Essays Tagged: "Gilead"

1989 AP British Literature Question. Explain the use of Biblical allusions and how it advances the work as a whole. Road to Jezebel's: Biblical illusions in Margaret Atwood's the handmaid's tale.

In The Handmaid's Tale (New York: Anchor Books: 1998) by Margaret Atwood, the Gilead holds Offred, whose real name is never revealed, a prisoner because she is a woman. Atwood ad ... rs in the army all are founded in the Bible. These Biblical roots are used as justification for the Gilead regime practices.A theocracy is a government of a state run by immediate divine guidance or b ... f a state run by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided. The Gilead Regime is one such government. The name is derived from the Biblical "mount of Gilead" which ...

(5 pages) 68 0 3.5 May/2002

Subjects: Literature Research Papers > European Literature > Authors

Is the Power Absolute? Compare the power in Handmaid's tale and the Matrix. the power looks very strong, but actually it's not.

ongly represented in Handmaid's tale and Matrix. Handmaid's tale describes a dystopian world called Gilead, where all the women are controlled by the commanders. They are ranked in different classes. ... real humans. So in my opinion, power is not absolute.People might wonder why commander is confined. Gilead is a world of Commanders. They are the leaders, how could they be confined. But the fact is, ...

(5 pages) 127 1 4.5 Jun/2002

Subjects: Literature Research Papers > North American

Title:Aggressive and Passive. Compare characters in the Handmaid's Tail between Hamlet. Offred is aggressive while Ophelia is passive

attitudes.Offred is a powerless woman in "the Handmaid's Tale". She's a handmaid of a commander in Gilead. She has no freedom. She belongs to him as a property. Her only duty is to have sex with the ... ut their fates in the end are quite different. Offred succeeds in escaping from the dystopian socityGilead, while Ophelia dies of drown. Because Offred is affressive but Ophelia is passive.Offred live ...

(2 pages) 85 1 2.8 Jun/2002

Subjects: Literature Research Papers > North American

Differences between Margaret Atwood's book "The Handmaiden's Tale" and the movie of the same name. About 400 words.

rse's blinders. Once again, because they are not presented in the same manner, the movie version of Gilead seems less threatening._____In dealing with outward appearances, Offglen's permanent ID was a ... movie seems to satirize a lot of views held by most ultra conservative religious groups. Rulers of Gilead used selected references from the Old Testament used to subdue women as slaves and concubines ...

(2 pages) 46 0 3.3 Jul/2002

Subjects: Literature Research Papers > North American

"How does Margaret Atwood portray the role of women in the Republic of Gilead?"

"How does Margaret Atwood portray the role of women in the Republic of Gilead?"The Republic of Gilead allows Offred only one function: to reproduce. She has a choice, this ... ely determined by the status of their husband and their fertility.Women are strictly categorised in Gilead, they are Handmaids, Wives, Marthas, Econowives or Aunts. Offred is a Handmaid. She showed he ... ndmaids, Wives, Marthas, Econowives or Aunts. Offred is a Handmaid. She showed her fertility in pre-Gilead society by having a daughter, but she is not allowed to be a Wife as she was once divorced. W ...

(6 pages) 100 1 4.6 Sep/2002

Subjects: Literature Research Papers > North American

The Role of Women in Modern Society in Comparison To Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale"

to be the United States, is overtaken by puritan conservative Christians, creating the Republic of Gilead. Assasinating the President and congress, this religious extremist movement suspended the con ... tremist movement suspended the constitution and took complete control over the government. Women in Gilead lost their rights, and served only one purpose; for reproduction. A large population of the w ...

(6 pages) 124 0 4.5 Jan/2003

Subjects: Literature Research Papers

A discussion of Margerat Atwood's use of shock in 'The Handmaid's Tale, and how it relates to current issues.

Atwood says Gilead is "a logical extension of current trends. There is nothing in the text that hasn't happened ... mpossible.The structure of the book is such that it maximises the disparity between modern life and Gilead. If it were told in a linear manner we would accept the culture and stop seeing it as related ... we remain appalled by the events described for us. While shopping she remembers a sign from before Gilead: 'In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash. That would be blasphemy now.' While undressing she co ...

(11 pages) 79 1 5.0 Mar/2003

Subjects: Literature Research Papers > North American > Authors

Book Report to the Class on A HANDMAID'S TALE by Margaret Atwood. May want to add more about the themes and take out some of the plot description.

nd college reading lists.The Handmaid's Tale is set in the near future in the fictional Republic of Gilead, which is started after "they shot the [US] president and machine gunned the Congress and the ... avery.(Read page describing how she felt and about the "other" army)The setting, or the Republic of Gilead, is very important in showing how and why things happened the way that they did, and why Offr ...

(4 pages) 70 1 4.9 Mar/2003

Subjects: Literature Research Papers

George Orwell's "1984" and Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaids Tale" .

our and Margaret Atwood's The Handmaids Tale are both novels in which the state, namely Oceania and Gilead, attempts to exert totalitarian control over the lives of its peoples. Through Orwell and Atw ... equently although what the reader is made aware of is somewhat limited, when we see examples of the Gileadian states control over love and emotion we are initially able feel a great deal more pathos w ...

(8 pages) 92 0 3.3 Apr/2003

Subjects: Literature Research Papers > European Literature

"The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood.

peoples' lives are controlled by the government, which is a totalitarian regime. The government in Gilead rules with the political concept that the citizen should be totally subject to an absolute st ... oday. In the story a revolution results in a large part of America being ruled by the "Republic" of Gilead, a society that rules through oppression, deprivation, and threat of execution. There are a l ...

(7 pages) 125 0 5.0 May/2003

Subjects: Literature Research Papers > North American

"The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood.

ons according to their past experiences. In The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood, the oppressive Gilead regime enforces their new ideals on the unsuspecting population. When compared with our conte ... s their new ideals on the unsuspecting population. When compared with our contemporary society, the Gilead rule shows us our world in a different and more critical light and shocks us with what we see ...

(6 pages) 121 0 3.7 Jul/2003

Subjects: Literature Research Papers > North American

This essay compares the treatment of women in the novel Handmaid's Tale (Margaret Atwood), and the country Afghanistan.

Story of Gilead: Fact or FictionIn the year 2003, many people can not comprehend the historical implications ... ety which assumes absolute power over women's bodies, in this day and age. The fictional society of Gilead dictates that women cannot vote, work, read, or do anything else that might allow them to bec ... me insubordinate or independent and thereby undermine their husbands or the state. The society that Gilead portrays can be considered a mirror to the way of life in select Middle Eastern countries suc ...

(3 pages) 45 0 4.0 Dec/2003

Subjects: Literature Research Papers > North American

An Argument on whether or not The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood should be banned- Pro Dystopia

ral character Offred in The Handmaid's Tale. The novel is set in the near future in the Republic of Gilead which is formally the United States of America. Placing the blame on Islamic fanatics, a righ ... ortrays one woman's struggle with oppression.The Bible is the basis of law and everyday life to the Gileadeans. However, this regime manipulates Biblical terms by taking verses out of the context of t ...

(11 pages) 76 0 3.5 Dec/2003

Subjects: Literature Research Papers

'Discuss Atwood's presentation of "Gilead in the first seventy-six" pages of the novel'

'The Handmaid's Tale' - Margaret Atwood'Discuss Atwood's presentation of Gilead in the first seventy-six pages of the novel'The anti-utopian novel, 'The Handmaid's Tale' tel ... ian novel, 'The Handmaid's Tale' tells the futuristic story of Offred, a Handmaid of the oppressive Gileadean regime, a society governed by an elite and characterised by distorted language that refers ... age that refers to Biblical writings. The novel is set around the near-future repressive society of Gilead at war, blocking any form of external influence and using propaganda to further its ideas as ...

(9 pages) 43 2 4.8 Jan/2004

Subjects: Literature Research Papers > North American

The Handmaids Tale

an essentially guarantee that the females in their country are safe. The latter is the setup of the Gileadean society in Margaret Atwood's novel The Handmaid's Tale. Women have no rights. They are ass ... st also have intercourse with the Commander, who 'owns' her, in order to increase the population of Gilead. All of the people in Gilead are unhappy , even the men, who are supposed to benefit from the ...

(6 pages) 44 0 4.0 Feb/2004

Subjects: Literature Research Papers

The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood Discuss the Gileadean concept of "Freedom to, freedom from"

are two types of freedom, freedom to and freedom from. It is the paradox between 1980's America and Gilead that is examined continually throughout the novel and it's the ideas of 'freedom to' being a ... ety of modern America with its liberal customs, is compared and contrasted to the second society of Gilead, a totalitarian Christian authority which has taken control over America in the 1980's to sav ...

(5 pages) 72 0 3.0 Mar/2004

Subjects: Literature Research Papers > North American

"The Handmaids Tale" by Margaret Atwood - exploring the limitations imposed by gender, power and religion

ir whole life is based around the bible, but only some bits, not all. They are forced to believe in Gilead's beliefs, and if they don't, they will suffer serious consequences. These three things limit ... eing watched, and if they were caught, they would be punished. It's the power that keeps everyone inGilead in order, and limits what they can and cannot do.And lastly, religion. Religion seems to be t ...

(5 pages) 137 4 5.0 Mar/2004

Subjects: Literature Research Papers > European Literature

Defying the state? How is the concept of the individual against the state explored in the two novels 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' - George Orwell, and 'The Handmaid's Tale' - Margaret Atwood

dmaid's Tale' are both novels that can easily be seen to be set in dystopian societies, Oceania and Gilead, in which the individuals are suppressed and relationships are carefully kept under control. ... ellion against the state, as she is telling her story -through a set of tapes found years after the Gilead regime had fallen, of a society in which Handmaids are seen and not heard. Although the story ...

(12 pages) 67 0 5.0 May/2004

Subjects: Literature Research Papers

Gilead's Language System in Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale"

s Tale, a dystopian futuristic novel by Margaret Atwood recounts the story of a totalitarian state, Gilead, which endorses the dehumanization of women with the excuse of effacing all scurrilous events ... of effacing all scurrilous events and resolving a catastrophic problem of waning population rates. Gilead's tyrannical power lies in its ability to reduce multiplicity of thought in its subjects by b ...

(4 pages) 28 0 5.0 May/2004

Subjects: Literature Research Papers

Notes on Atwood's Handmaid's Tale

Summary The Handmaid's Tale is set in the futuristic Republic of Gilead. Sometime in the future, conservative Christians take control of the United States and establ ... nservative Christians take control of the United States and establish a dictatorship. Most women in Gilead are infertile after repeated exposure to pesticides, nuclear waste, or leakages from chemical ... is of Fred). Offred became a handmaid after an attempt to escape with her daughter and husband from Gilead. They failed; her daughter is given away to a needy woman in the upper circles, and Offred do ...

(22 pages) 110 0 3.0 May/2004

Subjects: Literature Research Papers > European Literature