Dystopian Journal 3 (Handmaid's Tale)

The Handmaid's tale has many cultural connections. Two of these are connections to abortion and feminism. These two connections are very prominent and both very similar to each other. Margaret Atwood wrote this book in the late 1970s, early 1980s. This time period has a lot of feminism and abortion movements connected to it. Abortion was legalized in 1981 and between 1978 and 1983, feminist health centers around the country provided low-cost abortions and the church began using illegal acts of violence against these clinics. This issue is very prominent in the dystopian society that Atwood has created. The Handmaid’s only purpose in life is to have children and if they are either unable to, or kill a baby, they are then named an “unwoman” and exiled. We know that this society has a Christian, theist government and that during the time that this book was written, Christian groups were often burning down and destroying abortion clinics out of anger. In the church, women have very small roles compared to the men; this also plays out in the novel through the repression of women and their rights. The handmaids are controlled through their clothing and having all of their rights removed. In the beginning of the society, the first signs that women were losing their rights were when they weren’t allowed to own money or property; these constrictions were then raised to complete control.

Dystopian Journal 2 (Handmaid's Tale)

"I used to think of my body as an instrument, of pleasure, or a means of transportation, or an implement for the accomplishment of my will . . . Now the flesh arranges itself differently. I’m a cloud, congealed around a central object, the shape of a pear, which is hard and more real than I am and glows red within its translucent wrapping."

The significance of this passage is that this is the point when Offred seems to accept her place in society. Offred remembers her past and the past ways that her body was treated. Before the republic was created, her body was meant for “pleasure” or “transportation”. It was a body, for sex or getting around; now her body is simply a means of having a baby. Her only goal in life is to be able to give her commander a child. In a world where birth rates are declining, her life purpose revolves around her ovaries, she describes her body as a “cloud, congealed around a central object, the shape of a pear, which is hard and more real than I am and glows red within its translucent wrapping." This description shows a lot of insight into how Offred views her role in society and her body. Her ovaries “glow red” showing that they are the only important part of her. I think the use of the color “red” is significant because of the motif of red representing the handmaids. All the handmaids are required to wear red to show who they are. This color seems to be a color of both fertility and humility. The bright color puts these women on display for the rest of their society to judge, and it is a symbol of fertility because they are the few women that are fertile in their society and those who aren’t, are either wives, the aunts, and the unwomen. “The shape of a pear” is significant because a pear is skinny on the top with a wider bottom; I think there are two different ways to analyze this. Firstly you could say that this represents pregnancy, a wide belly with a child inside. On the other hand, you could say that the skinny top represents the insignificants of what the women think and the large significance on her fertility.

Dystopian Journal 1 (Handmaid's Tale)

“No guns though, even they could not be trusted with guns. Guns were for the guards, specially picked from the Angels. The guards weren’t allowed inside the building except when called, and we weren’t allowed out, except for our walks, twice daily, two by two around the football field, which was enclosed now by a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire. The Angels stood outside it with their backs to us. They were objects of fear to us, but of something else as well. If only they would look. If we only we could talk to them. Something could be exchanged, we thought, some deal made, some tradeoff, we still had our bodies. That was our fantasy” (4).

This is a passage from the very beginning of the Handmaid’s Tale. This quote begins with “guns” and an ambiguous “they”. The guns are in reference to a restriction. In this book, there is a society in which everyone is controlled, however, with the use of the ambiguous “they”, Margaret Atwood is not specifying who exactly is being controlled, it could be in reference to only the women, however throughout the book we learn that the men are also restricted. In keeping the restriction of guns from being specific, Atwood is demonstrating how the restrictions are complicated. Guns can be very dangerous in the wrong hands, it is stated that “guns were for the guards”. This shows that their deadly essence was being used for protection or reinforcement. Mainly for reinforcement. The guards are called “Angels”, when I think of angels, I think of a protector, or someone caring. The ironic use of this word shows how things are not always as they seem. These trigger happy young men are often more brutal than protective of the republic. This passage states that “The guards weren’t allowed inside the building except when called, and we weren’t allowed out”, this shows that the handmaids and the guards live very separate lives. Atwood uses this to show that there are levels in this society giving a good, first insight into the society that she has created. Atwood describes the guards as standing “with their backs to (them)”. This shows that the men did not respect or care for the woman, they were simply there. The last few sentences in which the relationships with the guards are described, we see that it is truly the guards separation from the women that caused the most fear. “If only they would look. If we only we could talk to them. Something could be exchanged, we thought, some deal made”, this quote shows that the woman want access to the guards and it’s being denied. The very last sentence I find the most interesting, “That was our fantasy”. This shows the true feelings of the women. They dream and wish to have some kind of contact to the guards. Maybe this is because they want the presence of a male figure, maybe because they want to feel some sort of authority returned to them, Atwood leaves this unclear. This passage is important to the book because it gives us our first insight into the society in which The Handmaid’s Tale is based.