Review Of The Handmaid s Tale - 884 Words

Comparing a book to the movie that is a product of that book is always a difficult thing, but with The Handmaid’s Tale the novel and movie were quite similar. Set in the near future, in a totalitarian society post overthrowing of the United States government, The Handmaid s Tale explores the idea that people will endure oppression willingly as long as they receive some slight amount of power or freedom in return. This can be seen prominently in both the film and novel. However, although the overall idea was the same, the way that it was perceived through the movie is drastically different than through the text version. In the novel there is a eminent absence of real names, and Handmaids are instead referred to by nicknames that signify the Commanders they serve. They reveal little to nothing about the Handmaids, except for the absence of their personal identities. Equivalently, although the Aunts have individual, feminine alias, they aren t their birth names either. Significa ntly, it s noticed in the novel that we were never given the name of Offred, nor her child. This differs from the movie greatly where the characters interact with each other considerably more than depicted in the paperback -- most likely to make the film more entertaining to watch, but greatly taking away from a main component of Atwood s story. To make what I believe is less confusing for viewers, characters were appointed names in the flick. For example, the protagonist and narrator ofShow MoreRelatedThe 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 Atwood1357 Words   |  6 PagesOxford definition: â€Å"the advocacy of women s rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes† (Oxford dictionary). In the novel The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood explores feminism through the themes of women’s bodies as political tools, the dynamics of rape culture and the society of complacency. Margaret Atwood was born in 1939, at the beginning of WWII, growing up in a time of fear. In the autumn of 1984, when she began writing The Handmaid’s Tale, she was living in West Berlin. The BerlinRead MoreWhen Margaret Atwood Published Her Novel, The Handmaid’S1338 Words   |  6 PagesWhen Margaret Atwood published her novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, in 1998, it was met with a wave of mixed reviews. Dystopic and Utopic novels have always been critiques of the time periods in which they are written. They extrapolate present truths and can provide valuable critiques of the ills that our society faces. Upon publishing of this novel, two main questions were raised. First, Is this an accurate and fair critique of the 1980’s social and political climate? Furthermore, Is Atwood’s story aRead MoreTotalitarianism’s Role in the Handmaid’s Tale1505 Words   |  7 Pagesworld. People accepted the new society without much resistance only to later realize that they had been duped. The founders of Gilead took conservative ideas and implemented them to the extreme. Women’s rights are taken away. Reading is forbidden. Handmaids are introduced to bear children. The government takes over and a dystopia is born. They control almost every aspect of the people’s lives, down to the food that they consume. Though the totalitarian government of Gilead tries to break spirit of theRead MoreThe Classics Are Those Books Essay1137 Words   |  5 Pagesthey are in the best condition to enjoy them. The classics are books which exercise a particular influence, both when they imprint themselves on our imagination as unforgettable, and when they hide in the layers of memory disguised as the individual s or the collective unconscious. A classic is a book which with each rereading offers as much of a sense of discovery as the first reading. A classic is a book which even when we read it for the first time gives the sense of rereading something we haveRead MoreThomas More s Utopia?1464 Words   |  6 Pages7,1478 he was the son of John More, A well known Lawyer. When Thomas was little he went to St.Anthony s School in London. Thomas was a page in the household of John Marton . From then on Thomas More s went on to Oxford University. Around 1494 Thomas Dad took him to London to study in what was known as common law. In February 1496 , More was admitted into Lincoln s inn. In 1505 Thomas More s became a full on lawyer and by this time he managed to keep up with his literary and spiritual interest