The Handmaid's Tale
The strongest theme in Margeret Atwood's magnum opus is all about identity Identity is stripped, identity is controlled, identity is turned to mush and spat out back at the reader. Nearly every character lacks a true name in this story. Society is divided into class, the women are focused by only their bodies, fertility being key.
The governing society of Gilead is ruled by religious fanatics, controlling and judging everyone by their morals. The richer you are, the better your status, but in this world, it doesn't entirely matter, everyone is still organized like cattle. The concept of children is embraced and sought out, yet the actual structure of parenting is stripped away, as women as forced to bear children or will be killed, and once birthing, they cannot keep the child. Based on wealth and power, those households receive the most fertile Handmaids.
Marriage is a sacred, hypocritical formality in society where it's embraced, yet truthfully each household is torn apart by the class divides and the tension caused from such. The leaders like the concept of family more so than the actual benefits of family.
All in all, I find the book to be an aggressive but important commentary on the dangers of religion and large cult mindsets overpowering a people. Ideas are forced rather than discussed, everything is forced for appearances, like a 1950's nuclear family. I think now more than ever a discussion needs to take place with this book spearheading the topic of sexism, segregation, class divide, and forced ideas.
The governing society of Gilead is ruled by religious fanatics, controlling and judging everyone by their morals. The richer you are, the better your status, but in this world, it doesn't entirely matter, everyone is still organized like cattle. The concept of children is embraced and sought out, yet the actual structure of parenting is stripped away, as women as forced to bear children or will be killed, and once birthing, they cannot keep the child. Based on wealth and power, those households receive the most fertile Handmaids.
Marriage is a sacred, hypocritical formality in society where it's embraced, yet truthfully each household is torn apart by the class divides and the tension caused from such. The leaders like the concept of family more so than the actual benefits of family.
All in all, I find the book to be an aggressive but important commentary on the dangers of religion and large cult mindsets overpowering a people. Ideas are forced rather than discussed, everything is forced for appearances, like a 1950's nuclear family. I think now more than ever a discussion needs to take place with this book spearheading the topic of sexism, segregation, class divide, and forced ideas.
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