood, is set in New England in “the near future”. It features a totalitarian Christian theonomy, in other words, there is essentially no separation between church and state like there would be in a typical modern democracy. Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, is a critically acclaimed award winner that has spawned a movie, a play, a ballet, and…

Words 1531 - Pages 7

Analysis Of The Handmaid's Tale By Margaret Atwood

Would you do anything it takes to survive? In the book, The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood survival is heavily emphasized. As shown in the novel, the need to survive leads to doing things people do not volunteer to do. It shows that anyone would do anything it takes to survive no matter the consequences. Anyone that wants to survive in the Republic of Gilead were forced to start a new life and they cannot complain. In the novel, Offred had to transform her whole life and forget about her old…

Words 639 - Pages 3

The Handmaid's Tale

To provide social commentary regarding the devastating possibility of a patriarchal theocracy, Margaret Atwood pulls from many past real events. In a 2003 interview with John Stroumboulopoulos, Atwood states that every event in The Handmaid’s Tale actually happened hinting at the plausibility of this kind of society today. For example, widespread fear of a devastating illness, like AIDS, and general feelings of foreboding permeated the 1980s (“Atwood’s Use…). Additionally, the very real possibility…

Words 788 - Pages 4