#aplit16handmaid

[alissasmith5]

Analyisis of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale containing literary criticism and character analysis.

Hey people of AP Lit!!! This is my final project for The Handmaid’s Tale. I would really appreciate it if you guys could check it out and comment on the discussion page. My goal was to create a discussion, and that can’t be done without you guys! 

[omgrachellewalker-blog]

Okay so this really messes up my life. Like the job of a handmaid is to be raped and like, I’m not okay with this, It makes me want to throw up. I don’t really like the fact that everyone in the book treats them so horribly considering that they get raped constantly.  In fact as I read the book I got more and more uncomfortable because they talk about rape being okay and how it was their fault. I actually feel horrible for them even though its just a book I feel like it has this undertone that is still present today. I feel like even today rape is supposedly the woman’s fault. That fact right there? That’s why I’m never having children. 1 in 5 women get raped. If I had a daughter and that happened to her I would never forgive myself. 

[nataliemarsala]

I dont understand how anyone could live like the handmaids. They are basically sex slaves to a society that is dying. And it’s scary how real this problem is! It’s not just older women either. All over the world there are brothels where women and girls are kept to please older men and most of those women never get saved from this “job.” These women/girls are either kidnapped or sold for money to the brothels where they will spend the rest of their lives working as prostitutes. It amazes me how close we are to a society like Gilead. 

[benlocklang15]

Handmaids

One thing I never understood was why the handmaids never banded together and refused. As the only ones who could bare children and repopulate Gilead they had a tremendous amount of power. An uprising at the Red Center would have been perfect. They probably outnumbered the aunts and there was a large amount of them. The problem then would lie in if the leaders of Gilead would decide to give into there demands or decide to forcibly rape them. But even then what's to stop the handmaids from neglecting their bodies for the destruction of the child. Makes you think

[ochronowski9]

These conversations that we had with each women group has been very interesting. Everything that I have though about the women has flipped. I have thought that the handmaids were the victim which I still to think but only to a point. When they were up there answering questions they had to answer a lot of questions about why they wouldn't just join together and break free. They have the most power don't they? I thought that is was so interesting to think that way.

[mariyaaa786]

Handmaids

In the book we see the ranks of different groups of women: Handmaids, Martha/s, Jezebels, Aunts, and Commanders Wives. This is also the books ranking of theses womens power. We see that handmaids have the least amount of power and the commanders wife has the most. But after reading the book I’ve come to realize that the handmaids truly hold the most power. They are the fertile ones. The ones that can make babies. The whole reason Gilead has made this system is because they can do one thing that not everyone can do. But his is ironic to to the fact that the Wives have the least amount of power. They have no physical or emotional connections with their husband, yea they get to have a child but not even their own blood one. 

[jcsroka2]

Handmaid or Handmade?

The role of the Handmaid’s in the “The Handmaid’s Tale” is a crucial one. It follows a chunk of Offred’s life living in a Commander’s house and her experiences. Handmaid’s often are subjected to the most oppression in the society even though they have the thing most valued in the society their fertility. 

The name Handmaid doesn’t really fit their role in society in my mind, because they do nothing with their hands? Nor are they a type of maid to their household. The household alters for her so she is not a maid. 

Handmaid’s are trained to act as if they have no previous education in their past lifetime. Which bothers me as a reader. Not only are these women striped of other basic lifestyle things such as lotion, they are striped of something they “own” - their knowledge. Throughout the book we notice the main handmaid is smart and educated but just forgot how to act “normal.”

I think Atwood does this purposely to make a point that women’s fertility is valued more than their knowledge to some extent.

[tristan-wright-avondale]

The question was asked, “If handmaids have all the power, then why don’t they join together and rebel?” Thinking as Janine, I found that I felt powerless. The handmaids might have the power in respect to having babies and being valued for their bodies, but to them, the power lies in the men and only who they give power to. I believe that it is ultimately a direct result of the mentality instilled in the handmaids by all those above them that made them believe they are powerless. As we connected to women and voting in modern times, the handmaids have adopted the value assigned to them by those in power. They continue to do their duties and follow orders not only out of fear, but because they believe that is what they are for. 

Attitude is the only thing that distinguishes between success and failure. I think this is why the men in Gilead decided to put some women in charge of others. This method had shown to be most effective in “breaking” the lower classes. By “breaking”, I mean changing their overall attitude from rebellious to oppressed. This is essential because if the handmaids kept their original attitudes, they would have joined together to rebel. This is why the aunts dehumanize them and blame them for everything that has ever happened to them. 

Atwood uses the handmaids to show the way women accept their status in today’s society. Women accept the role of “princess” allow themselves to be patronized like children especially in politics. She is calling for women to wake up and rebel like we want the handmaids to. Women don’t see the power they have and therefore, don’t use it. As mad as we get at the handmaids for not joining together to fight their oppressors, Atwood shows that we can feel the same way about women who accept their role in society.